How can I help my baby resolve his birth trauma?
“When a baby is touched with warmth and care,
the brain is flooded with hormones. These enable the child to form the brain
connections he or she will need to develop feelings of warmth, love and empathy
towards others.” - (Brainwave Trust Aotearoa). 
A baby can experience birth trauma. Birth trauma (BT)
refers to damage of the tissues and organs of a newly delivered child, often as
a result of physical pressure or trauma during childbirth. The
term also encompasses the long term consequences, often of a cognitive nature,
of damage to the brain or cranium.
There are many ways to support your baby post birth trauma. Here
are four simple steps that can help you bond with your baby.
1. Breastfeeding is
nature’s way of releasing compression and tightness in the cranium bones and reset
the alignment of the bones of the skull naturally. Breastfeeding can also potentially release
tightness and strains of the atlanto-occipital joint so that baby is able to
turn his head easily.
2. Next is skin-to-skin
contact. Benefits of skin-to-skin
contact for the baby are huge. When baby is in skin-to-skin contact with a
parent (either with father or mother when feeding is not needed), baby has the
potential to reset, regain and regulate their autonomic nervous system, their
temperature, breathing, and heart rate to their parent. Their cortisol (stress
hormone) levels drop. Babies held in skin-to-skin contact during painful
procedures were found to have a decreased level of pain response. There have
also been observations of improved sleep patterns, improved brain maturation
and benefits for brain development.
Having said this, you as parents also need to find ways to relax when
you are holding your baby. If you are
stress then your baby may resonate to your stress level.
3. Breathing.
Practise mindful breathing when you are holding your baby in skin to
skin contact. Become aware of the rate
of your breath, is your breathing deep or shallow, what is moving in your chest
when you are breathing, can you sense, hear and feel your heartbeat while
practising mindful breathing, are you aware you are holding your breath when
you are occupied in your thoughts.
4. Focus. Ensure you are not
multitasking when having your baby in skin to skin contact. Once your mind wanders, your presence and
attention on your baby diminishes. Make
eye contact with your baby, sing to your baby, talk to your baby. When baby hears your soothing voice and her
nervous system will calm down to a state of balance.
Give this a try and let me know how things go with you. If you need any assistance you can call Adida
to book a craniosacral therapy session for yourself and your baby.
|
