No matter how we enter the world, being born can be a tough gig. We all go through it, and every birth journey holds various mechanical, physiological, and emotional challenges. Babies can be stressed by structural impediments of tight positioning within the womb or mechanical strains in passing through the birth canal. They may have to adjust to medical interventions, experience toxins, be fed less-than-optimal foods, or develop amidst environmental or parental stress. Though much more remains to be understood, a great deal of science exists on the impact and imprinting of such stressors upon Baby's nervous system within the first few weeks of life.
The first weeks and months post-birth is a critical period for Baby to adjust and balance all her body systems to become ready to interact, adapt, and cope within the world. The body’s ability to adjust and balance is a characterization of resiliency and this physiological skill is served profoundly by the bonding period with parents. Baby needs time for acclimation and this is optimized by the structural balance of the autonomic nervous system in relationship to every organ of the body, even the smallest of vessels. There are many assumptions that babies and their bodies thoroughly adjust from the confinement period in the womb and birthing.
Though colic, reflux, and fussiness have long been considered common ailments of infancy, these issues communicate the state and adaptation of the autonomic nervous system. Learning, coping, and behaviors embedded in our personalities reflect the balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches. The degree of the body’s tissue and structure tension can both determine and reflect the state of the autonomics. The release of structural tensions is one determinant for the successful attainment of the parasympathetic state and the quality of maximizing Baby’s readiness to ‘occupy their time with the job of developing’.
Therapists learn about the differences between the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous systems often by a list of theoretical concepts but rarely cognitive-based or behavioral interventions. Structural techniques, however, offer valuable options to quickly and immediately assist Baby's autonomic nervous system through bodywork, regardless of age. The pediatric practitioner would do well to expand their practical skills of helping their baby clients reach homeostasis between these two systems. There is no better way to help someone balance their autonomic nervous system than to interface with it through compassionate and scientific-based touch methods.
When organs and nerves are relaxed and free from restrictions the body is believed to be adjusted into the parasympathetic state. When we operate in the parasympathetic state, we feel better, we think and learn better, and we achieve our fullest potential. Bodywork for Babies has shown case after case to help challenges such as colic, sleep disturbances, self-regulation problems, reflux and gastric discomforts, misshapen head, facial and body asymmetries, movement disturbances, low muscle tone, and lagging development.
Though Bodywork for Babies focuses on the typical well-baby, these same methods can be applied to medically challenged or premature babies by the well-qualified practitioner. No longer does the recommendation of “growing out” of issues naturally and advising parents to "wait out the colic" have to be the prevailing practice. The entire family benefits from the improvements Baby gains from receiving Bodywork for Babies. By reducing the stress associated with such issues, we help the homeostasis of the family.
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