About Baby Massage
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What is Baby Massage?

Baby massage therapy is the act of massaging an infant. Parents can be interested in doing this for a variety of reasons. It has recently come to the attention of many parents how beneficial and easy it is which has led to more and more parents performing massage on their babies.

What are the benefits of Baby Massage therapy?

There are many benefits of baby massage therapy, including the following:

Promotes bonding and closeness between parent and child - not only does it give the mother and baby more opportunities to bond, but it also gives fathers the opportunity to bond more closely with them. This is an especially good thing if the mother breast feeds, because in this situation the father is often left out of an important bonding experience.
Eases pain - this can be pain caused by gas, growing pains that the parents may not even be aware of, as well as the pains associated with colic.
Relaxes the baby - this can lead to many other benefits, including a generally more mellow baby, as well as longer nights of sleep for both the parents and the child.
Reduces heart rate and blood pressure - this can result in a more relaxed, restful state for the baby which also means a more relaxed, restful state for the parents.
Creates a foundation for communication - touch can have many benefits, and parents of massaged babies feel that they have better communication skills with them as they get older, as well.
Promotes weight gain and resistance to diseases many parents have discovered that premature babies who were massaged on a regular basis seemed to gain weight at a slightly faster rate than premature babies who were not. It is also believed that babies who receive massage therapy on a regular basis build a stronger immune system than babies who don't.

How can a parent learn to massage their baby?

Many hospitals and parenting groups offer classes for parents to learn how to properly massage their baby. While any massage can be beneficial for a baby, there are certain techniques and movements that can lead to better digestion and pain relief, as well as more relaxation. These classes can not only teach parents the best techniques and strokes in baby massage therapy, but can also teach them the proper age to begin, the best length of time to massage baby depending on this age, as well as the proper amount of pressure to use while massaging baby.

If it isn't possible for you to attend a baby massage therapy class to learn how to massage your baby, there are many books published on the subject with more being printed on a regular basis, and one of these can offer the basic knowledge for you to be able to get started.

However you learn the methods, it is important that you and your baby experience the benefits that only baby massage therapy can offer today.

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About Baby Massage» This page has been viewed 536 times