An Infant Massage
I started to read about infant massages because my best friend just found out she was pregnant. I wanted to find out information on a woman being pregnant and getting a massage as well as, if babies could get massages. So, here is what I came up with. Baby massages aren’t a bunch of pooey. They really can make a difference in the babies life AS WELL AS the person giving the baby a massage. The bonding that can take place between the mom, father and child is amazing and much needed!
” Benefits of Infant Massage
Although it can seem like there is not much going on in a baby’s world, it is a new and exciting time for them. It may seem like they do little but eat, sleep and demand attention – with a regular diaper change thrown in for good measure – but they are learning more now than they will ever learn again in such a short period of time. Little wonder that it can take time to adjust, from being thrust rudely from a state of tranquility, warmth and comfort into a world of changing faces, cold winds, warm baths and, well, everything else that we see every day and take for granted.
The benefits of Infant Massage can be grouped into the following main categories:
· Relaxation
· Relief
· Stimulation
· Interaction
You may think that RELAXATION should not be necessary for a baby – after all, what worries do they have? But there is much going on in a new baby’s life, they have more to adjust to than they will ever have again. Stress is normal, in everyone’s life, baby’s included. It is what ensures we get up in the morning. It has been found that all humans, from babyhood to old age, survive best on a period of high stress followed by a period of deep relaxation. However, we as a race have forgotten how to relax – there is always something that needs to be done, or a deadline to meet, or a call to make. Babies can pick up on this, and because we do not know how to relax, they do not learn to relax.
Massage can help ease the muscles into relaxation, and when practiced on a regular basis, teaches the infant what relaxation is and how to go about it. And as a side-benefit, the massager gets to take time out to gently massage their baby and they usually de-stress at the same time!
RELIEF from pain. Colic can be a nightmare. There are massage techniques that can ease the pain and discomfort of spasm or gas. They can help to disperse gas, ease muscle spasm, tone the digestive system and help it to work efficiently. It is not a miracle cure, and can take a few days to ease, but in my experience it can be more effective than a pharmaceutical remedy. Of course there can be other considerations – for example, the mother’s diet can be a factor if baby is breastfed, therefore it is wise to examine the possible causes in addition to giving a regular massage. Besides helping to relieve colic, there are also massage techniques that can help teething and emotional stress.
It may seem that STIMULATION is incompatible with relaxation, but massage can do both, all depending on the mood, setting and what your aims are. In general terms, most people would be looking for relaxation when going for a massage, and would want the same for their infant. But there are times and situations when relaxation would not be beneficial, such as massaging a baby with cerebral palsy. Therefore you have to be careful to judge each baby’s needs individually and that is especially so for babies with this condition. Some areas of muscle may be tense and need relaxing and some areas loose and need to be stimulated. However infant massage does not just stimulate muscles, it can stimulate other systems of the body as well. For example, it can help aid digestion and so ease the symptoms of constipation. It also stimulates blood flow – when you massage someone you will feel the area you are working on become warmer. Some babies have poor circulation and have cold hands and feet – if this is the case for your baby, massaging for just 5 minutes will make a difference that you can notice. Probably the most startling statistic of infant massage research so far is that massage can help increase weight gain in premature infants by as much as 47%.
INTERACTION (also classed as bonding) is a very complex process, and many factors can affect it. It is the development of understanding of each other, of knowledge about who the other is and what they need. Each parent and baby bond is very unique, and there is no one way that it happens, no one method that guarantees an easy path.
The ideal scenario is that mother (and father) and baby instantly bond as soon as they set eyes on each other just after birth. But that is by no means the norm. There are a few situations where bonding may be delayed. Some people who have a good delivery and hold the baby straight away may not like the way their baby looks – they may be wrinkly and red, or have a misshapen head. They do not want to believe that this is the baby that they made – it can’t be, it is not beautiful enough. In other instances, the mother is too weak after a bad labor to want to know the baby. And there are some cases in which the baby is taken away from the parent straight after birth because of medical reasons, such as the baby may be very premature or it may not be breathing well. In other situations, the mother may feel guilty about passing on HIV to the child, or taking drugs or smoking while pregnant.
But bonding isn’t an instantaneous reaction to having given birth. It is an ongoing process and, as such, it can be started at any time. In fact, it will already have started in pregnancy, with the mother feeling the baby’s kicks and the baby hearing it’s mother’s voice. It is difficult for parents who feel they should have bonded with their baby and instead have feelings of guilt or of emptiness because it hasn’t happened the way they feel it should. But they should take heart from the fact that interaction can take place later, and usually does. If the parent hasn’t had the opportunity to be with the baby straight after birth then it may take longer. But it will happen. It is not a case of ‘love at first sight’, but instead of working at it from day one, and continuing to work at it as your baby grows and changes. There is always something new to learn about a child as they grow, they develop and change. Because of that, the bond between parent and child is always growing and changing.
Infant massage encourages a good relationship between mother and baby. It gives them a place and a time to be together, free from the worries and pressures of everyday life. It gives them space to just be together, not changing nappies or making dinner, shopping or sterilizing bottles. Infant massage instructors teach infant massage – once the mother is confident to massage without thinking about what move comes next or if they are doing the stroke correctly – then comes a time of real communication between mother and baby. Watching and learning from each other, and getting to know who the other person is.
Conditions for Massage
This is a guide for the best circumstances in which to massage your baby – remember though, you know baby best, and none of this is set in stone!
Time – it is good to get baby into a routine where he/she knows when the massage will happen, whether it be first thing in the morning, after a bath, just before bedtime – the choice is yours. Remember – you don’t have to do everything every time, if time is short, just do the bits baby likes best!
Temperature – make sure the room you are massaging in is warm – babies are not good at regulating their body temperature (especially premature infants). Remember, you will be removing their clothes so keep the room temperature set at a comfortable level.
Light – it is best not to have the room too bright – and be especially careful not to have either electric light or sunlight shining in your baby’s face as it will be uncomfortable for him or her.
Oil - it has been shown that babies prefer massage with oil – so which to use? I and most (if not all) massage therapists recommend a vegetable or plant oil, i.e. not traditional baby oil, which is mineral based. Plant based oils are easy to absorb into the skin, and easily digested if your baby sucks his thumb with oil attached! Mineral oils are not readily absorbed and, if not harmful are certainly not good for you. So which oil? The two most common are grapeseed oil and sweet almond oil. I personally use grapeseed, I like the way it feels. Why not try them both and see what suits you best?
Nappy or no nappy? - or diaper for those non-Brits out there! I would go for no nappy, if at all possible. If you are worried about leaks and messes then you can use plenty of towels to lay baby on. But think – if you were a baby being massaged, wouldn’t you prefer to be able to kick your legs freely
Dad – you can massage baby too!
Dads don’t always have it easy. It may seem that theirs is the easy option, especially to new mothers with difficult babies, and yes there is certainly an element of truth in that. But after the months of anticipation of this delightful new arrival in the family, who is going to ensure a loving and cohesive family unit, the reality may not be quite as hoped.
Dads can easily feel shut out of their new baby’s life, especially if the mom is breastfeeding baby. It may seem that there is no place for dad in their child’s life, especially in the earlier weeks and months when there really isn’t an awful lot of playing and laughing going on. Of course it isn’t the case that there is no place for dad. Massage is one of several ways to get him involved. And he has the knowledge that he is doing something that will truly benefit the baby. There are other things as well – bathing the baby for example, or if baby is bottle fed he can take his turn with that. But when a dad is interested in doing the massage let him!
One of the major benefits of infant massage is learning to communicate together. Eye contact is encouraged throughout the sessions, as is chatting or singing to baby. “
