Baby massage is above all about providing a quality, pleasure-filled time between parents and their babies.
Through massage, parents can gain a better understanding of their baby’s cues of responsiveness as they develop their language of touch in relation to each other. This can help to build parents confidence in handling and listening to their babies.
Touch is a powerful, non-verbal message of care, attention and security. Regular massage helps to form good attachments and to produce oxytocin (the feel good, love hormone) which enhances that feeling of connection.
Massage can soothe and comfort a baby as they become used to it. Massage raises their level of serotonin (the hormone that plays a key role in our bodily functions) which can in turn help them fall asleep.
Massage stimulates the vagus nerve (the nerve that carries signals between your brain, heart and digestive system), which, when you are relaxed, sends a message to your stomach - “it’s safe, you are relaxed, absorb food!”. Therefore regular massage can help with baby’s weight gain.
A study found that premature babies that were massaged for 3x 15 minutes sessions per day, after 10 days, had a 47% weight gain compared to those that weren’t.
Massage can help calm and relax a baby. It causes a rise in endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, and stimulates the release of serotonin and oxytocin (our feel good hormones). Therefore baby massage can be particularly helpful during growth periods and for teething pain.
Research has shown that massage helps to prevent some pain impulses being registered in the brain. This is known as the ‘Gate Theory’ - in simple terms, our pressure impulses travel faster than our pain impulses, which is often why, when a child hurts themselves, a parent will ‘rub it or kiss it’ better and the pain goes away!
Digestion, constipation, wind and colic can be lessened with massage by practicing strokes that help with the movement of food and gas.
When parent/caregiver and baby are relaxed, extra tension and pain can be reduced.
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