Wisdom in the Body

by Michael Kern

  Figure 10.3: Anterior presentation—the baby’s face moves past the mother’s sacrum (illustration credit 10.3)

  Length of labor

  A long labor that is very long (over fifteen hours) subjects the baby to sustained forces of compression, which often increase in pressure if the baby gets stuck during the process. This can overwhelm the baby and raises the chances of traumatization. The force of the mother’s contractions together with the resistance provided by her pelvis can create localized areas of compression and distortion in the pliable tissues of the baby—in particular the bones of the head. These patterns can frequently be seen in the adult who comes for craniosacral treatment.

  In a very quick labor (under six hours), the forces of the mother’s pelvic contractions are often very strong and fast. As a result, the baby’s head may not have time to mold gently and slowly, which can lead to an experience of shock held in the tissues. Furthermore, it is possible that the baby will feel considerable fear. This may cause irritability, difficulty in settling and a range of other symptoms.

  Umbilical difficulties

  In some cases the umbilical cord becomes twisted around the baby’s body during delivery, which may delay its progress through the birth canal. If the cord becomes compressed or if the placenta separates early, it can cut off the baby’s oxygen supply. Even a brief interruption of the supply of oxygen may leave the baby in a state of distress or shock. This is one of the main reasons why a baby’s heartbeat is monitored at each stage of labor. A steady oxygen supply is required for the survival of the brain, and any stoppage of more than a few minutes can lead to damage and the onset of cerebral palsy. This is also usually marked by a severe loss of motility in the baby’s cranial bones and central nervous system.

  The umbilical cord can sometimes get caught around the baby’s neck, making it hard for the baby to emerge fully. Neck problems and sensitivity in the area of the throat are often the result.

  When I was treating the region around the umbilicus of a twenty-nine-year-old man, he started to feel that he was being strangled. When he explored this sensation a little further, he felt the urge to struggle, but then found that the more he struggled the worse his feeling of being strangled became. Although there is no evidence to connect these events, his experience fits with the way his umbilical cord became caught around his neck when he was born.

  Umbilical shock

  In general birthing practice, the umbilical cord is cut directly after the baby is born. However, it should ideally remain intact until it has stopped pulsating, which is often five minutes or more after birth. Only when it stops pulsating is it no longer in use. The baby can then, without shock or danger, settle down to breathing on its own.42 If the cord is cut too soon it may cause trauma, which is often retained in the tissues around the newborn’s umbilicus. This is one of the main causes of problems with secondary ignition; the second major stage of the ignition process at which the potency of the Breath of Life fires up the baby’s system as it takes its first breaths in the outside world. The expression of this spark of life can become dampened or sluggish because of umbilical shock.

  My own experience of umbilical shock is an illustration. During a craniosacral treatment my therapist started to sense a place of inertia in the region of my belly button. When she made contact with this area, I experienced a strong sensation, as if I had been hit in the abdomen—a feeling that made me want to groan. This sensation stayed with me while my therapist followed the pattern in my tissues to a state of balance. After a number of pulsations and twitches in my abdomen, everything seemed to settle and I started to feel quite drowsy. At this point my therapist cradled my head while I rested and fell asleep. I found this to be extraordinarily comforting, as this is just what didn’t happen when I was born. I awoke feeling deeply healed, more energized and very calm.

  Caesarean section

  A surgical birth is called a caesarean section, after Julius Caesar who was born in this way. A caesarean section is often recommended by doctors if there is some difficulty with having a vaginal birth. While a baby born by caesarean section doesn’t have to undergo all the compressive forces of conventional childbirth, this procedure nevertheless does carry problems of its own. The results depend on whether it is an elected or an emergency caesarean section. An elected caesarean is one that is carried out before the mother goes into labor. It may be performed if the mother has an illness which makes a vaginal birth difficult, or if her pelvis is too small or narrow to accommodate the passage of her baby. An emergency caesarean is carried out if a difficulty arises that puts either mother or baby in danger once labor has started.

  A baby who is born by an elected caesarean is deprived of the positive benefits provided by the process of molding as it passes through the birth canal. These babies are often less responsive as a result. They can be clingy and seem to frequently need constant engagement or something to push against in later life. A caesarean section also produces a sudden change in pressure from the environment of the womb to the outside world. This may result in the baby experiencing shock and create a contractile response in its tissues. Consequently, the heads of caesarean babies often feel relatively hard and immobile.

  With an emergency caesarean, the baby can be traumatized from the effects of the complication that created the need for intervention. This is in addition to the effects of the pressure change described above. Furthermore, it may not be easy to disengage the baby if it is already deeply wedged in the mother’s pelvis, and the doctor often has to pull hard to get it out. Nevertheless, the judicious intervention of a caesarean section can often save lives.

