About baby massage
Many cultures have used massage as part of baby care for hundreds of years, and research shows it can have many benefits. Massage enables you to learn about and respond to your baby's body language. It is also a wonderful way to make your baby feel safe and secure by showing that he or she is loved and cared for. There is no set way to massage your baby - provided you know how to do it safely, you and your baby will discover what's best for you both. It is important to remember, however, that massage is something you do with, rather than to your baby. It is recommended that you learn from someone with a qualification in baby massage, or from a midwife or health visitor, to ensure you are doing it safely.
(From Baby massage: a guide for parents produced by the International Association of Infant Massage and Johnson's baby)
The benefitsA ten minute massage, two or three times a week helps make a more confident mother-infant relationship, babies love it and it can help alleviate baby ailments too. You will probably ask yourself, do babies actually need massage? Surely they are supple, relaxed and do not seem to face the stresses that make us knotted and tense. Lorraine Tolley of The Guild of Infant & Child Massage explains that not every baby knows how to relax: "Many babies are fussy, disorganised and have colic, cry a lot or sleep poorly. Massage can help with all these problems."
- Massage can begin from the day the baby is born, but many parents start later having been taught by health professionals or having been on a course
- Massage is an excellent way of connecting with your baby if you are a working mum. A short massage each night before bath time can help your baby feel loved
- Massage can alleviate trapped wind, soothe colic or alleviate constipation
- Massaging the jaw can relax a baby who has just begun to take solids
- Massaging the gums through the skin may ease the pain of teething
- A face massage can unblock baby's blocked nose
- Massage can alleviate the effects of postnatal depression and help mother have a more positive interaction with their baby
- Smoothes transition from womb to the world
- Develops baby's first language: touch
- Teaches positive loving touch
- Develops a feeling of being loved, respected and secure
- Develops body, mind, awareness and coordination
- Can help to reduce the discomfort of colic, wind and constipation
- Helps to regulate and strengthen baby's digestive and respiratory systems and stimulate circulatory and nervous systems
- Promotes relaxation
- Can help to reduce 'fussiness' and improve quality of sleep
- Improves skin condition
- Helps parent to understand baby's non-verbal communication
- Enhances parent's confidence and competence in dealing with baby
- Can help with postnatal depression
- Both parents and baby relax together
- Promotes lactation in breastfeeding mums (through stimulation of hormones)
- Promotes nurturing instinct (through stimulation of hormone oxytocin)
(From The Guild of Infant & Child Massage website, www.gicm.org.uk, 2005)
