Why Craniosacral Therapy Matters for Breastfeeding & Newborns

A deeper look at what’s really shaping the feeding relationship

A lot of people ask me how I came to do the work that I do today, especially how craniosacral therapy became such an essential part of the way I support families with feeding difficulties.

The truth is, this approach didn’t come from a single training or a single teacher.

It emerged gradually through working closely with mothers and babies, spending time in the quiet, intimate spaces of early postpartum, and noticing the same patterns arising again and again. Over time, I allowed those observations to guide me, shaping how I listen, how I touch, and how I understand what is happening beneath the surface of a feeding relationship.

When breastfeeding support doesn’t fully resolve the issue

Early in my path, I found myself deeply drawn to both breastfeeding support and the body-based work I was studying through Craniosacral Therapy through the Upledger Institute. I later also discovered pre and perinatal somatics which took me into a deeper understanding of the babie’s experience of time in utero and birth. 

I also sought out more specialized learning around infant feeding, including coursework with Alison Hazelbaker, whose work helped articulate the complexity of oral function, tongue tie, and the deeper patterns influencing breastfeeding.

On one side, I was taking in the foundational understanding of feeding such as how latch works, how milk transfer happens, and the many practical ways we can support mothers and babies in those early weeks. On the other, I was learning to perceive the body in a very different way, through subtle rhythms, patterns of tension and compression, and the ways early experience shapes the nervous system.

When I began supporting families, I approached supporting feeding in the way many of us are taught to in the beginning. I would observe, offer suggestions around positioning, and help families understand what might be happening functionally. While these adjustments were sometimes helpful, it became clear that in many cases they were not addressing the root of what was actually creating the difficulty. I would work closely with IBCLCs to find more and more ways to support feeding difficulties.

However, there was often a lingering sense that something deeper was shaping the experience, something that could not be resolved through single technique alone.

What I began to notice in the body

Because I was simultaneously immersed in craniosacral therapy and pre- and perinatal somatic work, my attention naturally began to widen as I worked with families.

I started to feel into the baby’s body more intentionally, noticing how they organized themselves at the breast, where there might be patterns of strain or compression, and how their nervous system responded during feeding. I started to watch how the sequence of birth could play out in the breastfeeding and bottle feeding stories. 

What I observed over time was both subtle and profound.

When patterns of tension in the baby’s body began to shift, the breastfeeding relationship often shifted alongside it. The latch became more easeful, the baby could organize more coherently, and the overall rhythm between mother and baby started to feel more regulated and connected.

These were not changes that came from doing more or trying harder, but from addressing what the body had been holding all along.

Breastfeeding lives in the body

This was a turning point in how I understood feeding.

Because breastfeeding is not simply a mechanical process, even though mechanics are certainly part of it. It is a whole-body experience that involves structure, function, and the nervous system all at once.

It lives in the baby’s tissues, in the cranial nerves that coordinate suck, swallow, and breathe, and in the patterns shaped during pregnancy and birth. It is influenced by how safe and organized the nervous system feels, and by how both mother and baby are able to meet each other at that moment.

When we focus only on latch, positioning, or output, we are often working with just one layer of a much more complex system. When things do not resolve, it is rarely because someone is doing something wrong, but rather because the body is still holding patterns that have not yet had the opportunity to shift.

Where craniosacral therapy becomes essential

Craniosacral therapy offers a way to meet these deeper layers with gentleness and precision.

Rather than forcing change, it creates the conditions for the body to reorganize itself. Through light, attuned touch, we can support the release of compression from birth, ease patterns of tension in the head, jaw, neck, and diaphragm, and help the baby’s system find a more coherent and functional organization for feeding.

This work also supports regulation of the nervous system, which is foundational for a baby’s ability to feed with rhythm, coordination, and ease.

It can be especially supportive for babies who are experiencing ongoing feeding challenges, appear tense or uncomfortable, have been identified with a tongue tie, or had birth experiences that may have involved significant compression or intervention. In many of these cases, what is showing up during feeding is not just about feeding itself, but reflects a broader story held within the body.

Tongue tie, function, and the bigger picture

Through my continued learning, particularly influenced by Alison Hazelbaker’s work, it became even clearer that structure alone does not determine function.

While tongue tie can absolutely play a role, it exists within a much larger context that includes tissue mobility, structural balance, and nervous system organization. There are times when a visible restriction is only part of the picture, and others where what appears to be restriction is actually being shaped by underlying patterns of tension in the body.

This helps explain why some families continue to struggle even after a release, while others experience meaningful shifts when the body itself is supported, sometimes even before any intervention is considered.

If you are looking for more tongue tie resources and support be sure to check out my Oral Restrictions E-book.

An integrated way of supporting breastfeeding

Over time, these different threads of my training have woven together into a more integrated approach.

When I support a mother and baby now, I am not only looking at latch or positioning, but also listening for how the baby’s body is organizing, what their nervous system is communicating, and how early imprints may be influencing the present experience.

Breastfeeding, in this way, becomes something we understand not just as a skill, but as a relationship and a regulation process that unfolds within the body.

Why this matters, In Closing

For families, this perspective can bring a sense of relief and spaciousness, shifting the question away from what they might be doing wrong and toward a deeper curiosity about what their baby’s body might be communicating.

When we include the body, the nervous system, and the imprint of early experience, we are able to meet feeding challenges with more nuance and often with more sustainable change. Babies are not problems to be solved, but systems that are constantly communicating and adapting.

When we take the time to listen to the body, and to support it with care and precision, we often find that feeding begins to shift in ways that feel more natural, more connected, and more easeful for both mother and baby.

More questions or ready to schedule an appointment? You can do that here.