  Age of the baby at birth

  A baby born at the full-term of pregnancy generally has a better chance of an easier birth. At this point its skull has developed to an optimal point of flexibility for a smooth birth and is also strong enough to provide protection to the brain. However, the skull of a baby who is over forty weeks may be further developed and therefore harder. Consequently, it may be less accommodating for the forces of childbirth.

  With the advancement of medical science, babies can now survive from a very early stage of prematurity. In recent years it is not unusual for babies as young as twenty-seven weeks to pull through, even though they may require considerable medical intervention. Babies younger than thirty-two weeks need a ventilator to supply them with oxygen, and food has to be provided intravenously. Even the lungs of babies who are only a few weeks premature may be placed under strain in the outside world because they have not fully developed. This is sometimes palpated as a loss of primary respiration in the chest. The bones of premature babies are still very soft and therefore give less protection during childbirth. Furthermore, the effects of gravity after birth can cause their skulls to flatten when they sleep, a phenomenon often seen in the skulls of premature babies.

  It should be remembered that many complications that can result from a difficult birth are naturally resolved, especially when a baby is supported by loving and affectionate care-givers. The remaining effects of any complications are frequently amenable to craniosacral treatment.

  Interventions used

  A natural childbirth, in the familiar surroundings of home and without any intervention, is definitely the ideal. Babies who have this kind of birth tend to be more alert, more coordinated and happier. Nevertheless, if there are complications during childbirth, a quick response using medical intervention can be a vital life-saver. However, in modern hospitals interventions are frequently used defensively, in the fear that something may happen, even if it hasn’t actually happened. This mentality seems to stem from a deep-seated mistrust of our natural instincts and capabilities, and from a lack of recognition that childbirth is fundamentally a natural process. Unfortunately, it is often the case that when one type of intervention is used, it leads to the use of another, as mother and baby start to get pulled away from following their natural instincts. It seems that the doctor’s concern about litigation if something d
oes go wrong is increasingly the motivation for the use of such invasive treatment.

  Drugs administered to the mother, either during pregnancy or childbirth, may also enter the baby’s bloodstream and have a deep effect. Furthermore, they may stay within the baby’s system for many years after birth. Pethidine (Demorol in the US) is one such painkilling drug frequently prescribed during labor. Babies born with this drug tend to be sleepy and irritable, and their tissues often feel sluggish on palpation.

  Epidurals are relatively less harmful to the baby, but the mother’s pelvis is numbed as a result, so she may then need the help of further interventions, such as forceps, to help the baby come out. Epidurals can also create longer-term back pain in the mother.

  The use of gas and air for pain relief seems to create less severe reactions, but still often leads to a fragmentation of function in the baby and a tendency to dissociate.

  There is much evidence to suggest that the onset of labor is actually initiated by the baby who, when it is ready, triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin in the mother.43 One of the main functions of oxytocin is to cause contractions of the uterus, which pushes the baby through the birth canal. However, sometimes drugs are prescribed to produce contractions artificially if the baby is overdue. As a result, these babies are literally pushed out at a pace that can be too fast for them.

  Interestingly, pain during labor has been shown to increase the mother’s release of endorphins (natural pain killers) and oxytocin. Oxytocin is also called the “hormone of love,” because it helps to engender the feelings of love and bonding between mother and baby; this can be seen as the “gain that comes from the pain!” There is also usually a natural rush of adrenaline towards the end of labor, when the cervix has fully dilated. This provides the mother with a much-needed burst of energy to help get her baby out.

  If a baby gets stuck during the later stages of labor, forceps or a ventouse suction appliance may be used to help bring it out. Forceps are generally applied to the sides of the baby’s head, sometimes with a lot of pressure, which can pull on the tissues and cause bruising. However, if used skillfully, forceps can save distress and do not necessarily cause a problem.

  A ventouse appliance employs a cup that is attached on top of the baby’s head and used to suck it out of the pelvis, often with a lot of pressure. This frequently creates significant stress and a distortion of the baby’s head.

  Replaying complications

  Keith was a twenty-five-year-old man who came for craniosacral sessions, suffering from depression and recurrent back pain. He often struggled to achieve things in his life, but then would give up, feeling that he couldn’t succeed. This may have been a replay of his birth trauma. His mother was given drugs to induce the onset of labor when Keith was about a week overdue. As a result he was pushed out, drugged with painkillers and finally pulled with forceps, so that he was born hardly under his own steam. Later in life Keith would repeatedly set himself tasks but be overcome by feelings of weakness and a lack of confidence, so that he was unable to complete them. Sadly, Keith discontinued treatment before he was able to find the resources to move through this pattern.

