Excerpt from Natural Baby and Childcare

Considered on equal footing with medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy (D.O.) share unrestricted medical licenses and the ability to perform surgery and prescribe medications.  The difference is that osteopaths are given additional training in Osteopathic Manipulative Technique (OMT), used for preventing, diagnosing, and treating conditions and injuries.  OMT is a gentle hands-on soft tissue technique that can be used for birth trauma, colic, ear infections, muscular skeletal injuries and more. 

Many osteopaths are trained in specialties like OB/Gyn or family practice, and can be a wonderful additional to a birth team.  When our son was just days old, our osteopath treated him preventatively, as birth is considered by many specialists stressful on a newborn’s body. I often recommend osteopaths to parents-to-be. 

Developed by Andrew Taylor Still over one hundred years ago, osteopathic principles and soft tissue manipulative technique focus on  improving range of motion, correcting the structure of the musculo-skeletal system, revitalizing tissues, and increasing the movement of bodily fluids.  Today, D.O.s use a wide variety of hands-on techniques including myofascial release, Cranial-Sacral therapy, lymphatic work, and soft tissue manipulation.