Does your baby have trouble sucking and swallowing while breastfeeding or bottle feeding? As an osteopath in Amsterdam West, I help babies who experience problems feeding in a gentle and safe manner. Sucking and swallowing are essential functions for a newborn baby – not only to get sufficient nutrition, but also for healthy development of oral motor skills, muscle tone and even the skull as a whole.
When sucking or swallowing is not going well, it can lead to a lot of frustration. Your baby may often let go of the breast or bottle, swallow a lot of air, drink restlessly or tire easily. There may also be choking, clacking sounds or an irregular drinking rhythm. All of these can make feeding a stressful experience, for both your baby and yourself. Osteopathy can help in a natural and gentle way.
How osteopathy can help with problems with sucking and swallowing
During childbirth,a considerable pressure is being exerted on your baby’s head, neck and mouth. This can cause tension in the skull bones, the base of the tongue as well as the jaw or neck muscles. These tensions can disrupt the coordination between sucking and swallowing, which is immediately noticeable during feeding. Sometimes you come across this sort of situation after a vacuum delivery, cesarean section, prolonged labor or just a very fast birth. But even after a very “normal” birth there can be “residual tension” in your baby’s body.
As an osteopath, I carefully examine how your baby moves, with in this case special attention to the head, mouth region and neck. If there are tensions in the mouth area, the base of the tongue or the base of the skull, I use very gentle techniques to loosen them. The treatment supports your baby’s natural ability to suck and swallow more efficiently.
The importance of being able to suck and swallow properly
Whether you breastfeed or bottle-feed, a well-coordinated sucking and swallowing function is crucial. When it is not functioning properly, your baby may not take in enough food, swallow a lot of air, or choke frequently. This can lead to colic, decreased weight gain, or restless behavior during or after feeding.
With breastfeeding, there can also be problems with sucking, or just pain for you as a mother. With bottle feeding, you sometimes see that babies have great difficulty creating a vacuum or often lose the teat. All of these signs may be related to limitations in the functioning of the muscles and joints involved in sucking and swallowing.
Osteopathy after frenectomy
In some babies, difficulty sucking is caused by a tongue ‘frenulum’ that is too short. When this is surgically released, sometimes you don’t notice immediate improvement. That’s because tension in the surrounding structures – such as the floor of the mouth muscles or the hyoid bone – often persists. Osteopathy can provide relief in this situation. Sometimes the lactation consultant or dentist/surgeon assessing the tongue tie finds that the situation does not call for intervention, but a “conservative policy” is maintained, that is, without releasing the frenulum. It’s especially in these situations where the osteopath can play an important role.
I recently attended a specialisation course on breastfeeding problems, with a particular focus on the management of babies before and after the tongue tie has been released. Thanks to this training, I am well equipped to safely examine and treat tension in the mouth area and optimally support sucking and swallowing function.
What can you expect from the treatment?
A consultation begins with a comprehensive intake in which we talk about what kind of behavior your baby shows during feeding. This is followed by a physical examination in which I look at the mobility of the skull, neck and mouth structures, among other things. If treatment is necessary, I immediately apply gentle techniques. You will usually find that after a few sessions the baby drinks more calmly, with a better latch and reduced reflux.
Osteopath in the west of Amsterdam for babies with sucking and swallowing problems
My practice is located in ‘Amsterdam West’, easily accessible by car, bike and public transportation. Are you worried about your baby sucking or swallowing? Then I am happy to see if I could be of assistance. In many cases osteopathy can offer relief – safely, gently and tailored to your child’s needs.
Want to learn more or make an appointment? Feel free to contact me.
Or make an appointment now in the online calendar.
