CranioSacral Therapy | Destin FL Doula + Massage Therapist

I shared this picture on my Facebook page of Destin FL doula and massage therapist, Megan Scott of Makai Therapeutics + Stronger Together Birth practicing CranioSacral Therapy (CST) on one of our mutual clients during labor. I had heard of CST being used in infants with tongue ties, and more recently have found it to help tremendously to relieve pain and stiffness in my own neck and shoulders caused by injuries I sustained in a serious car accident last year. (Shout out to Morgan Deale, LMT here in Pensacola for keeping me functional!)

However, I had never heard of CST being used in pregnancy and labor until I saw Megan do it. My Facebook followers were also intrigued and the post got a ton of questions. So I thought I’d ask Megan do a followup article about how she uses CST to aid her clients in pregnancy + labor. Take it away Megan!

Hi! I’m Megan Scott. I am the owner of Makai Therapeutics which operates inside of Growing Green Families in Valporiso. This is where I offer my massage therapy sessions. My most used styles of bodywork are CranioSacral, massage, and cupping.    

I am also a birth and postpartum doula. I am part of an amazing little team called Stronger Together Birth Collaborative.  My doula partner, Emily, and I support families through pregnancy, birth and the first few months of baby’s life. Being able to combine my massage world with my doula world helps me to connect so much more with my clients. I can get to know their body and what discomforts they have before we head into labor. This allows me to bring so much more knowledge to each individual giving me the tools to support her even better.  

I have been practicing massage and bodywork since 2005 and CST became part of my regular bodywork practice in 2014.  My commitment to advancing my skills became a priority. I feel blessed that I have been able to take so many wonderful classes through Upledger Institute and each one keeps me wanting to learn more and more.  My most recent pediatrics class deepened my skills and opened my mind on how to better help families that brought babies to see me. I am taking my CST practice a step further and going through the optional and in-depth process to become certified through Upledger Institute.  Once my certification is complete, I will be 1 of 3 Certified CranioSacral Therapists in the area.

WHAT IS CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY?

CST is a light touch type of bodywork. The light touch allows me to blend and meld with your connective tissue and unwind restrictions that may be hiding in the body.   These restrictions can cause dysfunction and present as pain and/or discomfort. Freeing up these restrictions in the body helps the central nervous system and allows the body to function more efficiently.

HOW IS CST USED IN PREGNANCY AND DURING LABOR?

While CST is for everyone at any age, pregnancy is a life stage where a woman’s body goes through so many changes. With these changes, discomfort can surface. Some may be familiar things that she has felt before pregnancy and some are new. In prenatal CST sessions, we will work together to release this tension. By doing this we can help melt some of your discomforts away, bring balance to the body so when the big day comes your body is functioning better. I will usually do a combination of massage and CST in 60-minute sessions. Some moms, especially when we get closer to the due date, choose to use the entire 60 minutes for craniosacral therapy because of the relief they feel in and after the session.

In labor we might do some of the same CST holds we do in my bodywork sessions.   These holds don’t always look like much. Sometimes one hand is on the front of the body and one hand on the back of the body.  But there is work being done! What I am usually doing is melding with the mom’s connective tissue finding any restrictions and working to release them.  This not only brings mom more comfort but sometimes helps create more room for baby to move around in a better position. I will also almost always do techniques that will help mom’s nervous system to relax.  This is very helpful in-between contractions or right after getting an epidural and when rest is most needed.

I have seen great success in using CST to help laboring mothers sleep during labor, which can be tough to do through contractions and with the anticipation that comes with being so close to meeting your baby. I remember one client in particular who was exhausted after working through some intense contractions and finally deciding on an epidural. However, after the epidural was placed at 11:30PM, mama was still wide awake. I knew she had a long night ahead of her so we did CST along with some breathing exercises. Dad joined in on the breathing exercises and, before I knew it, they were both FAST ASLEEP. They were able to get several hours of sleep before it was time to push, helping mom be more effective and both parents be ready and able to care for their son.

Another client had a posterior baby, baby’s back facing mom’s spine inside the uterus. This position is apt to make labor more painful, commonly known as back labor. Using a combination of CST, position changes, and counter pressure, we were able to bring mom some much-needed relief. AND, baby turned around.

CranioSacral Therapy is also very useful after labor and during breastfeeding as well. I recently worked with a client who was experiencing neck and jaw pain after labor that was making it hard to look down at her baby. Right there in the hospital I was able to get behind her and do some tissue release on her neck, jaw and shoulders to bring relief and help her to be able to enjoy the first moments with her baby.

Amazing right? If you want a little more, here’s a video of Megan and I chatting about CST and doula-ing.

If you’re looking for a doula in the Florida panhandle (Destin to Pensacola), I don’t think you can go wrong with Megan. Her knowledge of and ability to provide massage and CST is a HUGE added value. And if you aren’t expecting a baby or newly delivered, CST still has enormous benefits. I’ve been able to get great relief from neck/shoulder pain + headaches caused by spinal injuries sustained in that car accident, and chronic sinus issues that had plagued me for ten years prior to starting CST. Contact Megan at Makai Therapeutics + Stronger Together Birth to talk about how CST can work for you.

Have you used CST yourself? Tell us about your experience below!