The first moments as a parent are ideally filled with wonder and joy. But for families whose babies are born prematurely or with health complications, those hopes are shattered as soon as their newborn is whisked away to the NICU and is taped up to tubes and wires.

Pretty soon these parents are having conversations with a medical team that they never expected to have, facing difficult decisions, and feeling uncertain whether their baby is going to be ok.

This situation is a considerable trauma for both the family and the infant as the harsh reality of beginning a new precious life in the NICU creates challenges leading to feelings of loneliness, helplessness, disappointment, overwhelm, and more.

Parents of children in the NICU also face significant emotional stresses as they are discharged and depart from the hospital. Leaving behind the support of the doctors and nurses can be scary, especially when the baby has ongoing health issues that need to be monitored.

We have supported, worked with, and offered hope to many families as they face these challenges with their premature babies. The trauma is real and critically impacts the entire family system.

Through the method of Matrix Energy Healing/FMCM, the Myers Institute® has offered families a gentle and effective solution to help premature infants heal and depart the hospital earlier than what was expected.

Matrix Energy Healing/FMCM for Premature Infants

A Case Story: Apnea of Prematurity

Discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is based on milestones. A premature baby must typically meet certain criteria before they can go home. These milestones include and are not limited to, adequate weight gain, the ability to feed orally, breathing on their own, and free from any episodes of apnea/bradycardia (pauses in breathing, slow heart rate).

Premature infants commonly need to work through these issues (feeding issues, airway issues, digestive issues, all related to being weak and immature); however, in many cases, structural compressions from the in utero/birth experience play a large role in impacting these infant difficulties. Matrix Energy Healing/FMCM has demonstrated positive results in this arena, allowing premature infants to meet the markers and be released from the hospital quickly, thus eliminating separation within the parent/infant dyad.

We received a call from a family who was waiting for their infant to meet one such milestone before she could be discharged from the NICU.

Baby E presented with Apnea of Prematurity (AOP), also known as “As and Bs” or “spells”. Baby E was also dealing with feeding issues as these spells occurred during bottle feedings. Due to these specific issues, she remained in the NICU and was unable to be discharged despite meeting all the other milestones.

In premature babies, apnea and bradycardia often occur together, along with low blood oxygen levels. Apnea is a period when breathing briefly stops. It often triggers bradycardia, which is a slow heartbeat. [i]

First, apnea occurs, and the baby will stop breathing. Because the baby isn’t breathing, blood oxygen levels fall. The heart slows down in response to the low oxygen levels. If the pause lasts longer than 20 seconds, the baby (who is hooked up to a monitor) may need a “reminder” to start breathing. In this case the monitor will trip an alarm. If the alarm doesn’t encourage the baby to breathe, the nurse or caregiver will gently jostle the baby or rub its back until the baby breathes on their own.

This infant was born at 28 weeks gestation, after her mother went into early labor with unknown causes. After 48 hours of labor, Baby E presented left occiput anterior, vaginal delivery. No epidural was given nor was Pitocin administered during labor.

Baby E was doing was doing well in the NICU until the apnea, bradycardia, and hypoxia episodes began during the seventh week after delivery. Baby E required extra oxygen during these episodes as gentle stimulation was ineffective. During all bottle feedings, Baby E would experience these episodes causing her to become cyanotic.

Baby E’s mother described the stress and depression she was experiencing as each feeding triggered her little girl to turn blue and go limp in her arms. The trauma was real and was impacting her ability to care for and bond with her little girl.

After extensive monitoring and treatment from the NICU team, we were asked to provide our services. The neonatologist’s suggested that Baby E might benefit from structural therapy.

The Journey from Inside to Outside

Birth is an extraordinary event. The infant is experiencing a total change of environment and has no established ways of dealing with this change. New stimuli, such as what occurs during labor and delivery, can cause traumatic sensory overload that can induce structural contractions and distortions that may lock into the connective tissue of the newborn baby.

Connective tissue distortions, pulls, and restrictions are subtle, but significant disturbances to the function of the structures and organs. If left untreated, these distortions imprint and become imbedded into the connective tissue causing a child to compensate around the problem.

