Many ask whether a baby needs to be massaged. Others ask when one could or should begin to massage a baby. The simplest answer is yes, babies do need to be massaged and one can begin right from when they are new born!
Of course, as with most things in life, there is much more to the answer than this. There is, in fact, enough information on massaging babies to fill several books and for entire courses to have been created.
There is something very, very special about massaging a baby. The benefits are many for both the baby and the parent massaging his or her baby. Why do I say parent? Well, the philosophy behind the course that I took to become a certified infant (baby) massage instructor is that the most appropriate ones to give a baby a massage are the parents. This is because of the bonding that takes place while massaging a baby. What a shame it would be for the baby to bond with an adult other than his / her own parent!
A Look at The Benefits of Baby Massage
I have already mentioned that massaging a baby helps with bonding between baby and parents. There are many other benefits to baby massage which can be divided into benefits for the parent and benefits for the baby.
Some benefits for the baby include:
- Reducing or eliminating the stress hormones that arise from the birth process
- Improving digestion
- Improving the quality and duration of the baby’s sleep
- Helping the baby to heal from colic
- Improving circulation
- Improving the beginnings of sensory integration
- Helping with development of the baby
There is a lot of detail that one needs to learn in order to give a baby an effective massage. In addition to learning about the benefits of baby massage in more detail, it is important to learn when to massage, where to massage, what parts of the baby’s body to massage, how and with what kind of oil. The course to learn how to massage one’s baby is beautiful.
The video below gives a little insight into what is covered and what I offer when teaching parents to massage their baby.
I hope that the article and the together with the video above gives you a glimpse into the importance of massaging one’s baby and learning how to do so from a certified infant massage instructor. If you have any specific questions, please do post them in the comments on this blog post or at the bottom of the video on my YouTube Channel.