Unwinding Full-Body Birth Torsions

We all know the palpatory experience of axial compression down the spine when an adult has had a vertical blow to the head or a hard fall directly on the sacrum, or when an adult body has suffered a torsion injury in a "spinning" or "flipping" type of MVA (motor vehicle accident). Our hands pick up on the soft tissue memory of strains and injury to the body. Not unlike the adults we see in our offices, we can feel these forces in a newborn body too!

Whenever you gently rest and connect to a newborn's body, there is almost always the feeling of a twist, or torsion, - WITH COMPRESSION - in their body. You often see it immediately if you take the time to LOOK, before you connect your hands physically on them.

These fascial torsions happen because of:

• the torsion/compression nature of what the uterus does during contractions, like twisting the water out of a damp towel
• the turning of the head and shoulders as they reach the pelvic inlet, then the pelvic outlet (You might want to take the Birth and It's Mechanisms of Injury Course here on BFB-U to learn more)
• external manipulation on the mother's abdomen by their OB/GYN to change the fetal-lie from breech or transverse, to the head-down position, called an "external cephalic version". A video of this procedure can be seen here. This maneuver is not in our scope of practice, but it is good to see the force applied.
• the "flip" a fetus can spontaneously make during the labour process, which feels to the mother-to-be exactly that, a FLIP in their abdomen. This is what happened to the baby in this video. There was a sudden flip at one point during the Mum's labour, and you can see the speed of the flip expressed as I unwind the little fella. Slower torsions release slower. Therefore, be ready with a good setup of your own body mechanics because your arms and back can tire out if you aren't.

These soft tissue torsions are a nice way to start treatment for the newborn. These releases are a good way to explore the baby's general tone (physical, emotional, energetic) without getting too heavily into specific assessment and treatment, too soon.

There are a few ways to support a baby to clear the fascial "twist" that is trapped in their body from a delivery. Here are 3 ideas. If you discover a better one that works well for you, then that's great!

• One hand gently cups the base of skull/occiput with the other holding the sacrum. Feel through both hands and follow what each one wants to do, meaning, let the baby start to move where he/she wants to go. Your hands will often be led in opposite directions, like unwrapping a candy wrapper. It takes some practice but be ready to allow for the newborn's unwinding movements while supporting them. It might be helpful to stand with bended knees (for your own support and protection), hovering the baby close to the soft blanket/tabletop (for safety). So, bring your table up high if you can, so you aren't bent over. I find if I stay sitting down, I don't have enough movement through my body to accommodate the unwinding of the baby.
• You can do the same thing but with the baby in prone. Some babies calm down a lot in prone, as it changes their view and switches the nervous system into parasympathetic realms (but not all babies love this hold). I cup the sternum/jaw evenly in one hand while the lower abdomen/pelvis is in the other. Again, I try not to sit down as this limits the practitioner-baby flow of movements. If something is uncomfortable to you or the baby when using this hold, it's okay to switch out of it and try the following ...

• The hold shown in this video is the easiest hold, as you only have to use one hand. But you have to scan your eyes up and down the body a lot to respond to what the head/fixed point will allow.

  Leave the baby's occiput on the table and use it as a pivot while gently suspending the sacrum up off the table surface. All you have to do is follow how the pelvis wants to unwind, up and through the body, all the way to the head. The baby will make all necessary movements on his or her own while you support the unwinding from below. Scan up and down and down and up, be ready to respond, like trying to balance an egg in a spoon while you walk on an uneven surface. 

   

  The audio explains how you might see a baby express emotions associated with their traumatic birth experience as their body unwinds the strain. They can cry or whine when they "enter" that energetic and emotionally difficult period of strain that is locked in their body. As part of the healing, you can feel confident to explain to the parent/s that the baby is resolving more than just a physical problem. Osteopathy is Mind+Body+Spirit, after all!

I hope you enjoyed the video!

Joanne :)

P.S. I knew this baby was going to unwind quickly, because of the mother's description of how he flipped suddenly, in-utero, hence I remained seated. I normally stand for all other types of torsional releases.