Baby Massage – 10 top reasons why you should give it a try
Baby massage has strong roots in the UK and is recognised by health professionals as an important activity and interaction between parent and child. Classes are easily accessible across the country and are available through children’s centres or from independent practitioners at an affordable rate. There are many recognised benefits associated with baby massage, here’s just a few…
1. A chance to meet other local new parents
The great thing about starting a structured course, such as baby massage, is that everyone will be starting at the same point, meeting each other for the first time and will have babies of a similar age. You’ll have common interests, lots to chat about and will have time during the course to get to know one another. It’s a lovely environment to share, bond and for you and your baby to make friends!
2. Learn to communicate with your baby
During classes your teacher will explain how to watch for your baby’s communication signs and you’ll be able to observe your baby to understand and respond to their needs. The face-to-face interaction that you have during massage time gives you the opportunity to chat and sing to your baby, this will develop their speech and language skills
3. Relieve Colic and Digestion
There isn’t an agreed medical definition or cause of colic and some professionals dismiss it as crying or sleep issues. There seems to be two main thoughts relating to colic; firstly that it is a digestive issue and relates to an immature digestive system or secondly that it is linked to stress and anxiety. A simple colic routine can be carried out frequently throughout the day and will help to relieve trapped wind, constipation and leave your baby calm and relaxed.
4. Improve sleep patterns
During a massage your baby will be calm, relaxed and will feel emotionally regulated and secure. This will improve your baby’s overall emotional well-being which will help to settle your baby’s routine and sleep. Massage can also be physically tiring for babies and many parents report that their babies sleep well after a massage.
5. Improve the condition of your baby’s skin
There’s a lot of conflicting advice about infant skincare and it can be very confusing and distressing if your baby is suffering with dry skin or cradle cap. Using a cold-pressed organic vegetable oil is the closest to the skins natural sebum and will help to replenish and restore the skin to full health. Using oil such as sunflower oil (which is naturally high in vitamin E) which contains no scent or added ingredients would be suitable for baby massage.
6. Feel connected with your baby
In our busy modern culture, it’s easy to move your baby from one place to another such as a chair, play mat, car seat or pushchair to fit around our daily routine. A massage can give you time to stop, take some quality time together and reconnect. Baby massage offers you interaction, touch, communication, eye contact and security – all of the ingredients for a strong relationship and bond. It’s really important to only massage your baby when they are saying ‘yes’ so that it is a positive experience. You shouldn’t ever massage your baby if they are unwell, crying, tired or saying ‘no’. If you attend a baby massage course, your teacher will explain the importance of ‘asking permission’ before massage and finding a good time when your baby is most likely to say ‘yes’ to massage.
7. Improve your baby’s physical development
How your baby develops physically during the first year of life will have long term effects. Activities and developmental milestones such as rolling over, tummy time and crawling should be encouraged for good long-term physically and cognitive development. Massage will help your baby to develop good body awareness, brain development and movement skills.
8. Be more relaxed and happy yourself
If your baby is relaxed, calm and happy the likelihood is that you will be too and vice versa! Massage increases your oxytocin levels because it involves positive touch and eye contact. Oxytocin is a hormone that is often referred to as the ‘love hormone’ and it makes us more trusting, relaxed, generous and contented.
9. Relieve teething discomfort and other growing pains
A good baby massage routine should include strokes that massage reflexology points to target specific problems such as teething, snuffles and general growing discomfort. Massage in general will release endorphins which are the body’s natural pain relief and will provide comfort for your baby.
10. Develop your baby’s emotional well-being
The best way to learn how to massage your baby is to find a local baby massage course or have classes at home with a qualified teacher. Although touching and stroking your baby is a natural thing to do it is important to understand how to massage your baby safely and learn when you should and shouldn’t massage. By attending a baby massage course you’ll learn a new part of the baby massage routine each week and have chance to chat about topics relating to you and your baby with other parents. Classes are usually suitable for babies aged around 6 weeks to crawling, but check with your local teacher.
As your baby grows you can adapt the massage by adding nursery rhymes, stories and singing. A baby yoga course is another good way to build on the positive touch foundations with your child. These types of classes share many of the positive benefits and help babies with physical, cognitive and speech development.
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Andrea Millbank is an experienced infant massage and yoga teacher and also trains infant massage teachers for Touch Learn International. She runs regular HypnoBirthing® courses and works as a hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner and coach, specialising in pregnancy, birth and early years parenting. She is a full member of the GICM, FEDANT, HypnoBirthing® Institute and IPTI. She holds a position on the committee of the Guild of Infant and Child Massage (the UK’s professional body for infant massage and yoga teachers). For more information or if you have any comments or questions please contact Andrea
Website: www.babycoach.co.uk or Facebook & Twitter
