When I had my third baby, I was asked if I would like to try baby osteopathy with Frank Kelleher at Cork Children's Clinic. I had never heard of baby osteopathy before this, but looking up the benefits and the positive experiences people had had with their newborns, I was happy to let my baby experience osteopathy. Osteopathy is is a gentle and holistic approach to supporting the physical and emotional well-being of infants. It focuses on identifying and alleviating tensions or imbalances in the baby’s body, especially in areas affected by the birthing process.
Cork Children's Clinic is one of the most welcoming places you could ever visit. I have been multiple times since that initial visit with my son and have a great experience each time. All the staff are lovely and are so knowledgeable about all they offer.
Frank Kelleher is one of the best known paediatric osteopaths in Ireland and in my opinion, is like the 'baby whisperer' with such a gentle manner and a great nature with babies. He is a master of his art and both himself and his wife Rose have such a great understanding of babies and children and are a wealth of information for parents.
Frank specialises in cranial osteopathy, something which is very suitable for treating babies and children. If you think about it, the journey which babies have into the world can have some consequences for them and may leave them with underlying issues which may cause them some discomfort, which can then manifest itself in other ways.
For example, my baby was turned before delivery after getting stuck on the right hand side and as a newborn he tended to rest himself towards the right each time, never to the left. He was out of alignment. This was so slight, but for a little baby, it may have brought discomfort to him in some way. It hadn't even occurred to me that his birthing process may have affected him, but after our visit with Frank, my baby was a lot more relaxed and not as fussy.
Frank is incredibly gentle. We visited him twice with our baby and twice with our older son and his manner was wonderful each time. He is incredibly knowledge about babies and discussed so much with us, offering helpful advice for our son and using gentle techniques and stretches to release birth tension.
With osteopathy, the movements are so slight that, at times, it doesn't even look like anything is being done, but the impact is amazing. After the osteopathy appointment, my son slept a lot! Osteopathy can have that effect on not just babies but adults too (I know as I have had osteopathy treatment with Francesca Mariotti who is also available at Cork Children's Clinic and I was exhausted after!).
Our appointment with Frank really helped us, as parents, to understand more about how our son's birth affected him and it truly is a wonderful experience for babies.
Cork Children's Clinic treat a variety of things which may affect babies, children, pregnant and post-natal women, such as: tongue tie, delivery complications, reflux, colic, cow's milk protein allergy, sleep issues, ear infections, constipation, night terrors, pelvic girdle pain and back, neck or shoulder pain.
I highly recommend a visit to Cork Children's Clinic if you are dealing with any of the above. I also believe that osteopathy is such a wonderful treatment for a newborn baby and would recommend it to all new parents. If I'm blessed to have another baby in the future I will be making an appoint with Frank again, he's amazing. It's great to find somewhere like Cork Children's Clinic that cares so much about the services their providing.
To book an osteopathy appointment with Frank or any of the other osteopaths at Cork Children's Clinic please visit their website.
