Benefits of baby massage

What are the benefits of baby massage? Stroking and caressing your baby is instinctive. Who can resist those tiny, tender toes or that fine, silky skin, let alone the delicious smell of a newborn? It is no accident that babies are designed this way - research studies show that loving touch has profound effects on infant development.

Just a little time each day can help your baby become calmer and happier, with fewer stress hormones and healthier immune function as massage releases endorphins, those 'feel good' hormones that help us all reduce stress. Baby massage could also make your child smarter: as well as stimulating your baby's nervous system and encouraging brain development, studies have shown that babies with lower levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) in their blood do better at mental and motor ability tests.

There is good news for tired mums too: a few simple strokes can lull your baby into a deeper, more restful sleep. Perhaps one of the most significant benefits of baby massage is that it incorporates all the important elements of being a parent:

• child bonding,
• skin contact,
• eye contact,
• hearing your voice,
• experiencing a focused response.
  
  

The benefits of infant massage are many, here are just some:

• It is fun and enjoyable for both baby and parent.
• Helps both baby and parent to relax.
• Encourages baby to sleep deeper and longer.
• Improves colic and constipation and calms irritable babies.
• Establishes a close, loving communication and relationship with your baby.
• Provides opportunity for fathers to spend quality time with their babies.
• Strokes can be adapted for use on babies and children with special needs to help them reach their potential.
• Massage can also be adapted for use with children of all ages. Babies and children who are massaged regularly are more likely to have a secure relationship with parents and so tend to have better relationships with others, both as children and adults.
• Supports your baby’s ability to full fill their individual developmental potential. Massage does this by supporting maturation of the nervous system, in turn assisting brain/body communication.
  
  
  Baby massage also:
  
  
  -     Relieves physical and emotional stress in your baby. Babies who have had invasive procedures (eg. medical care) and/or separation from family, a difficult birth or other event may carry anxiety about / or expressed through touch. Focused time during massage, ‘listening’ to your baby and approaching the massage with respect and sensitivity, can help to heal fear and rebuild trust and enjoyment of the ‘skin’ they live in.
  
  
  -     Massage may pave a smoother path through childhood illnesses because it supports a healthy immune system. Massage does this by assisting efficient circulation of blood and lymph around the body and also by engendering feelings of happiness!
  
   -    Massage is a great way to let your baby know they are loved and cherished.