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"Feeding babies with touch, giving food to their skin and their backs, is just as important as filling their stomachs."
Dr Frederick Leboyer – The Traditional Art of Baby Massage
Being parents for the first time can be a stress-filled adjustment to your lives. Learning to massage your baby can help you as parents handle these changes in more effective ways, resulting in a strong relationship between you and child.
As I watch my 4 and 2 year olds play with their dolls, I am often reminded how natural rocking and soothing touch is. Instinctively they know to rock, pat and rub their babies as they comfort them. Unfortunately somewhere is our modern stress-filled world many of us have forgotten that the most soothing and comforting way that we can help our babies is with touch.
Touch is the first sense to develop in the fetus and this is why one of the baby's primary needs is touch. From the moment of conception, the baby growing inside its mother is gently massaged as it develops. As it grows so it feels all her movements and has a wonderful massage by the amniotic fluid. For most babies the most powerful massage occurs in the birth canal, as it is massaged during labour into its new world. We all need touch throughout our lives, not just to thrive, but to survive.
The benefits of infant massage are enormous. It works on all systems of the body, improving circulation, decreasing pain, improving general functioning of the immune system and helping with problems such as colic and sleep difficulties. The regular practice of massage acts as a vehicle for the critical elements of bonding and relationship building. This kind of touch communication provides a common language for parent-baby interaction. Learning to relax in our busy world is a skill parents need to nurture for themselves as well as for their children. Studies indicate that the effects of performing infant massage are just as profound on the parent's physical, mental and emotional well being as they are on the child's.
Baby massage is not something that is simply done to a child, it is a trusting and enjoyable dance between the person giving the massage and the baby. It paves the way to the start of a wonderful relationship filled with communication.
TIPS FOR GIVING YOUR BABY A MASSAGE
- Ensure the room is warm and that there are no bright lights or distractive noises
- Have everything that you need on hand before starting
- Use a vegetable oil for massage as it is edible and gets absorbed by the skin, resulting in no reactions, sunflower, almond oil and olive oils all work well.
- Have your baby in a position that ensures good eye contact can be achieved
- Always ask permission before starting to massage to show respect.
- Relax and let your hands glide firmly over your baby as you talk to them, reinforcing that what you are doing is good.
- Always massage the stomach in a clockwise direction
HOW CAN YOU LEARN?
Group or private classes in infant massage are an excellent way to learn this special dance between you and your baby. To ensure that you attend a quality course, make sure that your instructor is certified and registered with International Association of Infant Massage (IAIM). In a class, parents are taught the different techniques of massage. There are no age constraints with massage, but different ages dictate different styles, techniques and lengths of massage i.e. Massage for a 2 week old, will be much more abbreviated than a massage for a seven month old. An instructor will guide the parent to read their baby's cues and all other factors such as posturing, temperature and use of oil that need attention during the massage. A wonderful simple routine is taught that is easy to perform and effective in stimulating all the baby's systems.
Joanne Bradley, is a mother of 2. She has taught hundreds of parents and caregivers to massage their babies and is certified with the International Association of Infant Massage. She has also trained in London as a Massage in Schools Instructor, in order to teach Children Peer Massage. She offers Baby Massage Classes in Kyalami, and in Petervale, Bryanston. Private home visits and gift vouchers are also available.
Contact Joanne for details: 083 303 1190 , or joannebradley@global.co.za
