In addition to lactation consulting I practice Craniosacral Therapy for infants. I believe that all babies can benefit from Craniosacral Therapy, and especially babies who have feeding difficulties.
What is Craniosacral Therapy? Craniosacral Therapy or CST is very gentle touch to release tension within the body and especially the craniosacral system: the cranial bones, fascia and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. I will use a soft touch of around 5 grams of pressure, or about the weight of a nickel, to release restrictions in the craniosacral system. CST has been shown to improve the functioning of the central nervous system, as well as many other systems of the body, such as digestive, musculoskeletal, respiratory, circulatory, and more. CST can help your baby with their latch, headshape, fussiness, digestion and so much more.
After our initial lactation visit, I like to incorporate CST into our follow up sessions.
If you don’t want your baby to have Craniosacral Therapy and would like to focus on lactation exclusively, that’s fine too! At our initial appointment I will assess what I think your baby needs and we will come up with a treatment plan together.
Each situation is unique, however I have found that in most cases it is ideal for best results to have appointments weekly for a month or two and possibly continuing biweekly or monthly after that as needed.
What can Craniosacral help with?
The core principle of Craniosacral Therapy is to release tension and fascial restrictions within the body. Tension can cause the following issues and more:
• Feeding or latching issues: compression from the womb can lead to feeding dysfunction
• Head shape: if baby has tension in the body they may spend too much time on certain parts of their head
• Side preference: it’s common for baby’s to prefer to turn to one side, but this indicates tension or twisting in the spine. Craniosacral can help to unwind babies.
• Tummy time aversion: if your baby doesn’t like tummy time, it can be a sign of tension and fascial restrictions in the body.
• Excessive crying: your baby could be crying due to pain—they are not trying to be difficult for you for no reason.
Are you dealing with any of these issues?
