Failure to thrive can be off-the-charts stressful, especially for first-time parents.
A nine-week-old baby had a birth weight of 6.7 pounds. After nine weeks of screaming and limited intake of food, she weighed 9.2 pounds.
Alarms were raised since she had not gained any weight over the past 23 days. Even with the best medical oversight, this scenario can be daunting for families.
Colic created constant screaming during the day. Breastfeeding was poor such that mom needed a nipple shield. Later in the evening, the newborn got so exhausted that she fell asleep for the entire night.
Mom also said she had some projectile vomiting. Clinically, she had a zero-second brain cycle and fascial strain in her digestive area, diaphragm, and neck.
There may only be a few things worse in life than entering the world in severe pain. You can spend your energy screaming all day. When you eat, your tight digestive organs can struggle to function well. Napping can be nonexistent. Your life can seem like an endless loop of misery.
Your body is completely in fight-or-flight sympathetic mode. The goal of the Gillespie Approach is to create a calm and relaxing parasympathetic mode.
Some mothers may say that the first hour of life is sacrosanct for bonding. But if I am this newborn, I yearn for immediate therapy and relief before that one hour of bonding.
During the first visit, I listened to her pelvis, abdominal area, diaphragm, and neck. Her brain cycle opened to a nice 50 seconds.
When I called mom the next day, she related that the screaming had improved but that the infant was still not eating well. She was later hospitalized, put on fortified milk, and observed there for fours days.
When she started to gain weight, she was sent home. During her stay, doctors diagnosed her with stridor, laryngomalacia, and reflux without offering any corrective treatment.
These babies with these conditions can be effectively treated with the Gillespie Approach. If a therapist had worked with this baby in the hospital, they probably would have resolved. I expect that more therapy at my office will result in a happy baby.
To have a newborn go through this intense suffering and the parents go through this agony is so needless. If the work had been done at birth, I believe that this family would have had a completely different experience—never knowing what the future would have been.
For decades, I have talked and written about the critical importance of the work at birth. I am waiting for the world to hear me.
Let’s stop the suffering at birth. Gillespie Approach Training is so needed for all birth professionals.
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Gillespie Approach Infant Training is designed for students to work with infants.
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- November 15–17 | Newtown Square, PA
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