Craniosacral therapy and Breastfeeding

When breastfeeding goes well it a wonderful start to the baby’s life, but it can often feel difficult to get started and mothers can be left exhausted and feeling demoralised with a hungry baby that can’t get the hang of feeding.

For those babies who are still shocked or in pain from the process of birth or the separation from the mother after the birth, feeding can be very difficult. They may be trying to express their confusion or pain, and being offered a breast is not the response they need.

One of the most common problems I encounter is  a child where the roof of the mouth has been pushed out of shape by the moulding during the birth. The baby will start to choke if you put your finger just a short way into her mouth, almost before you get beyond the gum. Of course to feed successfully the baby needs to take the nipple much further to the back of the mouth so they are distressed and frustrated and so is the mother. These babies either “nibble” the nipple, making the mother’s breast sore and exhausting themselves without getting much milk or they react to the breast by turning away in distress- not surprising if they feel they will choke. This situation responds very well to Craniosacral Therapy and mothers often report that the sucking feels comfortable after just one session.Other babies have long periods of distressed crying where they cannot be comforted, this is often called “colic”. These babies respond to Craniosacral Therapy where they are allowed to move in the way they need to in order to express their pain or confusion and resolve it.

Other babies shut down and become unresponsive, often these babies are seen as “good” babies, sleeping a lot and not expressing themselves very much. However the shut down baby is not the same as the peaceful and contented baby who looks around with joy in his or her new life, they see withdrawn and blank. When these babies come for Craniosacral Therapy they often cry in a way that the parents have not heard before, becoming animated and expressive in their relief at being understood and having their story “heard” through the therapists hands.

Babies respond very quickly to Craniosacral Therapy, often only needing a few sessions, particularly if they come soon after birth.

There is more information on therapy for babies