Alternative treatments for babies

Sure, mamma bear has been through quite the ordeal bringing this new creation into the world. But to the newborn baby, life on earth - as opposed to water, where they’ve just been hanging out for nine months - can be quite the adjustment.

If you’ve had a particularly hard labour, or baby bear was in an unusual position during pregnancy, you might want to consider one of the following treatments to help restore equilibrium.

And with a happy, balanced baby, sleeping and feeding becomes easier too. Here are a few of the treatments you might like to consider for your baby.

Cranial Osteopathy

Osteopaths work gently to find ‘strain’ patterns throughout the baby’s body particularly the spine and cranium. It’s a non-invasive and non-manipulative treatment which has no side effects. The osteopath applies gentle, specific pressure after a thorough assessment, to assist the baby’s natural ability to release stressors and tensions.
Cranial osteopathy can be particularly useful for babies after a very long or extremely short labour, a breach delivery, assisted delivery, or situation where the baby’s fit with the mother’s pelvis was stressful.
It’s believed the baby’s skull and bones are extremely soft when they’re born, so adjustments after the stress of labour can prevent cranial and spinal strains and sprains developing into longer-term problems in childhood and adolescence.

Common problems which could benefit from a cranial readjustment include;

Irritability & difficulty settling
Excessive crying
Disturbed sleep patterns
Feeding difficulties such as problems with attachment and sucking
Digestive issues – colic, wind or reflux
Obvious asymmetries in head shape, bruising or swelling over the scalp or face
Recurrent infections such as sticky eye, 'snuffly' nose, coughing, wheezing or and ear infections
Asymmetry in movement – a preference to feed from one side, or only turning the head one way
Concerns about limb joint positions clicking or asymmetry.

After a session with a cranial osteopath, it’s common for the baby to be very relaxed and sleep well. Often they also have the opposite reaction – a burst of energy followed by a good night’s sleep.

Chiropractic

Slightly similar to cranial osteopathy, chiropractors believe babies can develop spinal nerve strains and sprains from the labour process, particularly if it has been a difficult labour.

After a thorough examination, chiropractors make gentle adjustments of the baby’s spine to release pinched nerves.
Chiropractic adjustments are recommended for many of the same issues as cranial osteopathy; from reflux to colic, feeding on one side, asymmetry of movement etc.
It can take one or more sessions to see results. Most chiropractors recommend regular sessions as a preventative measure.
Probably the most common reason for taking your baby to a chiropractor is similar to cranial osteopathy; checking that everything is aligned after the trauma of birth. Since bub’s bones and muscles are still so tender and soft, it’s the perfect time to set them on the right path to health and nip any possible future misalignments in the bud.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient chinese medicine where the practitioner inserts tiny needles into key points on the body’s ‘meridiens’ to increase or release stuck ‘chi’ or energy. The needles are simply left in the body for 10 minutes or less, then removed. There is no pain involved.

For newborn babies, who don’t have the learned fear of needles yet, acupuncture can be particularly calming (yes!).
Research shows acupuncture can be particularly good for babies with serious illness or chronic and post-surgical pain.
Other issues acupuncture has been proven to help for babies include cholic, allergies, sleeplessness and lowered immune system.

Chakra balancing and music therapy

Probably on the more alternative end of the spectrum, but perhaps the most fun for all the family, chakra balancing works on the premise that labour is traumatic for the baby and certain chakras (energy pathways) may have sustained memories of the trauma on certain susceptible chakras which simply need a re-jig.

Via crystal bowl healing, the practitioner will send healing and / or reiki to the chakras which need rebalancing.
Crystal bowls play ‘notes’, which correspond to each chakra. And since the sound of the crystal bowls is incredibly harmonic, this treatment is very fun for the baby, who simply lies on the treatment table and thinks there’s a musical game going on!
Thanks to research into music therapy, crystal singing bowls are coming into the mainstream, being used in labour rooms to soften the drama of labour and calm the baby.
Music therapy is proven to be useful for babies who have had to be separated from their mothers after birth, premature or otherwise medically fragile. Music is proven to help calm babies and work on the emotional spectrum, so it’s particularly useful when you cannot physically nurture your baby but you still want it to feel loved and happy.
If crystal singing bowls are a little too ‘out there’, the Hush selection of CD’s, developed by a paediatric Doctor working in Australian hospitals, is a more mainstream alternative.