Cranial Osteopathy like the pulse diagnosis of oriental medicine is a "listening art". We listen with our fingers, hands, bodies and brains - our whole being "tunes in" to the baby's language and what he/she is trying to tell us.

Babies seem to me to know that Cranial Osteopathy is good for them because they sense it - they "tune in" too (I cannot "prove" this!). The founder of Cranial Osteopathy said that we see and think with our fingers, as well as feel. Cranial work is not really a "spectator sport" but, when observed, it is often clear that the baby loves being treated and held in this way. The anecdotal results and preliminary research suggest suggest that they may benefit greatly from gentle specialised Osteopathic care in their early weeks and months.

Touch is a very special way of relating and can convey much - it helps babies (and adults) thrive and to feel safe and loved. It can communicate protection and acceptance. The touch of an Osteopath also facilitates healing from within, by giving the opportunity for tensions held in the body to resolve quietly, safely and peacefully.

Cranial treatment is particularly relevant if either forceps or ventouse (suction cup) was used to assist delivery of your baby or if the birth was in any way traumatic. But, If the birth was blissful and uncomplicated, osteopathic touch can still serve as an excellent welcome to the world.
Even the most straightforward births are momentous and, in their amazing journey, babies can acquire physical and emotional stresses.

Parents often ask what it is I actually do as a Cranial Osteopath, as it is not usually obvious from watching a treatment. This is not because nothing is happening, but, because the movements are slight. Small changes often make a big difference, especially in babies.
I work with the body's own inner efforts to restoring motion and balance tension, and provide a point around which it can make the shifts it needs. Often in the process, the whole system goes into a profound stillness and peace and it is out of this "space" that the body is able to change.

The patient becomes still in order to know - to recognise within what needs resolution and gathering the potency to make the change. This is why treatment often engenders sleep or rest - a time to gather inner resources.

Even though most people cannot see what is going on in treatment, they do sense a response in the patient - they know, on some level, that something is profound happening. I always ask a mum to observe her baby immediately after treatment and particularly, over the next couple of days, as profound changes can happened, including the resolution of breastfeeding.

If another treatment is needed, it will usually become apparent after this first period.