In Asia, the benefits of baby massage have been recognized for thousands of years. Sometimes a maid is employed for this purpose, but now, more and more mothers, and fathers too, prefer to do it themselves. Every day a time is set aside for the infant to be gently with oil.
Bonding: First and foremost, massaging helps to increase bonding between parent and baby. Bonding is not an automatic process; it is created day after day, and the best way is interaction through this non-verbal language of touch, which is one of the major senses. This also sets up a channel of body communication, and many experts feel that babies who have been massaged since birth have better communication skills. As the mother spends time massaging her baby, both get to know each other better.
Relaxation: Baby massage benefits also include a feeling of relaxation, not just for the baby, but also for the parent. Although we may think that a baby’s life is the ultimate in relaxation, the transition from a warm, dark and tranquil womb to an outside world full of light and sound can be quite stressful. Massage helps to relax the muscles, and when done on a regular basis, ensures restful and longer sleep at night. Blood pressure and heart rate too slow down and stabilize with a massage, helping the baby to relax. Stroking and touching also releases a feel-good chemical called oxytocin, which benefits and de-stresses the parent as well as the baby.
Stimulation: Another infant massage benefit is that it also provides stimulation for the baby. While certain muscles need to be relaxed, there are some muscles which need to be stimulated for better performance. Some babies have poor circulatory systems and their hands and feet are always cold. A few minutes of gentle massage helps to increase blood flow, warm them up and make them more comfortable.
Better digestion: Massage also benefits the baby by stimulating their digestive system. A gentle massage encourages the expulsion of colicky gas and can provide immense relief.
Relief from pain is another benefit of baby massage. Other than colic pains, there can be other pains which parents could be unaware of and massage provides relief from these.
Weight gain: Baby massage has also been known to result not only in resistance to disease, but also in weight gain and is thus especially beneficial for pre-term or underweight infants.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 5:30 am and is filed under Massage Therapy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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