Aug 5, 20222 min read

What can osteopathy help my baby with?

Updated: Aug 8, 2022

We often get asked what an osteopath does for a baby… often enough to put our heads down and write a blog about it.

Birth is a rather intense process- as all parents will know. But let’s think of it as simply as possible: a relatively large object passes through a relatively narrow passage…the object gets a bit squished and the passage gets a bit stretched.

Osteopaths working with babies are passionate about the forces acting on the baby during the birth process and the resulting strain patterns that babies bodies have after birth. Just as you or I can strain a muscle in our adult lives, babies can carry strains in their body from the birth process, regardless of whether or not an intervention such as forceps or ventouse delivery was used. Fortunately, the so-called "baby osteopaths" at TLC are here to help.

There is plenty for osteopaths to consider when we work with your baby. Our treatments are built on research and clinical knowledge about birth strains, motor development, digestion, sleep issues etc we know that you are not nerds like us and so we will keep this blog on the topic that you started reading it for: What can osteopathy help my baby with?

Osteopathic treatment for infants and children can help with:

Feed and latch issues
Head favouring
Flat spots on the head
Forceps and ventouse delivery
Sleep issues
Digestive upset including constipation, spilling, wind
Hip issues
Shoulder issues
Unsettled signs and symptoms
Movement issues
Child migraines

What can you expect during a baby osteopathic appointment?

The osteopath will often:

Ask you about the birth, feeding, sleeping and baby’s general behaviour
Assess the baby’s facial feature symmetry, skull symmetry
Assess baby’s limb movement, spinal movement
Look for tension in baby’s soft tissues
Assess baby’s suck, lip and tongue motion
Sometimes assess - but often is quietly observing - baby’s developmental markers
Provide home-based exercises and/or recommendations for parents and caregivers

If it so happens that you are a nerd and want to read more about childbirth, infant development and osteopathy, Google Scholar is a great start. And we are always happy to take questions.

Written by - Tessa Saraeva