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Infant Massage
Katie Stewart • Oct 25, 2021
The Benefits of Infant Massage
There is an ancient tradition of massaging babies for health and wellness. The use of natural oils to strengthen the babies biome and simple loving warm strokes to balance a babies nervous system; massage offers so many benefits for new babies. It also offers a beautiful way to support mother baby and father baby bonding.
Some of the benefits?
- Boosts baby's weight gain
- Prevents bacterial infections
- Cuts infant mortality rates by up to 50%
Here's an article from BBC that walks through the benefits in detail:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210923-the-surprising-benefits-of-baby-massage
If you have questions about using these massages with your baby, reach out to me!
Many women choose to have help with pain during labor and others have a minor surgery or procedure. Often that leads to an epidural with mixed results and aftereffects. If you want more information on this, check out this article from WebMD . As women heal from the procedures and or birth, symptoms of back pain, neck pain, digestive issues, and pain along the spine near the epidural site are common. Most women think that they must live with it as many providers have no idea how to help. Manual therapy includes techniques for easing the tension from scar tissue and the pull on the dura of the spine left over from the epidurals. Women feel noticeable results very quickly. BCST and MMT along with pelvic floor exercises can get women feeling stable and strong in their bodies again.
Birth is an intense process even when everything seemingly goes well. Babies can develop tension patterns, head turn preferences, or they can seem uncomfortable in their little bodies. This in turn impacts feeding, sleeping, bonding and digestion. Craniosacral Therapy is a safe and gentle therapy that uses light touch to ease areas of tightness or restriction in the connective tissue of the body. The treatment calms the nervous system and helps to promote optimal shape, movement and function of the head, spine, and body. Pediatric Functional Bowen™ is a form of very gentle release that uses a light strumming or rolling movement on the musculature derived from the traditional Bowen Therapy Method developed by Tom Bowen, an Australian Osteopath. Both applications promote “less is best” and support the theory that “the body improves its own regulatory processes best”. Pediatric Functional Bowen™ Therapy is a specifically focused muscle balancing application for the areas of body involved in structure‐function imbalances. It specifically promotes functional mobility of the musculature while it gently promotes balance and symmetry of the body. Breastfeeding difficulties and or feeding dysfunctions are prime examples of what it can successfully address. When is Craniosacral Therapy and Bodywork a Good Idea? Asymmetrical head shapes or face/jaw Torticollis and head turn preferences Medically-assisted birth (forceps, vacuum) or birth trauma/injury Breastfeeding difficulties Digestive issues (constipation, vomiting, excessive spit-up, reflux, colic) Before/after procedures (tongue-tie clipping, other medical procedures) Congenital or neurological problems
If you aren't familiar with the modalities I use in my practice, I want to give you as much information as you would like. I've included brief explanations of my primary modalities, along with links for even more information. I am happy to answer any questions over the phone, as well! Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy BCST is a healing art that works with the energies that create and maintain health in the human system. While not a manipulative therapy, it has its roots in osteopathy and has evolved to include influences from human development, pre and perinatal psychology, trauma resolution, and recent advances in neuroscience. BCST supports nervous system regulation and allows the resolution of conditions resulting from stress and trauma. Practitioners use an educated, gentle, non-invasive touch to engage with the expressions of health in the system. Learn More: https://www.craniosacraltherapy.org/ Lymph Drainage LDT is a gentle technique that works through the body's interstitial and lymphatic system to activate the body's liquid circulation and stimulate the functioning of the immune and parasympathetic nervous systems. Learn More: https://chiklyinstitute.com/home and https://klosetraining.com/ Wholistic Manual Medicine The body is a living record of its history, good and bad, functional and dysfunctional. With our hands we can find the “imprint” of traumas, and facilitate its release, which allows for the self healing mechanisms to take over. The body then heals itself. Wholistic Manual Medicine is founded in the profound acknowledgment of the body’s tremendous inherent ability to heal and the science of how that happens. Learn More: http://academywmm.com/