  Parents’ health

  The health of both parents at the time of conception is considered to have an important influence on the developing baby’s constitutional strength. The health of the mother is of particular importance during pregnancy and childbirth. Most acute illnesses are generally not a problem for the baby, but if the mother suffers from a serious condition or infection, it may affect the baby’s progress.44 For example, the consequences of contracting German measles (rubella) during pregnancy are well-known and may cause deafness in the baby. Morning sickness is a frequent symptom during the earlier stages of pregnancy, but this will normally not have any adverse influence on the baby. However, persistent vomiting that continues throughout pregnancy may affect the baby’s available supply of nutrition and result in a slowing of its growth.

  Order of birth

  Once the birth canal has been stretched by a first child, it will usually be easier for it to stretch again with any subsequent birth. Therefore, later children will often benefit from the pathway pioneered by their older brothers or sisters. Complications more frequently affect a first child because the mother’s pelvis is less flexible, and perhaps also because she may be more anxious the first time. However, if there is any scar tissue from a previous birth it may provide resistance to the passage of a later baby.

  Bonding

  The process of bonding between a baby and its parents starts right at the beginning of pregnancy. How can one describe the deep joy that can result for parents and babies from a naturally flowing bonding process? The feelings of welcoming, acceptance and nurturing that a baby experiences also greatly enhance the activity of its self-healing capabilities. Once a baby is born, many of the less severe results of the birth process are naturally resolved just by the love and support that it receives. However, if this bonding doesn’t take place, the baby may be less able to thrive.

  There is growing evidence that good bonding from the first few days of life is crucial to a baby’s healthy development.45 A newborn is dependent on its care-givers to provide for all its needs. According to body-psychotherapist Babette Rothschild, babies who receive good physical and emotional support tend to grow into children and adults with a wide range of resources, and who are able to deal with life’s ebbs and flows.46 Babies who are raised by care-givers who are unable to meet significant portions of their needs are more at risk of growing into adults who have less resilience and more trouble in adapting to life’s demands.47 They also appear to have more difficulty dealing with stress and are more prone to psychological disorders.48

  Breastfeeding is often an important part of bonding between mother and baby and is one of the key ways that a baby will feel nurtured and comforted. Interestingly, studies have shown that if babies are left undisturbed on their mother’s abdomen directly after birth, they will naturally try to make their own way to the nipple and latch on for their first feed.49,50 They innately know what to do. Trusting these natural instincts permits the baby to discover that it’s possible to go for what it needs, and to get its needs met. However, it has been demonstrated that even a brief separation of the newborn from its mother after birth has a strong effect on the success of the first feed. The use of drugs and other medical interventions have also been shown to inhibit the baby’s ability to suckle.51

  WORKING WITH BABIES AND CHILDREN

  It is the more obscure, the so-called minimal injuries of no apparent clinical significance that too often go undetected and that are so often responsible for problems of development and growth during periods of infancy, childhood and adolescence.52

  DR. A.G. CATHIE

  During a baby’s or child’s craniosacral consultation, details of their pregnancy and birth will be of particular interest to the practitioner and may give valuable clues about the origin of any symptoms. The range of possible symptoms that babies and children may present with is quite extensive, but some of the most common difficulties are outlined below. As many of the problems that result from early trauma are treatable, if only every baby were checked by a craniosacral therapist, many difficulties could be sorted out before they take root.

  Traumatization

  Initially, the craniosacral therapist checks for any sign of traumatization. This may show up as a difficulty in maintaining eye contact, or signs of withdrawal, dissociation, stress, excessive crying or irritability. In extreme cases the baby may have entered a hypotonic state. This is marked by flaccidity of the tissues and lack of potency in the rhythms of primary respiration. It occurs in circumstances where the baby’s physiology has suffered a large degree of overwhelm and traumatization. As a result, the baby may have literally given up. This state often underlies tendencies towards emotional depression, a lack of confidence and resignation in later life. In many of these cases, any kind of contact is experienced as painful because it rem
inds the baby of the distress still residing deep within its system. This kind of situation can also be at the root of autism.

  Building potency resources is the first step in the treatment of these babies.

  Effects on the nervous system

  At birth, although the human brain is fully formed, it is only about one-quarter of its adult weight.53 Thus, the majority of brain growth occurs once we are out of the womb. As Babette Rothschild observes, the brain of a newborn is much like a new computer; it is equipped with a basic operating system that incorporates all that will be needed for future development and programming, memory-file storage and expansion, but as yet it is unable to do much beyond the basic system requirements.54 Furthermore, the brain is largely malleable, programmable and re-programmable in its organization, as well as being highly responsive to external influences.55 Therefore, the nature of an infant’s early experience and interaction with its environment has a powerful influence on brain function.

  The bones and reciprocal tension membranes of the head help to determine the shape of the brain as it grows. If inertial patterns are retained in these tissues it can affect the way the brain grows and functions. As a result of any inertia or pressure in the surrounding bones or membranes, the primary respiration of the nervous system can be disturbed, influencing the function of the brain and cranial nerves. Functioning of the nervous system may also be affected if it remains in a state of shock after a long or difficult birth.