A young mother presented with poor sleep and fatigue, tracing all the way back to childhood. She constantly felt tense, even during “relaxation” time. She has tried everything to make that feeling go away.
She has had a repaired umbilical hernia, sinus and ear surgery, and a cesarean section. She also had a traumatic birth with a forceps delivery, a cord wrap, and occiput posterior position (sunny-side up). Wow.
A forceps delivery and cord wrap are huge red flags indicating therapy. The fetus is feeling the pressure of being stuck. Then the added cranial compressive pressure of the forceps plus the twisting extraction of the cord-wrapped neck can completely restrict the craniosacral fascial system. I hypothesize that she was tense before she even presented into the world.
On examination, she had a zero-second brain cycle, pelvic strain, and a neck fascial arch and twist. During therapy, her body wanted to bypass the other traumas and immediately revisited the delivery injury.
Her head and neck went into a distinct neck arch with a twist extending down into her pelvis. As I was listening to her body, her web was reliving her birth trauma on her first visit.
At the end of the session, her brain cycle opened to 40 seconds with a less-restrictive web. She felt fine when she left the office. I received this email the following morning:
"Thank you so much for seeing and treating me yesterday. I know it’s just the beginning, but I had a very good night's rest. I went to sleep at 9:30 pm and woke up around 5:15 am. I fell in and out of a very restorative sleep with vivid dreams for another hour, which I haven’t had happen in a few years!”
I believe the work at birth would have prevented years of suffering. Gillespie Approach Infant Training is a must for all neonatal providers.
