We wanted to share an update on the infant we have been seeing who was having breastfeeding issues. The mother was driving 90 minutes to our office with herniated discs in her thoracic spine and sitting on an ice pack to endure the drive. I want to acknowledge her role in her baby’s healing. She was committed, patient, and extremely active with all CFT sessions with us. The infant came to us with what was assumed to be a latch problem. She was biting down and nursing too hard, making mom sore and unable to continue breastfeeding. Pumping many times a day was common for her. Mom needed to do so to give herself time to heal.
As was discovered and shared on the original post, the problem was not her latch, but in fact was a swallowing problem. The mother shared with us very specifically what she was observing during nursing. Her baby would choke during the letdown and then bite to try to keep up and control how much she could swallow. Sure enough, all of the fascial strain was found in the throat muscles, mandible, and tongue, not in the TMJs.
All of the throat strain was connected to the pelvic girdle. In order to improve the situation, the pelvic girdle and throat needed to be worked on simultaneously. Mike and I were able to provide that occasionally; there were times the mother actively assisted. By her holding her baby’s pelvis while I worked the throat, we were able to release the connecting strain pattern together. After five sessions of working throat to pelvis strain, the infant’s nursing / choking slowly improved. The Infant would always be worse the day after the appointment, as was reported by the mother, and then predictably improve.
At the fifth session, there was no longer any throat or oral strain; however, the mother was reporting that there was still some choking and biting issues. I checked the pelvis and found there to be significant strain within the psoas area. After that let go, her body was completely quiet. I just received a report from the mother that her baby is breast-feeding very well. She went from pumping daily to once in 10 days. It confirmed, as we had repeatedly found in our infant research, that the pelvic strain is frequently attached to throat, oral, and TMJ strain and must be released and cleared before a full healing can occur. The pelvic girdle in this case was the last piece of the puzzle.
We conversed with mom frequently throughout this process. She was in complete understanding and very positive the entire time, despite the ups and downs. We told her what to expect with the fascial releases. She was very open to our information and hung through the sessions exceptionally. We applaud this mother and baby for being active and patient participants in this healing process.
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