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Massaging Your Baby

A beautiful bonding experience...

Stroking and caressing your baby is instinctive - who can resist those tiny, tender toes or that fine, silky skin, let alone the delicious smell of a newborn? It is no accident that babies are designed this way - research studies show that loving touch has profound effects on infant development.

Just a little time each day can help your baby become calmer and happier, with fewer stress hormones and healthier immune function as massage releases endorphins, those ’feel good’ hormones that help us all reduce stress.

In a study conducted by Dr Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, premature babies who were massaged gained 47 percent more weight - per day! Massaged babies in this study were discharged from hospital six days earlier than babies in a control group and follow up studies showed lasting effects.
There is good news for tired mums too: a few simple strokes can lull your baby into a deeper, more restful sleep. According to Dr Field, a massage just before bedtime is more effective than rocking at helping your baby fall asleep and stay asleep - for more tangible evidence, just witness a group of babies after a massage class! Infant massage is not only good for babies, it is good for parents too. Several studies show that mothers who suffer from postnatal depression improve when they incorporate infant massage into their daily routine, and an Australian study of infant massage and father-baby bonding, found that at 12 weeks old, babies who were massaged (by their fathers) greeted their fathers with more eye contact, smiling, vocalising and touch than those in the control group. Perhaps one of the most significant benefits of baby massage is that it incorporates all the important elements of parent -child bonding -skin contact, eye contact, hearing your voice and experiencing a focussed response. For mums who have experienced a traumatic birth or early separation from their baby, this can
play an important role in developing your own confidence.

An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and infant massage instructor, Pinky McKay is the author of ’Sleeping Like a Baby’ , ’Parenting By Heart’ and ’100 Ways to Calm the Crying’. For information about Pinky’s books and baby massage classes visit her website; http://www.pinky-mychild.com.