A five-year-old presented with mouth breathing, airway issues, and sleep apnea. He also had impulsivity, bedwetting, anxiety, and a lisp.
His birth was quite traumatic. After being stuck in the birth canal, he presented blue with a cone head during the C-section. He had reflux as an infant. As a possible genetic factor, his father and grandfather also have sleep apnea.
He had a zero-second brain cycle and a pelvic fascial twist that extended up his trunk, through his neck, and into his head. He had a high narrow palatal vault. Oral ties were not a factor.
I expect he will need a team of providers for the best results. At the very least, he will need myofunctional therapy and orthodontics focusing on airway function.
When I moved to Philadelphia in 1983, I tried to refer my patients for myofunctional therapy. No one even knew what it was, let alone finding a qualified provider. Fortunately, progress has been made in this field.
My most immediate concern for this boy was to help release his craniosacral fascial system. As his brain cycle opened nicely, he told us that he felt “a big brain squeeze.” He had to revisit his stuck birth trauma for authentic healing.
No birth provider thought that being stuck, being blue, and having a cone head would have anything to do with pathologies later in life. It is like, as soon as anyone is born, none of the traumas over those first forty weeks count in life. When anyone seeks medical care, how many providers ask about birth trauma?
If we are to progress in healthcare, that thinking must change. Since the fascial web remembers everything from conception, what happens during those forty weeks has everything to do with future health and well-being.
Gillespie Approach Training for infants and newborns is a must for all neonatal providers.
