Unresolved birth trauma causes a common sequence of problems that begin in a young baby, and may persist throughout life.  

For example, a young baby may find feeding difficult, have digestive difficulties such as colic, and may cry excessively. 

This can lead to the development of poor sleep habits because the baby does not fall into deep, restful sleep and wakes frequently. 

The baby may be fractious and demand to be carried around for much of the time. 

As the baby grows, he will generally grow out of the feeding and digestive difficulties, but the sleep disturbances may continue for many years and the restless behaviour continues. 

The child prefers to be on the move and often crawls and walks early because he is not relaxed and content to stay still.

This continued craving for activity can lead to behavioural difficulties such as hyperactivity. 

A child may not develop the ability to concentrate on a single task for a period of time, because he is restless and always seeking to move around.

This has implications when the child starts school, because he finds sitting difficult and consequently has poor concentration. 

This can then slow his rate of learning. 

Sleep patterns often remain poor, with subtle signs of sleep deprivation such as irritability and poor concentration. 

The immune system is often depleted, with the child suffering many infections. 

Ear infections are common due to poor drainage of mucous from the ear, and underdeveloped nasal sinuses leads to chronic nasal congestion and mouth breathing. 

Asthma is more common if there has been delay or difficulty getting breathing established after birth. 

Headaches commonly start at about the age of 7 years, if retained birth compression is severe because the bones of the skull are fully formed at this age and the compression reduces the ability of the skull to cope with the strain patterns. 

Hormonal problems can be caused due to poor function of the pituitary gland, which can be restricted by compression, and hence poor movement of some of the bones of the skull. 

This can result in problems such as delayed growth, delayed puberty, and irregular or painful periods in girls. 

Physical aches and pains, such as backache due to poor postural development, may be related to the birth pattern. 

Unresolved birth compression can also cause restriction and asymmetry in the facial bones, causing crowding of teeth and bite imbalances. 

The correction of this with orthodontic appliances may impose further mechanical stresses on the head that can have far-reaching effects on the whole body and can have a significant detrimental effect on health. Regular osteopathic treatment concurrent with the orthodontic work can minimise these problems and reduce the time necessary for bite changes to take place.

The child who is already having to cope with the effects of unresolved birth trauma will be unable to cope as effectively with other traumatic events later on in life, such as falls or accidents, illnesses or even emotional difficulties. 

This can be life long. 

From this sequence it can be seen why osteopaths can help such a wide range of problems in children: because many of the problems have their origin in retained birth trauma. 

Osteopathic treatment can help young babies to become more contented and settled; improve behaviour problems in toddlers, sleep problems, recurrent infections, learning difficulties and concentration difficulties, headaches, hormonal imbalances and much more. Osteopaths do not simply treat the symptoms, but aim to treat any structural imbalances in the whole body to help it to function more efficiently. Normally, many different symptom areas resolve, inducing a state of well-being or health in the infant or child, who usually becomes contented and relaxed in himself, and thus able to develop to his full potential in all ways.

Katy Teasdale BSc (Hons) PsySc., BSc (Hons) Ost., DO, DPO
Registered Osteopath 
Specialist Paediatric Osteopath
Physical Medicine
www.katyteasdale.com

Katy Teasdale Osteopathy

Seaforth House

Bath Road

Lymington

The New Forest

Hampshire

SO41 3YL

https://www.katyteasdale.com/book-a-consultation-and-treatment