Benefits of Infant Massage
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Being touched and caressed, being massaged, is food for the infant, food as necessary as minerals, vitamins and proteins." "It is through loving, caressing, tactile stimulation and communication that the infant learns that he/she is loved. We must speak to their skins. We must speak to their backs, which thirst and cry as much as their bellies" by Frederick Leboyer |
When a baby comes into this world, she is very curious and starts to learn more about the world and the environment around her. She asks questions such as, who am I? Am I safe here? Can I depend on the people around me? Am I lovable and significant? Do I need to protect myself? Is it better to respond with compassion? Or with violence?
A child's brain tries to find out the answers to these questions before she is two. Thanks to organizations such as the Centre on the Developing Child (Harvard University), we now have a better and deeper understanding about infant's learning process. It is found that her early life experiences lays the foundation for a child's social, cognitive and emotional development.
A child's brain tries to find out the answers to these questions before she is two. Thanks to organizations such as the Centre on the Developing Child (Harvard University), we now have a better and deeper understanding about infant's learning process. It is found that her early life experiences lays the foundation for a child's social, cognitive and emotional development.
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If you were to give your child one thing, something that could help with the development of your child's brain, what would it be? Would it be a learning toy? Baby flash cards? For an infant, the most important experience that a person can give would be the communication a child shares with her parents. This is important because the basic architecture of the brain is constructed through a process that begins early in life and continues into adulthood. Simpler circuits come first and more complex brain circuits build on them later. Genes provide the basic blueprint, but experiences influence how or whether genes are expressed. Together, they shape the quality of brain architecture and establish either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for all of the learning, health, and behavior that follow. Plasticity, or the ability for the brain to reorganize and adapt, is greatest in the first years of life and decreases with age. (Centre of the Developing Child)
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Another important concept here would be Attunement which is the interaction and communication between parent(s) and child with eye contact, facial expressions and physical touch. |
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These interactions are also known as the "serve and return" interaction which shapes the brain of a developing infant. This video shows how this interaction shapes the brain circuits. |
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Infants and babies are extremely responsive to the social interactions and emotions of their parent(s) which helps them learn about their world and themselves. This is a wonderful experiment conducted by Dr. Edward Tronick which shows us how babies interact and how they behave when their parent is unresponsive. |
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Every parent loves their child very much. However, sometimes there are unforseen circumstances which makes it difficult for parents to be the best that they can be such as financial constrains, health issues and other stresses in life of being a first time parent. One of the well known reasons for not being able to tune into their child by using facial expressions and eye contact is Postnatal Depression. If these early parent-child relationship issues are not addressed, it can lead to various health and mental issues in the child such as violence, risk-taking behavours, language and cognitive delays. This next video shows how stress can affect a child's body.
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Many of these social problems can be reduced or even prevented by investing in healthy early relationships which is full of love. Infant massage can benefit mommy, daddy as well as their precious children in many ways and can help their children lead a better life by learning, experiencing and creating a world that is full of love and compassion.
All you have to do is create a few minutes out of your long day to bond with your child. It is therapeutic for parents as well!
All you have to do is create a few minutes out of your long day to bond with your child. It is therapeutic for parents as well!
This is a common positive testimonial from a father who practiced infant massage with his children:
"I can't even begin to tell you just how powerful the bond is that can be created between father and infant. My boys, A.J. (8 years) and Ethan, (5 years) received regular treatment from me (10-20 minutes a day) in the first 9 months of life. I can tell you that in addition to the great bond that I have with them, they are very strong and emotionally healthy boys. I feel empowered as their father knowing that I made a significant contribution to their health that I would not otherwise be able to bring. With mothers carrying so much of the brunt of early childhood development, there are not a lot of opportunities that we as fathers have to contribute. Today, my boys come to me for comfort as much if not more than they do from their mother. I feel that our bond is so much more than physical, it's emotional as well. The safety that they feel in my arms is truly incredible. I can't urge fathers enough to take advantage of this opportunity to give a gift that lasts a lifetime." John G. Louis, from An Infant Massage Guidebook by Mary Ady.
"I can't even begin to tell you just how powerful the bond is that can be created between father and infant. My boys, A.J. (8 years) and Ethan, (5 years) received regular treatment from me (10-20 minutes a day) in the first 9 months of life. I can tell you that in addition to the great bond that I have with them, they are very strong and emotionally healthy boys. I feel empowered as their father knowing that I made a significant contribution to their health that I would not otherwise be able to bring. With mothers carrying so much of the brunt of early childhood development, there are not a lot of opportunities that we as fathers have to contribute. Today, my boys come to me for comfort as much if not more than they do from their mother. I feel that our bond is so much more than physical, it's emotional as well. The safety that they feel in my arms is truly incredible. I can't urge fathers enough to take advantage of this opportunity to give a gift that lasts a lifetime." John G. Louis, from An Infant Massage Guidebook by Mary Ady.
Benefits for infants
• Provides a special time of communication that instills love, compassion, and respect
• Improves general well-being
• Provides an intimate time for children to confide in parents
• Improves overall functioning of the gastrointestinal tract
• Promotes relaxation and helps babies self-regulate calm, which reduces crying
• Provides all of the essential indicators of intimate parent-infant bonding and attachment
• Stimulates all of the physiological systems.
• Helps to normalize muscle tone
• Promotes sounder and longer sleep patterns
• Helps to increase oxygen and nutrient flow to cells.
• Improves respiration
• Helps to improve pain managament
• Relieve discomfort from teething
• Helps with congestion, gas, and colic
• Enhances release of hormones in the body such as the growth hormone which helps weight gain.
• Improves circulation
• Enhances immune system function
• Helps to improve sensory and body awareness
• Enhances neurological development
• Reduces levels of cortisol, the stress hormone
Benefits for parents
• Daily massage helps parents to unwind and relax
• Provides a positive way for fathers to interact with their children
• Promotes feelings of confidence, especially for first-time parents
• Provides all of the essential indicators of intimate parent-infant bonding and attachment
• Encourages pre-verbal communication between caregiver and infant
• Helps parents feel more confident and competent in caring for their children
• Helps parents to ease their stress if they are a working parent and must be separated from their children for extended periods during the day
• Provides parents with one-on-one quiet time or interactive play with their children
• Creates a regular time of intimacy between parent and child.
• Gives parents the tools for understanding their child's unique rhythms and patterns
• Teaches parents how to read their infants' cues and recognize their states of awareness
• Gives parents a special way to interact with their children who may be hospitalized. Helps parents feel a greater part of the healing process
• Increases parents' self-esteem by reinforcing and enhancing their skills as parents, and validates their role
Benefits for Grandparents
• Grandparents experience lesser anxiety, fewer depressive symptoms, and improve mood after giving infants massage.
• Pulse decreases, cortisol (stress hormones) level decreases
• Improve self-esteem and better lifestyle (e.g. fewer doctors visits and more social contacts)
