Benefits of Infant Massage

What are the benefits of Infant Massage?

– Interaction includes:
Promotion of bonding, secure attachment, verbal/non-verbal communication, on-to-one quality time, pre-language, communication skills, undivided attention, feeling respected, using all of the senses, love, tolerance, nurturing touch and early contact with parents.

– Stimulation of:
Circulatory system, Digestive system hormonal system, immune system, lymphatic system, nervous system, respiratory system, language development, improved learning ability, muscular development and tone, growth, elimination, sensory integration, and mind/body awareness.

– Relief can help with:
Gas and colic, constipation and elimination, gastrointestinal cramps, excess mucus, growing pains, muscular tension, teething, discomfort, sensitivity to touch, physical and psychological tension, softening of the skin.

– Relaxation may be demonstrated by:
Improved sleeping patterns, helps normalize muscle tone, increased flexibility, regulation of behavioural states, being calm, improved ability to calm oneself, reduction in stress level, less hyperactivity, and enjoying positive.

What are the Elements of Bonding?

Certain elements help to form a bond between parents and infants.

– Touch – Touch is the first sense to be developed in utero, and the last to leave at the time of death. Unlike most animals, babies are totally dependent on their caregivers for touch. Touch is the only sense without which we cannot survive.
– Eye Contact – Vision is the last sense to develop completely. At birth, a baby can see objects clearly 18 to 30cms away, which is approximately the distance between the mother’s breast and her eyes, e.g. while holding the baby in her arms.

Within the practice of infant massage eye contact:
• Is a powerful means of communication
• Is an interaction that provides a great deal of positive feedback
• Helps parents provide a powerful cue to the infant’s physiological
and emotional system
• Helps the parent to have access to the baby’s moods and state

– Odor – Odor is processed in the primitive part of the brain. Odor is naturally produced by each person and is unique to that person. A newborn baby can distinguish the smell of their mother from that.