Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/296580
M An infant is a human at its most vulnerable and most influential time. Most bodywork practitioners understand the seriousness of performing any work on infants. Here is a human at the beginning of his or her existence—the very beginning, if one is performing prenatal work with the mother. "Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined," wrote the poet Alexander Pope, and variations on this phrase are a favorite among bodyworkers who work with children. It represents the idea that seemingly small asymmetries in a child's anatomy or posture can negatively influence development and become significant issues later in life if undetected. There's no better time for a craniosacral practitioner to get in touch with the fluid motion of the cranial rhythmic impulse (CRI) than at this tender stage of development. At birth, we are a nearly pure, blank slate of a human—our bones not fully ossified, our tissues still getting used to the gravitational pull of the earth, and our bodies unfamiliar with the stresses and strains of life. An infant is a human at its most vulnerable and most influential time. Here is where you can create great change in the life of another. THE BIRTH EXPERIENCE Birthing is a strenuous event for both mother and child. Even the most uncomplicated vaginal birth places enormous pressure on the child's body. The bones and sutures of the infant skull are not fully formed, to allow for an easier passage through the birth canal. For the most part, babies recover quite well from this pressure, but the worry is always that some region of the head will take enough pressure to create a lasting restriction that will negatively impact the growth of the infant. Any complications during delivery will only exacerbate this risk. A prolonged labor subjects the infant to the pressure of the birth canal for longer periods of time, increasing the risk of anatomical restriction. A delivery that requires the use of forceps or vacuum extraction will not only increase the amount of pressure an infant is subjected to, but these pressures will be of a mechanical nature that infant bodies are not adapted to handle. 68 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a y / j u n e 2 0 1 4 A birth by Cesarean section is something quite different. This is not a denouncement of C-section births, but they have very different risks involved compared to a normal delivery. In a C-section delivery, the fetus experiences an abrupt decrease in physical pressure, instead of an abrupt increase. Our bodies do not expect this type of birth and the result is an increased risk to the fetus. Much has been written about infants delivered by C-section experiencing a higher risk of neonatal death, respiratory complications and asthma, future development of allergies, and even diabetes. Some of these risks are attributed to the lack of microbial exposure from not traveling through the birth canal, or the effects of the surgery (including exposure to general anesthesia), but the pressure difference is also a factor. For instance, the pressure of the birth canal usually squeezes fluid from an infant's lungs in order to better clear them to receive oxygen. This does not occur during a C-section. All of these risk factors highlight the importance of speaking with the mother about the birth experience. Taking a good history of the prenatal period and the delivery will help a practitioner understand what physical pressures the baby experienced during birth. Time spent communicating with the mother and infant is extremely important during an infant craniosacral session—not just to receive medical information, but also to create rapport. It's vital to take the time to transmit our intentions of caring and well-being to both mother and child during this initial meeting.