When I work with an infant, I start by laying the baby on his or her back and taking a photo – this is for the family and myself only – I will ask the family if I want to use the photo for teaching or on my website. The object of the photo is so what…
The answer is different depending on age. Starting with an adult – after arriving at my office, there is the obligatory paperwork. Once that is complete, I will invite you to get onto the table – fully dressed. I have blankets available if you get cold – this commonly occurs when our body is at rest. …
We are hearing and reading about Ankyloglossia otherwise known as tongue tie everywhere we turn. What is Ankyloglossia and why should we care? There is a piece of skin under the tongue that is called a frenulum – we all have them. In the mouth, there is one also under the upper the lower lips and…
Torticollis – also known as “wryneck” is a condition in which an infant, child or adult either has difficulty or is unable to fully rotate their neck fully. In infants, parents often report that their baby’s head is always facing in one direction. Sometimes they have feeding difficulties at one breast only or will feed only…
Why when it is my shoulder that hurts are you spending so much time at my knee? Bio tensegrity – In the mid 1970’s Dr. Stephen Levin applied Buckminster Fuller’s insights into biology showing how fascia and bone form a continuous tensegral network in living organisms. Bio tensegrity views the body as a living self-stabilizing dome of…
One of the known benefits of CranioSacral therapy is its ability to help the body to calm and reset – We have excellent research that was done with firefighters for whom being in a state of flight and fright is almost fundamental. One study showed that a single session induced faster recovery of heart rate…
I am often asked how CranioSacral therapy is different than other modalities. Every modality has it own process for working and we each have something to contribute. My training is CranioSacral therapy therefore it is the only one that I am qualified to speak of. The following is not meant to be a comprehensive listing…
The “vagus nerve contains 75% of the parasympathetic nervous system’s fibers.” (1) “Vagal tone is correlated with the capacity to regulate stress” (2) It is the nerve of “rest and digest”“Compression or traction of the fascial sleeve of the vagus nerve, can result in an alteration in vagal “tone“or autonomic dysfunction.” (3) The vagus nerve…
Ankyloglossia, commonly known as Tongue-Tie, can put strain on the whole body. When you are told that your little one has a tongue or tongue and lip tie most providers strongly recommend that you arrange for CranioSacral therapy before the release. Some recommend trying CranioSacral therapy as a first step to see what improvement can…
All of life’s events affect us on many levels… We know about bones and muscles getting bruised or injured. Athletes are trained that muscles have memory and therefore they need to change their routines and work muscles differently if they want to become stronger or more flexible. Your tissues and cells have a memory too….
There is an excellent article by Adriano Cattaneo in Breastfeeding Review on infant and child feeding1 – where, how, by whom and why. Mr. Cattaneo is attached to the unit for health services research and international health of the Institute for Maternal and Child Health. Mr. Cattaneo makes some very important points: “We are mammals…
Have you had a car accident and found that you are just not “quite right”… you saw a regular physician, maybe a physical therapist if necessary, maybe a chiropractor and still feeling as if you are not as you were before? You may well not be; tissues and cells have memory – just as your…
Confusion about what is normal can lead to unrealistic expectations. All parents tend to struggle with questions of how much should their baby be sleeping. Some recent research shows the following: An international baby’s sleep study showed that there are biological and cultural factors that influence young children’s sleep. “Night- time sleep is a key…
One of the concerns that breastfeeding families have is will my baby take a bottle? Or more worrisome, what happens if they won’t take a bottle. This is especially true when the breastfeeding parent is returning to work. When parents find that their little one will not take a bottle they often berate themselves for…
The question arises from the contradiction between what parents hear from the hospital staff and what the lactation consultant may say- Who are the parents to believe? A preliminary Google search shows 565,000 hits in .09 seconds! Many of these sites are authored by medical personnel. Starting at the beginning – what is burping? Wikipedia…
Newborns have very sharp fingernails, which seems odd considering they have spent 9 + months in fluid! Mothers worry that their babies will scratch their faces and get scars. The solution would appear to be to cover their hands with very cute mittens. Unfortunately, your little ones need to have their hands free in order…
The three (3) most commonly used medications for pupil dilation are: Phenylephrine HCL – 2.5% solution Phenylephrine is the agent used most commonly in decongestants. When used ophthalmically ”the maternal dose of the medication would be very low and it is not likely to pose a problem for a breastfeeding infant. Due to phenylephrine poor…
The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a statement in 2005 recommending offering a pacifier at every sleep time to reduce the incidence of SIDS. For breastfed babies they recommend delaying introduction until one month. They further recommend removing the pacifier at 6 months. Rosie Dodds a senior policy officer for NCT wrote an…
