Helping your baby flourish
Baby Check Bath CIO | Registered Charity: 1196275
Baby Check Bath is a pioneering registered charity dedicated to providing a postnatal osteopathy service for mums & babies from lower-income families in B&NES.
Baby Check Bath offers parents the opportunity to have their baby assessed and treated by a registered osteopath. Mums are also able to receive a free postnatal check and osteopathic treatment as part of the Baby Check Bath service. Our team of osteopaths has a wealth of experience in treating babies & new mothers, and we are passionate about making this service more freely available.
From many years of experience, Osteopaths believe that early osteopathic intervention can significantly help some babies and their mothers.
A 2021-22 Baby Check Bath research study funded by Healthwatch Community Pot confirmed the main reasons new babies presented for osteopathic treatment:
- Birth complication
- Breastfeeding/feeding issue
- Breathing problem
- Developmental concerns
- Digestive problem
- Head shape concerns
- Musculoskeletal issues
- Postnatal check
- Pregnancy complication
- Recommended by friend or health professional
- Skin problem
- Sleep problem
- Unsettled
- Wellbeing
New mothers presented for osteopathic treatment for:
-
Birth complication
- Breastfeeding issue
- Digestive problem
- Musculoskeletal issues
- Postnatal check
- Pregnancy complication
- Recommended by friend/health professional
- Skin problem
- Sleep problem
- Wellbeing
Baby Check Bath clinic opened in 2015 and since then we have treated over 1,000 babies. We began treating new mothers in 2019 and we often treat mothers alongside their baby. Baby Check Bath treats up to 200 babies and their mothers each year, free of charge. Families must live in Bath & North East Somerset, have a baby under 12 weeks old, and have a low income. Fundraising is ongoing to provide this charitable service to local families in need.
Latest News
Baby Check Receives Healthwatch Community Research Funding
Baby Check Bath (CIO) was delighted to receive Healthwatch Community Pot research funding in 2021-2022 to study the effect of osteopathic treatment on the postnatal health & wellbeing of new mothers and their babies Babies were treated for colic, reflux, “wind”/...
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We need your support
Please visit our ‘local giving’ page to make a donation to Baby Check Bath CIO. Thank you
Post-natal mother and baby sessions
Mothers with babies under 12 weeks old are offered a free postnatal check and free osteopathic treatment at Baby Check Bath. Mums and babies are treated in a community room alongside other families so that there is a relaxed experience of postnatal treatment. Families have a chance to share stories & experiences in the large open plan waiting room. Breastfeeding & bottle feeding is welcome here and there is a spacious nappy changing area. There is plenty of room for prams, Dads/ other members of the family to help Mum, siblings. There is no parking at the clinic but Mums can be dropped off right at the door and there is a bus stop opposite at the top of Old Orchard, on Walcot St.
I can’t recommend Baby Check highly enough. The treatment offered to Ruby was superb, with excellent results. Ruby enjoyed each session, coming away very relaxed each time. A truly wonderful experience. A big thanks to the team!
Baby Check Bath CIO aims to benefit:
- Babies and their wider family. Trying to care for an unsettled baby can be an extremely stressful experience for the whole family. Many families commented after treatment, “Happy baby=Happy Mum”.
- Individual mothers: Postnatal care for mothers is an area of concern for the NHS as needing more investment in this vital opportunity to improve both maternal and neonatal health and wellbeing outcomes. Osteopathic assessment and treatment can form a part of the postnatal care of new Mums
- Multidisciplinary working with other health professionals involved in the care of new mothers and their babies. Providing student visits/ workshops for midwives/ health visitors/GPs in training.
- Parents by conducting regular service evaluations to ensure a high standard of professional osteopathic care for families. By carrying out ongoing research studying the reasons babies and their mothers attended the clinic and the perceived effectiveness of the treatment to help parents make informed choices in treatment for their babies.y collecting data and writing up the results of the full-service evaluation so they can make more informed choices about treatment for their children. This is extremely important. In the present situation, parents often hear about osteopathy but can’t get any information from their health professionals and have to resort to hearsay or internet searching to find out more.
- New mothers by collecting data to study the reasons mothers attended the clinic and the perceived effectiveness of the treatment for new mothers.
- Osteopathy as an Allied Health Profession, playing an important role in healthcare services. Gathering evidence in researching postnatal osteopathic treatment for new mothers and their babies. Providing student placements/ observation visits for postqualification osteopathy courses/ Osteopath colleagues
Research
Baby Check Bath CIO is an active member of BSW Research Hub based at the University of Bath and receives research support from the University’s School of Management. Baby Check Bath gratefully receives a research grant from The Sutherland Cranial College of Osteopathy www.scco.ac.
Baby Check Bath (CIO) was delighted to receive Healthwatch Community Pot research funding in 2021-2022 to study the effect of osteopathic treatment on the postnatal health & wellbeing of new mothers and their babies Babies were treated for colic, reflux, “wind”/ digestion issues, difficulty settling & sleeping, difficulty turning their head/ lying on their back, breastfeeding problems, check-up after a traumatic birth, turned in foot/sticky eye
Mothers were treated for back pain, feeling emotional& depressed, muscle pain. Having a traumatic birth experience can be a trigger for postnatal mental health issues in new mothers, including postnatal depression. Helping these babies and their mothers recover is an important part of supporting their postnatal health and wellbeing. Babies were more settled after osteopathic treatment
Mothers felt better once their babies were more settled.
50% of Mums had experienced a traumatic birth , 100% of Mums said they would recommend our service to other families, 68% of Mums had not been to an Osteopath before.
The average course of treatment is 5 sessions at a cost of £300. In order to create a sustainable team of experienced practitioners, we need to fundraise a budget of £60,000 each year.
Fundraising donations
Baby Check Bath continues to raise funds by ongoing fundraising efforts, all providing vital funding for Baby Check Bath services.
You can support us by donating any amount, either a one off donation to help another family receive our help or a monthly contribution to help us budget more easily each year.
We need your support
Please visit our ‘local giving’ page to make a donation to Baby Check Bath CIO. Thank you
As a health professional with 33 years of experience working with infants, children and carers specialising in physical and mental health, I would have no hesitation in recommending the very professional service offered by the registered osteopaths at Baby Check Bath. I find the expert service they provide invaluable to babies that have had difficult births and feeding problems.
Thank you for your donations…
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Can you help?
We urgently need support for this service for babies in the Bath and North East Somerset area. If you can help in any way please get in touch. Any donations, large or small, would be greatly appreciated.
Peter Cockhill
Send us an email:
info@babycheckbath.org
As someone who has personally benefitted hugely from osteopathic treatment and who specialises in working with children, I think it is fantastic that Baby Check is now available to increase access for young babies to an osteopathic assessment and treatment, and that it is provided in a group setting that is so supportive and positive.