The Power of Infant Massage: A Guide for Introducing It to Parents
Becoming a parent is a joyous and often overwhelming experience, and discovering ways to bond with your baby is both wonderful and important. One such avenue, often overlooked, is the art of infant massage. Beyond its relaxation benefits, infant massage offers a profound connection between parent and child, promoting emotional well-being and healthy development, not to mention a host of potential physiological benefits such as weight gain, reduced hyperbilirubinemia, and reduced hospital stays. Many parents are unaware that infant massage is an easy and enjoyable tool they can use themselves, and healthcare professionals who are already working with newborns and families are perfectly placed to introduce this concept.
What is Infant Massage?
Infant massage is the gentle, rhythmic stroking of a baby's body usually by a parent. It involves a series of specific strokes and techniques designed to soothe, comfort, and promote relaxation in infants. The oldest written record of massage is in Chinese medical literature, approximately 4,000 years ago, and in 2500 BC, the ancient Egyptians recorded a detailed system of massage with points to heal and rejuvenate. It was also an integral part of ancient Greek medicine.
Western societies turned away from traditional healing arts between the 5th and 14th centuries, but massage gained popularity again in Sweden in the 19th century through Pehr Ling, who is regarded as the “father of modern massage.”
It is important to note that, outside of Western countries, infant massage is an established part of infant care with a continuous history back to ancient times. There is historical evidence of its practice in regions as diverse as India, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, and the Caribbean. Mothers are instructed in and encouraged to use infant massage by family members to help the developing health of their baby and increase bonding between them.
Research on tactile stimulation in infants was published in the 1960s and 70s, and it was formally introduced into the United States in 1978 when Vimala McClure, a yoga practitioner working in an orphanage in Northern India, developed a training program for instructors and founded the International Association of Infant Massage in 1986.
Since then, it has grown in popularity amongst parents, practitioners, and researchers alike.
Benefits of Infant Massage
There is a wide variety of benefits of infant massage for pre-term and full-term infants, as well as for parents. In this article, we will look at some of the key benefits you can highlight to parents.
Bonding and attachment: Touch is an important channel of communication and increases in positive communication aids with bonding and strengthens relationships. The intimate act of massaging your baby fosters a deep emotional bond between parent and child. Through gentle touch, parents communicate love, security, and affection, strengthening their attachment. Some research has shown regular infant massage has a foundational role in the development of social bonds and psychosocial behaviour.
Promotes relaxation: Just like adults, babies can experience stress and tension. Infant massage stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system promoting relaxation and potentially aiding in better sleep patterns.
Supports development: Several studies have investigated the long-term effects of infant massage on mental development and all found increased cognitive development in pre-term massaged infants at 12 months, 3 years, and 4 years old. Research has also demonstrated improved motor development, visual motor coordination, language, and sociability for infants with Down Syndrome and an improvement in muscular tone disorders. Infants learn and develop through interactions with their environment. Infant massage can provide a positive and enriched experience for an infant and their parent or caregiver and can have a positive impact on the developing nervous system and neuroplasticity.
Relieves discomfort: Massage techniques such as gentle tummy strokes can alleviate symptoms of gas, constipation, and colic. It offers natural relief for common discomforts that babies experience. Massage may also reduce pain by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing stress hormones such as cortisol and norepinephrine and increasing feel-good hormones such as serotonin and oxytocin.
Enhances communication: During massage, parents learn to observe their baby’s cues and responses, improving communication and understanding of their needs.
Improves immunity: It is possible that infant massage increases lymphocytes and Natural Killer cell cytotoxicity (a measure of their ability to kill other cells) which may reduce susceptibility to infection.
Increases confidence and parental satisfaction: Several different studies have looked at the impact of infant massage on parental confidence and satisfaction with both mother and baby and father and baby groups and found an increase.
Reduces maternal anxiety and depression: As many as one in five women develop a mental illness during pregnancy or in the first year after birth. Research has shown that infant massage can improve maternal separation anxiety, and improve maternal depression and mood. And infant massage is not just for mothers; research has found that up to 1 in 10 new fathers can become depressed after welcoming a baby into the family. Research has found that infant massage classes can decrease paternal stress levels.
What next?
Encouraging families to look for infant massage classes is a great way to support both babies and their families. For families who find classes inaccessible, private one-to-one sessions or online lessons are also available. Infant massage can easily be incorporated into a daily routine such as when changing a nappy, after a bath or just when having cuddles. Just 5-20 minutes a day can have positive impacts.
If you are interested in finding out more about the benefits and research of infant massage or in becoming an instructor, check out our course which provides the knowledge and skills to both integrate teaching into your existing work or start a new business offering infant massage.