CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on approach that releases tensions deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction and improve whole-body health and performance. Using a soft touch practitioners release restrictions in the soft tissues that surround the central nervous system.
CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and it’s effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction.
Craniosacral therapy assists the pregnant woman along her journey into mothering by releasing restrictions in the body and pelvis to co-create an optimal birthing experience. During pregnancy, one of the primary focuses is to release restrictions in the pelvis to resolve back and hip pain and tension and to prepare for an optimal labor and birth, including promoting optimal fetal positioning. Craniosacral bodywork assists the baby in the womb to have optimal labor, birth and bonding.
During birth, infants’ skulls change to fit through the mother’s pelvis. The cranium bones may override each other in order to accommodate the birth process. Known as compression/decompression, it’s a normal process, and the bones usually go in back in place naturally. However, in some instances, especially if an infant is pulled too harshly, unnatural damages may occur to the bones, and in turn they may fail to heal properly. As a result, it can lead to a host of problems, such as motor impairment, breathing problems, digestive issues, and breastfeeding.
Infants who are delivered via C-section may also be at risk for cranial injuries. When babies are delivered via C-section, they don’t go through the normal process of the cranial compression/decompression, which can result in skull constrictions.
Infants may experience injuries that fail to heal, especially during a traumatic delivery. However, studies suggest that if the infants who get CST, especially during the first weeks of life, have a good chance of the treatment being effective in healing misplaced cranial bones.
As a CranioSacral Therapist I not only weave this work into my Doula and breastfeeding support but I can offer this to mother prenatal, postnatal and to infants afterbirth.