Baby Cranial Massage

fleetingmind

Just wondered if allot of people have had one done on their baby.
My newborn becomes very very unsettled in the evening time and some one recommended it.

Not sure how effective it is, how many sessions you need and how much it costs?

Cheers for any help.

churchrat

my sil had this for my neice, worked v well. she was a different child, thank god, slept better and no longer had a sort of high pitched tinny cry (diff to explain) can't remember what it cost, maybe ask your HV?
forgot to add that she had 2 sessions

pukkamum

My friend had this done on her baby who would scream for hours but after this it was like a different baby, it works on the basis that the bones in baby's head move during birth (to squeeze through the birth canal) and sometimes they don't go back correctly causing discomfort. My friend said he barely touched the baby and that night baby slept for hours.

Crispy_Ambulance

As far as I am aware, there is no medical evidence for cranial osteopathy, whether performed on adults or babies.

It does, however, get a mention on Ben Goldacre's Bad Science website here.

The BMJ have found no evidence that it cures colic either.

A large number of babies cry a lot in the evenings - it is a worldwide phenomenon. It is a difficult time of day - mother and baby are tired, milk supply is low and lots of babies have what's known as a "witching hour". They usually grow out of it by 12 weeks, whether you have spent money on a cranial osteopath or not.

Js_Other_Half

I took my DS to see a cranial osteopath when he was a few weeks old. The day after his first session he slept and fed much much better.

My HV told me of one baby she'd known who'd screamed constantly for months (and was under the care of a consultant having scans etc) who stopped this after one or two sessions with the same osteopath.

I think we had 5 or 6 sessions - the first session took longer and cost about £38, the others were about £33.

If you can afford it, I would suggest giving it a try.

foreversomeday

I have only heard good things about it too and none of the babies mentioned were at the 12 week stage. I suppose it could be a coincidence but if it could make them more comfortable I'd be open to trying it.

clairec79

I know dh's osteopath says if there is no improvement after 2 sessions she won't do any more and will do no more than 4 in total

fannyadams

I had my DS#1 'done' because he was C-section delivered and therefore didnt' get squeezed as he came out. we had 5 sessions with a Cranial Osteopath.
I had DS#2 done (VBAC delivery - as your midwife) because he had colic (from about 2weeks old) and wouldn't settle FULL STOP. We had 4 sessions with a craniosacral therapist.
I would recommend this procedure but you MUST find a Cranial Osteopath or CranioSacral therapist - NOT everyone IS qualified - more info on http://www.osteopathy.org.uk/

onlyroz

Don't know anything about cranial massage, but I took my boy along to baby massage classes when he was a baby and he/we loved it. It's a great way of bonding with your baby, and it seems to really relax them too. Have a look and see what your local baby clinic offers.

aliasojo

My youngest had this. She was an emergency section as she got stuck and no amount of pulling or pushing was getting her out. She was a very upset and unsettled baby and it was a midwife who suggested we try going to an osteopath.

The osteopath told us the bones in her head were out of alignment because of her traumatic birth and although he hardly touched her, within minutes she had stopped crying and lay still whilst he massaged her head. We had 2 sessions at £30 each time.

He really knew his stuff and our daughter was a changed child after seeing him.

It was just a shame reading in the paper a year later that he had been jailed for sexually abusing his daughters, but that's for another thread I think. :eek:

Mips

My Son was stuck for 6 hours. His head is moulded completely out of shape.

When he was born he could not hold his head up and we had to strap him up at night to keep his head straight.

I was told by the Doctor that this would be gone when he is 2 which will be in another few months. It isn't going.

I requested a C Section due to the positioning of them and second Twin flew out Breech birth.

I will be fuming if this is permanent damage as I have read that cranial damage can cause Special Needs simply from their heads being squashed for so long.

Does cranial massage make their head shapes go back to normal?