No movement of the baby is without purpose. Also, babies have a great capacity to communicate with us through their own movement. Over the years, I have refined techniques to tap into baby wisdom that are simple, fun and easy to do, especially during everyday tasks like feeding and diapering. For example, when our babies kick, we can put our hands on their feet and follow their kick with a minimum
of engaged pressure. Because babies are all one piece, their tight neck muscles begin to unwind when "cued" from their feet. Using our responsive hands, baby can explore many other options for unwinding. As the tight neck muscles unwind, digestion improves and the torsions generated from birth are released. In this way, the natural capacity for baby to come into balance gains full expression. By exploring different movements and different ranges of movement, babies learn new patterns and can adopt these patterns, moving with greater balance and freedom throughout their lives. Unbirthing is the natural process of releasing twists and torsions generated during the process of birth. Unbirthing can be experienced at any age, but is particularly effective in newborns. During the birth process, there are many positions in which the baby presents for delivery. How a baby presents for birth and how the birthing process proceeds sets a template that is recreated throughout the baby's entire life. When babies' heads push against the pelvic floor during birth, this creates twists and torsions in the dura mater, the wrapping around the brain. While completely natural, such stresses cause challenges for the developing brain. With the release of these torsions, the dura mater facilitates full nutrition, full oxygenation, and complete cleansing of the brain. The cranial sacral approach uses engaged unbirthing to support babies in fully unwinding and reaching optimum freedom. The Fourth Trimester
I am committed to sharing perspectives that transform everyday movements with your baby into opportunities to enhance your baby's development at the very moment when she or he can most effectively receive your support. Because the human species has such a large brain at birth, babies are born before all development is complete. The additional developmental time babies need after birth is called the "Fourth Trimester." The fourth Trimester is a very crucial time for Baby, a time when the digestive, immune, neurological and other systems complete essential development. Nursing plays a pivotal role in the Fourth Trimester. Sucking is a neuromuscular reflex that has several different functions besides simply getting milk from the breast. One of these functions is to stimulate the pituitary gland. The mechanics of sucking "pumps" the pituitary hormones out of the brain and into the body. Pituitary hormones direct Baby's development throughout the crucial stages of fourth trimester and continue in supporting health for life. Supporting Baby's head in the crook of the elbow while nursing actually stimulates the vagus nerve, which turns controls digestion and calms the heart. Supporting the back of Baby's head whether in nursing, rocking, or in play, relaxes the neck muscles and allows hormones to be released from the head.