Mothers and Babies benefit from Bowen Technique
Bowen Technique has been shown to help:
- Relieve Low Back Pain and Sciatica
- Prevent Breech Birth
- Reduce Possible Caesarean Birth
- Relax the Pelvis
- Morning Sickness
- Gastric Discomfort
- Varicose Veins
- Cramping and Aching Feet
- Pain in Legs or Groin
- Constipation
- Regulate Milk Supply - Under or Over Production
- Mastitis
- Any Breast Area Discomfort
- Lymphatic Congestion
- Colic in the Baby
- Misalignment of the Spine
- Restlessness
Bowen Technique is perfect for pregnant women and babies.
There is generally a wait period of between 5 - 10 days with a Bowen session, unless there is a re-injury to the client.
For women in the later stages of pregnancy, however, Tom Bowen would treat them whenever they needed it because his view was that because the baby was moving around in the womb, this was similar to a re-injury.
For women with low back problems and sciatic pain as a result of their pregnancy, four small moves around the sacrum are often all that is needed to relieve sciatica.
There are certain Bowen procedures that can greatly ease the process of childbirth by opening up the pelvic floor.
Bowen has shown to optimize foetal positioning prior to birth.
Bowen helps child birth
There have been instances of babies turning around from the breech position after the mother receives the pelvic procedure, therefore avoiding possible caesarean birth or risk of vaginal breech delivery.
Bowen has been shown to be effective in relaxing the pelvis and often causing the foetus to move away from the pelvic inlet therefore reducing the pressure on the cervix.
Senior Bowen Instructor John Wilks writes in The Bowen Technique, The Inside Story,
"Babies who have experienced a quick delivery can feel quite 'jangled'. They may be difficult to settle and may easily exhibit the Moro (primitive startle reflex). Their sympathetic nervous system (flight or fright response) will often be over activated and constantly on alert, making it difficult for them to feel comfortable and settled.
A fast delivery might not always be a good thing from the baby's point of view, even though easier for the mother.
During labour and with each contraction, the baby will assist by pushing hard with it's legs. This is an important process for the baby and encourages mobilization down through the lower part of the body. For babies that have gone through a C section delivery this mobilization never happens and could be one reason why many are often slow to crawl or to walk. Bowen work on the lower part of the body for these babies can be highly beneficial...
Does your baby hold it's head to one side or the other, or prefer to feed off one breast rather than the other? This could be an indication of a neck restriction."
Bowen has been shown to work wonders on babies. They need very little work to achieve profound change because their systems are generally so fluid and open. The usual pauses in between moves are quite often unnecessary for this very reason.
John goes on to say:
A lot has to happen very quickly right after the baby is born.
Firstly, it has to go from getting oxygen from the mother using its lungs for the first time. This involves a small valve in the heart closing over (the foramen ovale) within a few minutes. There also have to be rapid changes in the liver and the bladder at the same time.
If the umbilical cord is cut before it stops pulsating then these changes have to happen even quicker and the body is forced into an unnatural situation.
Many therapists believe that this may be a reason for conditions such as 'hole in the heart' and bladder and liver complications later in life.
One of the sad consequences of stem cell research has been that parents want to save umbilical blood as a kind of 'health insurance' for their children. Unfortunately this involves taking blood from the umbilicus immediately the baby is born necessitating a premature cutting of the cord."