No
matter the age of your child, this is only the beginning
of a
lifetime for loving touch through massage.
Infant Massage is
a natural way to promote infant health, deepen bonding,
and aid in
improving parenting skills.
Baby
Massage uses loving, nurturing, intentional touch, and intuitive
touch.
Easy to learn massage strokes in a fun, one-on-one time of
interaction is
essential for development of baby’s spirit,
soul and body.
Dr. Thomas Ahern of Ahern’s Massage Therapy School, Mariposa,
California says,
“When
we touch, we feel gently with the intent to understand;
and
intuitive touch
separates someone who simply massages from someone
who heals”.
These two
statements encompass my teaching philosophy.
Babies have much to say from birth.
They tell us when things are great and
not so great through
their cries and body language. Listen and watch your baby
and you will soon learn what they
are “saying” to you and how you can meet their needs. |
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Benefits
for babies
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Benefits
For
Parents |
More
Benefits |
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Provides a special time that
leads to bonding. |
Helps parent-infant
communication |
Increases parent’s ability to
teach baby to relax |
Fun and relaxing for parents
to loving touch
baby |
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The
great effects of infant and baby massage have been well-researched
in
studies such as those at the Touch Research Institute of the
University of Miami School of Medicine (1986).
Some results are:
Children and infants who are massaged, show deeper sleeping
patterns, reduced anxious behaviors and significantly reduced stress
responses, such as heart rate and stress hormone levels.
Premature babies, who are massaged 10 to 15 minutes 3 times a
day gained weight faster, left the hospital 6 days earlier at a
saving of $3000 per infant, over those babies that do not receive
massage. Touch also
benefited the developing nervous system of these infants.
“Study group averaged a 47% greater weight gain per day,
were more active, and alert in sleep/ wake behavior observations and
showed more mature habituation, orientation, motor, and range of
state behavior on the Brazelton Scale than control infants.”
Field,T. PH.D. (1986). “Tactile/kinesthetic
stimulation effects on preterm infants” |
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Just
think about this; at the sixth to seventh week gestational age, the
baby’s brain and spinal cord develops, and touch, the first sense,
is born.
The skin
covers the spinal cord, which becomes, so to speak, the touchable
part of the brain. We
learn so much about our world through our bodies’ senses, but most
powerfully by our sense of touch.
All through baby’s development, the muscles of mom’s body
and walls of the uterus are massaging baby.
When the time comes and baby is brought into “this”
world, we take care of all of baby’s needs; food, warmth, comfort,
etcetera, but unless massage is introduced, something that baby has
come to love and be comforted by is missing.
Massage
and all its aspects help baby feel welcome, comforted and loved.
Whether
you are a parent, massage therapist, or work in the health or child
care fields and are interested in learning more about baby massage,
becoming a Certified Newborn Massage Instructor, needing Continuing
education hours through a correspondence course, or products for
baby, I can help!
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