Benefits of Baby Massage
IAIM recognises four main areas of benefit for baby:
Interaction benefits include:
- Enhancing infant-parent bonding and secure attachment through one-to-one quality time, undivided attention and early contact with both parents.
- Nurturing touch, empathy and tolerance
- Verbal/non-verbal communication and pre-language communication skills
Stimulation benefits include:
- Sensory stimulation
- Growth and muscular development
- Help waste elimination
- Facilitates body awareness, enhancing coordination and balance
- Boosts immune system
- Improves skin condition
- Improves blood circulation
- Helps digestion
- Balances respiration
Relaxation benefits include:
- Lower levels of stress hormones such as cortisol.
- Higher levels of relaxing and anti-stress hormones such as oxytocin and serotonin.
- Regulation of behavioural states, enhancing self-regulation and calmness.
Relief benefits include:
- Promoting better sleep.
- Relief from teething pains.
- Relief from gas, colic and constipation.
- Helping the elimination of excess mucus.
Ultimately Baby Massage
- Helps build parents’ and baby’s self-esteem
- Helps you learn more about your baby, their needs and desires
- Relaxes parents
- Creates unity and diversity
- Reduces isolation, enhancing a feeling of community, meeting with other parents and sharing experiences.
Bonding is a unique relationship between two people. It is specific and endures through time.
– M. KLAUSSome Words About Bonding
Bonding is: love, security, connection, acceptance, peace, caring, happiness, interaction, empathy, unity, warmth, joy, communication and familiarity. Bonding may be experienced through eye contact, touch, smell, taste and listening.