How cranial osteopathy can help soothe away your baby's colicky cries by Liz Neale Get a group of new parents together and it won't take long before they start talking about sleep. Or, more likely, the lack of it. The advice to 'sleep when your baby sleeps' is all well and good. However, if your little one likes to party all night, every night, you are soon functioning like a zombie if you can't catch up during the day. So when one of my friends suggested taking my four-week-old to a cranial osteopath to reduce her stress levels (and hopefully help us both rest), I was intrigued. What is cranial osteopathy? Cranial osteopathy encourages the release of tension and stresses in the body and the head that might have been caused by the birth. Osteopaths hold and observe the baby, carefully manipulating the body to encourage it to function as it should. I wondered if it was some sort of 'baby whispering'. After all, if the osteopath was merely holding m...

If your baby is struggling to breastfeed there is plenty of information and support out there to help you both. You can seek advice online or from breastfeeding groups, lactation consultants, tongue tie specialists and your midwife. Not to mention tips from friends and family! But did you know that these specialists are increasingly recognising the role that cranial osteopaths can play to help your baby feed? At an appointment your osteopath will check the muscles, ligaments and joints that are involved in feeding. For example osteopaths check to see if your baby can turn their head comfortably to feed from each breast. Your osteopath will look at the jaw movement to check that they can open their mouth wide enough to feed. He or she will also check tongue movement for signs of tongue tie or weak suck. Osteopaths can also give advice on feeding and winding techniques specific to you and your baby. Cranial osteopathy is a gentle treatment which may improve the way your baby feeds....