Since connective tissue is found everywhere in the body, these restrictions can interfere with the function of any nerve, muscle, organ, bone, or vessel within the body.

Immediately after birth, an infant may be unable to feed, may have digestive issues such as projectile vomiting or spitting up, or may have breathing issues. As these structural compensations remain in the body, they may interfere with developmental milestones such as creeping and crawling, standing, walking, and speech. The child must literally work with the restrictions that have already been established within the body from their embryonic blueprint and intrauterine stresses.

The direct effects of the compression of the connective tissue and structure of the fetal/newborn body from the in utero or birth experiences are a matter of concern. Contrary to common view, the infant will not grow out of these compressions and restrictions, but instead will grow into structural and functional limitations. (Read https://www.mifmcm.com/the-core-matrix-why-are-babies-born-tight)

The Problem

Fascial restrictions, which are commonly found deep in the upper neck just inferior to the jugular foramen and deep to the mastoid process of the temporal bone, may impair the vagus nerve. These restrictions commonly occur during the in utero positioning or during labor and delivery.

We believe it is possible that the connective tissue restriction within this area may have been impairing Baby E’s parasympathetic innervations of the vagus nerve, thus contributing to the apnea and bradycardia episodes.

The position of the infant’s cranium, neck, and shoulders during feeding would agitate the restrictions in the region of the vagus nerve, thus impairing its function. These restrictions could have been imprinted in the infant’s fascial matrix either during development or during the birth process. These restrictions do not always show symptoms immediately but distort and compress over time.

Treatment and Results

The goal of therapy was to free up any and all restrictions that were impacting Baby E’s vagus nerve function.

After the first treatment, Baby E’s mother reported that she went from having a “spell” during every feeding to zero (0) “spells” in 36 hours. After 36 hours, the “spells” returned. At that juncture, we revisited the conversation regarding the healing response as the method works in layers. The areas of restriction will slowly break down a little at a time, which is appropriate in this type of healing.

During the second treatment, we worked with more restrictions in Baby E’s fascial matrix to support the healing of the the vagus nerve. Baby E did well from the sessions and another session was scheduled for four days later.

Before the next scheduled appointment, Baby E’s mother called to share that she had been released from the NICU as she was event free for 72 hours. Baby E was feeding well and went home without the need for a home apnea monitor. Her mother was incredibly grateful to have her baby girl home. The relief in the voice was evident as she was no longer worried or anxious about feeding her baby.

The Value of Matrix Energy Healing

The day parents bring their baby home from the NICU is an undeniable victory. But it doesn’t always feel that way.  Some infants need to have their vitals monitored around the clock, leaving a family to feel like they are in lockdown within their own home. The stress can continue long after their baby has been released from the hospital.

Matrix Energy Healing/FMCM offers a solution which helps infants heal more quickly thus reducing the stay in the NICU. Another significant benefit to note is that Matrix Energy Healing has been proven successful with infants being discharged from the NICU as a self-regulating baby rather than one dependent upon ventilation support or apnea monitor. This benefit greatly eliminates the stress factor for the infant and the entire family. These infants are better able to invest more energy in general and motor growth development.

The Myers Institute® offers a solution towards better developmental outcomes for premature infants and is fully committed to mitigating trauma and stresses that occur to the family from unexpected birth trauma.

One of our greatest joys is to help families reframe their NICU journey from a time of anxiety and stress to one of hope and transformation.

____________________________________________________________________________

Matrix Energy Healing is a form of remote intuitive energy work which accesses the physical and emotional stresses that have imprinted in the body. This advanced approach unites the principles of the Fascial Matrix Connection Method and Quantum Physics to facilitate changes and healing within the fascial matrix.  

Matrix Energy Healing is intended to serve as an adjunct to medically supervised healthcare. The Myers Institute® continues to collaborate with physicians, midwives, lactation consultants, speech pathologists, and other medical professionals to improve patient care. This ongoing collaboration allows for optimization and acceleration of the healing process.

By Michael and Kristen Myers, LMT October 2022 ©

  [i] Emory University School of Medicine. Department of Pediatrics. Apnea and bradycardia.