Infant Massage

Why Infant Massage

A few years back I read a comment in some forum that said ‘Baby massage, what will they think of next? It’s just another one of those fad things, it will never take off. Why would you want to massage a baby anyway?” Obviously, the author was not a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, paediatric nurse, health care professional or child care worker who had to try and understand the needs of an infant, let alone have had any contact with one.

The Western society is all about the nuclear family where generations of learned parenting an infant, was to not touch the crying baby but to close the door and leave them to cry themselves to sleep. Whereas, other cultures carry their babies, have larger families and new mothers are taught the art of baby massage by their elders. More recently, research has suggested that Infant Massage has been shown to have numerous benefits for both parent/carer and child.

Touch as Communication

Birth can be a traumatic experience for both the mother and the baby. Yet, a newborns first communication with the world is touch. If put on the mothers stomach, the primitive reflexes of a newborn will allow them to seek out the mother’s breast for suckling.

For the Irritable baby, touch is confirmation that you acknowledge that they are trying to communicate something and you are willing to investigate to help alleviate the problem.

Kangaroo care has been vital in the special care nurseries for the premmie babies and those needing extra care.

Research

Tiffany Field at the Touch Institute in Florida has dedicated time to researching the effects of touch on Premmies in special care nurseries. Having massaged medically sound premmies for a limited amount of time over a period of weeks, the findings showed that the premmies that were massaged thrived, had significant weight gain and were able to go home at least 2 weeks earlier than expected. Research was also done in orphanages where workers were shown a simple massage routine. Children who had previously seemed vacant, responded well.

Other significant personalities in the field include Australia’s own Pinky McKay and the UKs Cherry Bond.

Touch Connection

This is where bonding (love) and attachment (relationship) can be effectively initiated. Infant Massage is a tool that can be used to assert a positive touch connection, assist parents to connect with their baby, build a mutual relationship and ultimately fall in love. The importance of such an intimate interaction is that primary caregiver & child are forming and building a nurturing relationship ensuring that the infant develops trust and confidence.

Think about it, soothing music in the background, warm room, baby laying on their back looking into parent’s eyes, permission sought and granted, the dance begins.

Asking Consent

What does asking consent mean? It means that music, lighting and temperature cues for baby are the start of the consent routine. Learning and understanding the behavioural cues from baby may take some practice. However, verbally asking consent supports the concept that trust, acceptance and respect will be honoured.

Research shows the importance of early touch as a way of increasing parents’ involvement with their infant in loving respectful ways which then leads to secure attachments.

Benefits

A common complaint for most parents is not enough sleep. It has been suggested that regular massage assists babies to adjust their circadian rhythms. This could possibly be due to maturity of the nervous system where the baby is more able to regulate their behavioural state. Apart from lack of sleep the other compliant of parents is of a baby with unexplained early irritability, commonly called colic. Regular massage has been suggested to decrease evening colic that many parents experience in the first 3 months

For Baby

Massage stimulates the skin, improving texture and removing debris. It exercises the muscles with development of motor skills, joint flexibility and coordination, and increases the circulation and lymph flow enhancing the body’s ability to deal with disease.

For parents/carers

Parents develop their skills in listening to their baby’s nonverbal communication, thus deepening their capacity to respond and comfort their infant.

Certified Infant Massage Educators

Teaching baby massage helps you to assist parents in becoming familiar with their baby which in turn decreases their fear of being a parent and increases their competence in performing the role, giving them a tool to use when baby is unwell or distressed

Ideally, the best time to start a class is when your baby is older than one month and before crawling age, but it is never too late to learn. Each class includes practical demonstrations, showing parents how to use the correct pressure, strokes and rhythm, with the instructor first demonstrating the strokes on a life-size doll. Strokes are taught a little at a time, to ensure parents gain confidence with the technique, and to gradually build up babies’ tolerance levels. By the final week, babies are enjoying a full massage. The greatest benefits are seen when some time is set aside each day for baby massage. Classes also include discussions about bonding, crying, reading baby’s cues, adaptations for older children and parent relaxation.

Who can teach infant massage to families?

Infant Massage Australia offers a four day course in infant massage to health professionals. They in turn can use this communication tool to empower parents and enrich families.

Website Links

For further information on research and baby massage, enter baby or infant massage and research into a search engine which will take you to numerous publications or check the Touch Research Institute’s website. Check out libraries and bookshops for books and audiovisual resources. If you are wishing to undertake further studies in this area check out www.infantmassage.org.au to find information on courses and trainers in your location.

Kellie Thomas
BAppScDD, Dip MT, DipRT, CIME, Vodder MLD
[email protected]
ABN: 39 092 688 543
MB: 0412 195 349