Craniosacral Therapy for Mothers and Babies


For Mothers

Craniosacral Therapy can help with the many body changes that take place during pregnancy. Old and new discomforts may appear which can be alleviated and released during Craniosacral Therapy sessions in order for the mother’s body to be in the best condition for birth. After birth, Craniosacral Therapy can help as the mother’s body returns to its non-pregnant condition; particularly if the birth has been difficult or there have been complications or difficult interventions during the delivery. Craniosacral Therapy works with the innate intelligence of the body to help the body to do it wants to do in its process of preparation and recovery.

For Babies

Craniosacral Therapy can be used in the treatment of infants and children. Some of the more commonly presenting concerns may include:

Breast feeding difficulties; Prolonged crying and irritability; Excessive cranial moulding; Consequents of birth trauma; Recurrent ear and throat infections; Hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder.

Treatment at an early stage can support both immediate and longer term health and wellbeing.

An easy gestation and a natural birth are the best start that a baby can have in the world. Unfortunately, not every birth is straightforward for a wide variety of reasons – even before birth a baby may have had difficult experiences in the womb or have been quite compressed in the last days before birth.

Whilst the baby’s body is well designed to manage the compressive forces of a natural birth, there can be some aspects of the birth that can be harder for the baby’s body to recover from. Often the work of a Craniosacral Therapist is involved in helping the baby’s body to recover and release these compressive forces that the baby has been unable to completely resolve naturally. The existence of unresolved compressive forces can impact on normal functioning in a variety of ways – an example being when compression at the base of the head can affect the ears and the nerves that affect breathing and digestion.

If a baby cries all the time or is unhappy, then there is usually a good reason and generally parents sense this. Because the baby cannot speak, it is often difficult for parents or health professionals to determine what the cause might be.

If medical causes are ruled out then Craniosacral Therapy is a good avenue to explore. The therapist is able to feel how well the baby’s body is expressing balanced and easy cranial movements. The therapist can feel what areas of the baby’s body are affected and can work to help these compressions.

The parent will see whether the treatment is making a difference through their sense of their baby’s wellbeing and its state of ease and happiness. Babies generally need only a small number of sessions as their bodies express vitality more fully than in an adult

Infant Colic

Colic can affect up to 20% of babies and can be very upsetting to both baby and parents. Cranial work can be very helpful for this condition

The following sections refer to information available online concerning the treatment of colic

A study titled:

“A preliminary assessment of the impact of cranial osteopathy for the relief of infantile colic” (2006)

This appears in a published Journal article in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.


‘Babywellbeing’ ( is a Scottish initiative to spread awareness of the value of cranial work for babies.