The newborn skull is designed to provide maximum accommodation to the forces of labor and minimum trauma to the developing brain. However, injury to the head during birth is more common than many people realize.

In a study of 1,250 newborns I conducted a few years ago, it could be demonstrated that severe visible trauma was inflicted on the head--either before or during labor--in 10 percent of the infants. Membranous articular strains, which could be detected by the physician proficient in the diagnostic techniques of osteopathy in the cranial field, were present in another 78 percent. Thus, nearly nine of every 10 infants in the study had been affected. (1)

How important are these membranous articular strains to the physician? I have found that common problems of the neonatal period--such as difficulty in sucking, vomiting, nervous tension, and irregular respiration--are frequently overcome just as soon as these strains are corrected. Similar strains are encountered in school children who have learning and behavior problems.

In a study of 100 children between the ages of five and 14 who were having learning or behavioral difficulties, it was found that 79 had been born after a long or difficult labor and had one or more of the common symptoms of the neonatal period. Also, it is my impression that many cases of childhood allergy can be traced to musculoskeletal strains originating at the time of birth. (2) And vertebral scoliosis occurring in childhood and adolescence is, in many instances, the consequence of cranial scoliosis originating during birth. (3 ) Thus, recognition and treatment of dysfunction of the craniosacral mechanism in the immediate postnatal period represent one of the most, if not the most, important phases of preventive medicine in the practice of osteopathic medicine.

To gain a clearer understanding of the origin and nature of these membranous articular strains, it will be helpful to review the anatomic features of the newborn skull and to note how they are affected by the forces of labor.