Massage is beneficial for all babies. Massaging your baby regularly provides soothing relief from colic, teething, gas, and reflux. It also stimulates neurological development, improves sleep patterns, regulates behavioral states and reduces baby’s stress levels.
The best behavioral state for babies is ‘quiet-alert’, which means the baby is awake and calm, often after the baby has woken up from a nap, or bath time. Wait for 35-40 minutes after feeding to begin the massage.
Touch is a nutrient and the first communication a baby receives. It is not the massage therapist or the infant massage instructor who massages the infant/child-it is the parent/caregiver. In the field of infant massage, the parent is viewed as the primary source of interaction in the context of the infant’s life. The dynamics of infant massage facilitate parenting skills, infant-parent interaction, bonding and attachment, and parents’ ability to read their babies’ cues. The focus of infant massage is not solely on the baby, but on the reciprocal interaction between infant and parent. Infant massage is not done to an infant; it is done with an infant. Additionally, researchers are finding that infant massage may promote better sleeping, relieve colic, and perhaps even enhance an infant’s immune system, motor skills, and intellectual development.