Osteopaths are increasingly being asked to treat babies and children for complaints attributable to mechanical strains acquired before birth or during the birth process.  For a parent the treatment is particularly welcome, as it does not involve the use of any drugs and is non invasive.

Paediatric osteopathy is based on the principle that all ailments whether minor or serious are as a result of an imbalance somewhere in the network of the body's systems.  A paediatric osteopath will use manual techniques to bring about profound changes within the child's body through gentle manipulation.  This will allow the different body systems (the nervous system, the immune system, the muscular system and the circulatory system) to work effectively and optimally. 

Birth is one of the most stressful events in our lives, baby is subject to enormous forces as the uterus pushes to expel baby against the natural resistance of the birth canal.  The small amounts of movement that exist in the infant skull permit the baby's head to adapt to the forces of labour, with the soft bones overlapping, bending and warping as baby descends, in order to reduce the size of the head allowing passage down the birth canal.. 

The baby's head has the remarkable ability to absorb these stresses in a normal delivery, however, when birth is complicated by being unduly slow or fast, or when other complications occur such as the need for ventouse or forceps delivery, the infant head may not fully recover from the distortion.  This may result in subtle changes in function leading to problems such as feeding difficulties, irritability, colic and disturbed sleep patterns.

As children grow older, problems may become apparent which may have arisen because of earlier strains, or as a result of trauma such as knocks on the head or falls.  Mechanical stresses on the body can be an important factor in cases of developmental delay such as delayed speech, educational difficulties and problems with coordination and physical development.