I am delighted to say that infant physiotherapy in Poland is an increasingly well-known medical term. Parents are not only seeking help when their child already shows large and established developmental abnormalities. Increasingly, they come for a preventive visit - to check whether their child's development is normal and to catch possible developmental disorders at an early stage. Also when they have a suspicion that something is wrong in their child's development and want to help them quickly. A large proportion of parents also want to learn how to care for their baby properly in order to support his or her development from the first days.
When to go for a physiotherapy appointment? How do I prepare for it? What does a visit to a paediatric physiotherapist look like? How do you choose a good paediatric physiotherapist? We will try to answer these questions in the following article 🙂
When to visit a paediatric physiotherapist?
The first days and weeks after birth are a difficult time for both baby and parents. The baby has been deprived of the cosy shelter of its mother's uterus and must quickly learn to live in conditions that are completely different and new to it. The parents, on the other hand.... you know 🙂 They too must learn to live in a new reality. A wonderful one, full of emotions, but also often difficult and completely unfamiliar. Even if another child comes into the home, everything changes, because every child is different and the situation at home will be different too.zie completely different.
Despite all the difficult factors, it's WORTH and even TRUE to find the time to:
1. observing your child
2. a visit to a paediatric physiotherapist
Observation of the child - look at the baby in concentration for a long while observing if the baby's movements are smooth, does the baby change the position of his arms, legs, turn his head, does he always put his head on one side or on both sides, does he always shorten only one side of his trunk, do both feet look the same? Does he have difficulty eating milk, defecating or defecating. Perhaps he has trouble sleeping or suffers from too much or too little mobility, or perhaps you are concerned about muscle tension?
Visit to a paediatric physiotherapist - In our therapy centre, each physiotherapist is qualified and experienced enough to examine and evaluate your child's psychomotor development in detail. In case of doubt or the need for further diagnosis, we recommend that parents consult a paediatric neurologist. At the first visit, in addition to examining the child, we show the parents proper care, i.e. ways to lift, put down, feed, carry, change the child and much more. Please note that the care is tailored to the child individually.e and is dependent on a number of factors including muscle tone, the child's age, the child's development and any asymmetry.
Infant physiotherapy - how to prepare get for the first visit?
1 Don't stress and don't assume the worst. I'm writing this because some parents stay up at night out of stress about their child's illnesses, we don't have to assume the worst straight away. Parents' stress often translates into a crying and anxious baby, which is something we all want to avoid 🙂 .
2 Prepare a list of questions. It sounds strange and you probably think you will remember everything, but the first visit goes extremely quickly as the physiotherapist takes a history perinatal, examines the child and shows care instructions. She tries to give parents as much information as possible and show them as many exercises as possible to take home - sometimes there is not enough time and, in the rush of a huge amount of new information, parents simply fall out of their heads about what they wanted to ask.
3 Try to feed the child about half an hour before the appointment. Of course, nothing will happen if you fail to do this, but the more well-behaved the child will be calmer and during the course of the visit it will be easier for the parents to concentrate on the information and recommendations given to them.
Note: If the child did not want to eat early enough, it is better to feed him before the visit itself than to leave him hungry. If he or she spills his or her liquids, we'll clean it up, and a hungry baby augurs a big row 🙂 .
4 Dress the baby so that it is easy for you to undress him or her, as the examination of the baby takes place in just a nappy.
5 Bring along a tetan nappy or blanket to lay your baby on during the examination.
If your child is still using a dummy, it is a good idea to have a dummy for a 'black out'. For older children, a favourite rattle or toy will work well.
What does infant physiotherapy look like?
Signals that indicate that parents should go with their child to a paediatric physiotherapist - I have described above. But what if it turns out that the child needs therapy? What does it look like infant physiotherapy ?
The paediatric therapist will adapt the course of therapy to the infant's needs, abilities and age. The aim of therapy is always achieving the child's maximum psychomotor potentialresulting in an improved quality of life in the future.
An infant physiotherapist working with the Ndt Bobath method will use a therapy table, exercise mat, large and small balls, rollers and other aids to work with the child. Infant physiotherapist working with the Vojta method and paediatric osteopath usually only needs a therapy table and a mat to work on. Regardless of which neurodevelopmental method a physiotherapist will work with your child - he or she will need your help. Parents and their involvement in their child's therapeutic process is a very important factor for the progress of the therapy. The cooperation of the physiotherapist, the parents and the child is essential for the success of the child's development. Of course, parents can count on reliable information, help with proper care and advice on home exercises at every stage of therapy.
How do you choose an infant physiotherapist?
Unfortunately, we still ( although less and less frequently) receive children who have been in therapy for a long time and the parents do not see any results. It turns out that the therapy was carried out by people who have no knowledge or qualifications to work with children. The parents have not only lost money, but also valuable time in which their children could have made great progress in therapy.
It is best to find someone by recommendation and check their qualifications. He or she should have a degree in physiotherapy or osteopathy. If he is a physiotherapist then he should have NDT Bobath Baby therapist certificate or Vojta method certificate. These are two neurodevelopmental and valued methods of working with children. One comes from the UK and the other from Germany. If you go to an osteopath he or she should have completed a postgraduate degree in paediatrics. It is also a good idea to check the reviews that a particular specialist has before visiting.
Of course, you can choose a random physiotherapist without the above qualifications, but you do so at your own risk. It is as if, when needing divorce advice, you went to a barrister or a solicitor dealing with criminal law. Every profession has its specialisations and in every profession there are people for everything and for nothing. The narrower one's specialisation in a given field, the deeper one's knowledge in that field. No one will be surprised or offended if you ask them to present you with a diploma or ask what experience a specialist has. You are entrusting someone with your child's health and future - is there anything more valuable?
Don't compare !!!
Dear parents, remember that your child is unique, each is different and each will develop at its own pace. Do not compare him or her to the child of a neighbour, cousin, friend, brother or sister. Each different! EXCEPTIONAL. Development is the result of a combination of many accidents, such as the type of conception, the course of the pregnancy, the course of the postnatal period, the nature of the child, the lifestyle of the family, and many other variables that affect the child's psychomotor development. Leave the assessment of development to a specialist. It is a waste of time to guess and worry. The first months of an infant's life are magical, special, they pass quickly and need to be celebrated every day and every time. Not only do they pass quickly, but they will never come back....
Nurture a proper bond with your child, speak to him from the first moments, look him in the eyes, smile at him, hug and kiss him. Building a relationship is an investment in your bond with him and in the psychological well-being of your child. Your child needs to feel that he is loved, accepted, needed and important from the first days.
And if you have any doubts about your child's care or development, go to the physiotherapy consultation. You have nothing to lose and peace of mind is priceless after all! 🙂 .
Anna Bernaś
Paediatric physiotherapist
