The Benefits and Joys of Infant Massage
By Jane Sheppard
Some of the most precious memories I have from when I was a new
mother were giving my baby massages. I recall cradling my daughter
in my lap while leaning back in my rocking chair with soft, melodic
music playing in the background, and gently massaging her soft skin.
While massaging her, I could feel her entire body relax as I felt
my own body and spirit fall into a quiet peace, letting my tension
and stress disappear.
Benefits for Baby
Touch is a primal need, and the first important mode of communication
between a mother and her new baby. Nurturing touch communicates
love, the main ingredient for physical and emotional growth and
well-being. The one-on-one interaction of infant massage promotes
health on all levels – psychologically, emotionally, developmentally
and physiologically. Massage improves circulation, strengthens immunity,
enhances neurological development, and stimulates digestion, providing
relief of gas and colic. Massage can also raise a child's sense
of self and worth, which is tied to developing self-esteem.
When babies are upset, a soothing massage can lessen their tension
and irritability and help them to feel more secure. In our culture,
babies are born into a fast-paced, technologically advanced world
with many unknown situations. This environment can create stress
for a newborn. Without relief, this stress can accumulate and may
cause a baby to shut down or block sensory intake and learning.
Massage is a great buffer against stress. When we give our babies
massage, we teach them how to relax. When relaxation is learned
this early in life, they can have a lifetime tool for dealing with
stress.
The benefits of infant massage are continually unfolding in scientific
research. The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami
conducts research on the benefits of nurturing touch. They have
published studies that suggest that touch deprivation negatively
affects the immune system and massage can stimulate immunity. In
studies on touch deprivation among preschool children who were separated
from their mother, they noted more frequent illnesses, particularly
upper respiratory infections, diarrhea and constipation. A suppressed
immune response has also been noted in several studies that monitored
the separation of monkeys from their mothers. In a study on human
infants (10 weeks old) the opposite effects were noted when the
mothers provided extra tactile stimulation. The infants whose backs
were massaged by their mothers experienced fewer colds and fewer
occurrences of diarrhea.
Other studies involved preterm infants who, upon receiving daily
massages, averaged 47% more weight gain than infants in the control
group. The studies suggest that the tactile deprivation that many
preterm infants experience in intensive care may delay their recovery.
Massage therapy helps preterm neonates grow more quickly and leave
the hospital sooner.
The benefits of massage are carried into adulthood. Research findings
indicate that the secure attachments with primary caregivers formed
in infancy produce adults more capable of healthy, happy, and trusting
relationships. When the attachment bonds are not formed, children
grow up being less sympathetic to others, and relationships lack
trust and intimacy. Love, trust, compassion, warmth, openness and
respect are conveyed through massage. The attachment bond of being
held and touched helps make children more compassionate, loving,
relaxed and natural. Studies have demonstrated that in societies
where people are breastfed, massaged, carried and held as babies,
the adults are less aggressive and violent, and more cooperative
and compassionate.
Benefits for Parents
Massage is a pleasurable way to develop trust and intimacy with
your baby and strengthen the bond between the two of you. It can
promote a strong sense of confidence in parenting, since you can
receive a great deal of feedback about your baby. Through massage,
you can become more aware of how your baby communicates. You can
also discover her threshold for stimulation by watching her body
language and noticing how she looks and feels when she is tense
or relaxed.
Parents can also find relaxation, peace, and calming for themselves
through infant massage. Fathers can be wonderful at infant massage.
Giving massage can give them positive interaction and a special
bond with their baby at a time when a father can easily feel left
out.
Origins of Infant Massage
Infant massage is fairly new in the United States and other western
countries. However, massaging babies has been a parenting tradition
in many cultures for centuries. In India, mothers regularly massage
everyone in their families and pass this knowledge on to their daughters.
After studying and working in India in the early 1970s and learning
how mothers massaged their babies, Vimala McClure brought the practice
of infant massage to the west in her book, Infant
Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents. She developed a curriculum
that includes Swedish strokes, reflexology, and yoga, along with
Indian massage strokes, and shared her discoveries with other parents.
Interest in the art of infant massage continues to grow, and Vimala’s
organization, the International Association of Infant Massage Instructors,
has trained hundreds of massage instructors all over the world.
Giving a Massage
Choose a place that is warm, quiet and comfortable for your baby’s
massage. For massage oil, the best choices are light, organic, cold-pressed
vegetable oils, such as safflower, apricot kernel or almond. Commercially
produced mineral-type baby oils have a nonorganic, nonfood petroleum
base and are not a good choice. All of your massage strokes should
be soft and gentle, long, slow and rhythmic, with just enough pressure
to be comfortable but stimulating. Listen to and watch your baby's
reactions and respond accordingly. Let your baby set the pace. You
can learn infant massage techniques by reading Infant
Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents, by Vimala Schneider
McClure or by taking
an infant massage class. To find an instructor in your area, contact
the International Association of Infant Massage Instructors.
Many Certified Infant Massage Instructors have developed specialized
programs for special needs, premature babies and teen parents.
Your massages will have to be adapted as your baby grows into a
child. When a baby begins crawling or walking, there are just too
many exciting things to explore and the baby may crawl or walk away
from the massage, making it harder or impossible to do. It’s never
a good idea to force a child to receive a massage. Just wait until
the child is ready again. Preschoolers usually love massage, and
they can stay still for a longer period of time. My preschooler
continues to love her massages and even likes to give me massages
now. You can include rhymes and games along with the massage to
keep it fun. School-age children may also love massage and benefit
from it, but don’t try to push it on them if they don’t want it.
Massage can be very beneficial to adolescents, who are usually concerned
about body image and facing a lot of emotional challenges. You can
always ask them if they’d like their neck and shoulders massaged
when they are doing their homework. If they’ve experienced massage
from an early age, they may even ask you periodically for a massage.
Again, never try to force a massage on your children. Always ask
permission first.
Your entire family can benefit from the loving art of massage.
Give your children this gift of love and security. You will be participating
in helping to create a future generation that is nonviolent, compassionate,
caring, and able to cope with the stresses of a hectic world.
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Use the information provided on this site as an educational resource for determining your options and making your own informed choices. It is not intended as medical advice or to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific illness.