The Story of Birthing

For centuries, in many parts of the world, highly trained birth attendants have seen it as part of their job to correct the stresses that birth has placed in the body of the newborn. This constitutes an acknowledgment that birth is a difficult process and that measures can be taken after birth to assist the baby in its recovery.

In industrialized nations of Northern Europe and North America, birth has been seen as an event that either leaves no negative impact upon the baby or one whose complications, whatever they may be, must be accepted and endured by both child and family.

Since the late 1800s, when osteopathy became a medical discipline in the United States, osteopathic physicians have assisted babies in their recovery from the birth experience, thereby helping to promote the best possible health and development of the child.

Osteopathy is a medical discipline focusing on re-establishing and maintaining the natural relationships of bones, muscles, membranes, tissues and fluids within the body. Osteopathic manipulative treatment promotes the body's ability to function, develop and heal itself by addressing problems found in these structural components.

Many older children experiencing learning or behavioral difficulties have a history of a traumatic birth or early childhood head blows which went uncorrected. Children who suffer from recurrent ear or sinus infections frequently have a similar medical history. Although it is most useful to address the structural problems originating in the birth process shortly after birth, much improvement in the child's condition can be seen if treatment is initiated later.