Gentle Massage is Good for Babies
Premature babies are exposed to numerous stresses in intensive care nurseries, including loud noises, bright lights, blood drawing, and invasive procedures. Stress can have negative effect on these babies’ immune systems. Massage therapy can be beneficial because it lowers stress and improves their immune system.
Prior to birth, babies are exposed to physical stimulation in their mother’s wombs. Massage is a form of stimulation that promotes growth and development in premature babies.
Also, premature and low birth weight babies are often placed in incubators, open beds, attached to numerous monitors that interfere with them being touch as often as full term babies.
The University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute has reported for over twenty years the benefits associated with infant massages. It increases the baby’s resistance to infection by stimulating the immune system. Also, massaged babies experience an accelerated weight gain.
Oxytocin levels are increased by massage. It is a hormone with pain relieving and calming properties.
A review of medical research studies found 14 randomized massage studies involving premature and/or low birth weight babies.
The review included studies in which a control group of babies that did not receive massage. The were compared to the babies who did. The babies, in most of the studies were massaged for about 15 minutes, three or four times a day, for five or ten days. The studies determined that that babies receiving massage experienced more weight gain (about 5 grams), were discharged from the hospital faster, had slightly better developmental test scores and experienced fewer complications. Massage did not have any negative effects. While it is a time consuming process for nurses to provide, parents can perform it without extensive training.
Massage Benefits:
*Enhances weight gain
* Helps the baby to become more organized
*Allows the baby to be more alert and interactive with others
* Helps start oral feeding earlier (rather than tube feeding)
* Promotes healthier bones
* Supports parent-infant interaction
*Facilitates weight gain in preterm infants
*Lowers cortisol levels, a significant stress hormone
*Improves muscle tone
*Improves sleep and awake patterns
*Earlier hospital discharge
*Improves motor and cognitive development at 8 months of age
*Infant massage is an inexpesive tool
*Can be used as part of the baby’s developmental care plan
Benefits for Parents and Caregivers
* Provides all of the important ingredients of the parent-infant bonding and attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, smell, movement, voice and temperature regulation.
* Encourages pre-verbal communication between infant and caregiver
* Helps to increase parent’s confidence and competence in caring their children.
* Helps to lower parental stress, if they are working and must be separated from their child for extended periods during the day
* Provides parents with one-on-one quiet time or interactive play with their children
* Creates a regular time of infancy between child and parent
* Increases parents’ self-esteem by reinforcing and enhancing their skills as parents, and validates their role
* Provides parents with the tools for understanding their child’s unique behavior and patterns
* Teaches parents how to read their infants’ cues and recognize their states of awareness
Gives parents a precious way to interact with their children who may be hospitalized. It helps parents to feel a greater part of the healing process
* Daily massage helps parents to unwind and relax
* Provides a positive way for fathers to interact with their infant children
Learn more about holistic family health. Stop by Dr. Elaine Ferguson’s site where you can find out all about infant massage and what it can do for you.
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