Osteopathy in the Treatment of Mothers Peri and Postnatal
PERINATAL
Osteopaths are concerned with the health of the mother during pregnancy. There are many factors that affect mothers, including sinusitis and the changes in the mechanics of the body such as extreme lordosis, (increased curvature of the lower back), malformation of the pelvis, including extreme pain lower back on either the left or right side, pubic symphisis and problems caused by injuries to the abdomen. The strain on the body at this time, especially as the baby grows bigger, can be intense and can include aches and pains all over the body. These can either be alleviated or eased by the osteopath.
Why mothers would want treatment to the baby and themselves after pregnancy?
Pregnancy can be very traumatic to the baby and the mother. Of course, thankfully, there are other pregnancies where there is little strain to the body.
Factors for mothers to think about:
How many hours were you in labour? Was it prolonged? Did the baby come fast?
Were you in pain?
Did you have any medication, epidurals, pethidine, gas and air?
Did you have an episiotomy?
Did you have a caesarean?
What was the type of presentation of baby?
Was it disproportionate in size?
Was there faulty management to you and/or the baby during delivery?
What was the appearance and action of the newborn?
Was the baby's cranium distorted, i.e excessive moulding possibly due to the position the baby was in the womb, or held (if a substantial amount of time) in the birth canal or because of the use of forceps or the vacuum extractor?
POSTPARTUM
All of the above mentioned can cause disturbances in function to the baby. This may cause a continual runny nose, runny eyes, the baby may have difficulty in swallowing or may not be latching onto the breast properly.
They may be crying abnormally or look in severe pain by drawing their legs up. They may look in pain during/after feeding or possibly have pain on emptying their bowels. Some babies even have an inability to turn their head in a particular direction.
As you can see there are many factors that cause discomfort to the baby and these are conditions that osteopaths, who are trained in cranial osteopathy, can help with.
Some mothers think that the pain is natural, that the awful lower back pain or the fact that they can't sit down is normal, it is not. During the delivery process the body, too, has suffered trauma and this can distort the sacrum and pelvis. New mothers will definitely benefit from osteopathic treatment.