MASSAGING YOUR BABY
by Vimala McClure
The gentle art of infant massage has been part of baby care-giving
traditions for generations. Many of the family customs of our
ancestors are returning to our lives as modern science rediscovers
their importance and their contribution to our infants well being and
that of our families.
The benefits of infant massage are more far-reaching than they may at
first seem. For an infant, massage is much more than a relaxing
experience or a type of physical therapy. It helps the babys internal
functions work smoothly, releases tension, and helps your baby to feel
securely loved and cherished, a benefit that will remain with your
baby for life.
Research continues to prove the extensive benefits of infant massage
for babies in every type of situation. Tiffany M. Field, Ph.D, at the
University of Miami School of Medicine, has done much to validate the
benefits of infant massage, proving its positive impact on healthy
babies and those with a host of life-threatening
conditions. Dr. Stephen Berman, President of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, wrote the preface to Infant Massage: a Handbook for Loving
Parents, and fully endorses the routine I developed.
HOW TO BEGIN
Infant Massage: a Handbook for Loving Parents (2000 edition) contains
many illustrated pages on this subject to help you what you need to
know to make your massage experience the best it can be. Here's a
brief description of how to begin massaging your baby. The book and/or
a class can help you learn much more.
- Massage in a warm place. Often babies fuss because it is too
cool. You can massage at a changing table, on a bed, or on a carpeted
floor. You can sit cross-legged using supports if you need them for
your back. Lay the baby on your Baby Slanketwith his or her head on
the pillow. Your baby should be very close to you for good eye
contact and a sense of warmth and security.
- Remove your baby's clothing and cover your baby with a soft towel
or diaper. Remove your bottle of massage oil from the pocket of your
Baby Slanket. Use an all natural massage oil, a food-based substance
that will not harm your babys delicate lymphatic system when absorbed
through the skin. Before massaging, you will put a small amount in
your palm and swish the oil between your hands to warm it and cover
your hands. The feeling should be smooth but not slippery. The
swishing noise will be a cue to baby that he or she is about to
receive a massage.
- Relax deeply and bring your attention to your baby. Another
special cue is to ask your baby, May I massage you now? and show your
palms to your baby. The baby will alert to the cues of the word
massage, the sound of the oil swishing between your palms, and your
question. Keep in mind that the first time, most babies fuss a
little; it is a new experience and therefore a little stressful. The
next time you massage, the experience will be more familiar and
fussing will diminish. In addition, you will more easily read your
babys cues as to whether he/she wishes to be massaged now or not (see
book for more detail on this subject).
- Begin with the legs and feet. Massage one leg at a time. We'll go
over just a couple of the strokes so you can begin to learn; there are
many more. Do all the strokes for one leg before massaging the other.
- First, place your hands on your baby's legs with a warm, heavy,
relaxed feeling -- we call this Resting Hands. Now hold one leg with
both your hands, stabilizing the thigh with one hand and holding the
ankle with the other. The hands mold around baby's leg and move from
thigh to ankle one after another. The outside hand moves over the
buttock and toward the ankle in one long, smooth stroke as the other
hand stabilizes the leg by holding the ankle. Then that hand holds the
ankle while the inside hand moves from the inside thigh toward the
ankle. To imagine the position of your hands, imagine holding a
baseball bat. Hands move one after another rhythmically from thigh to
ankle, in a kind of milking stroke. Use the bottom hand to keep your
baby's pelvis on the floor so that you do not lift the baby's body
with your strokes, and stabilize the leg by holding the ankle with one
hand at all times without pulling or lifting.
- Now rub the bottom of the baby's foot, from heel to toes, thumb
after thumb. Rub over the top of the foot and around the ankle in
little circles with your thumbs.
- Repeat the milking stroke as described earlier, but instead of
moving from thigh to ankle, move from ankle to thigh. Again, your
hands hold the leg like a baseball bat. One hand stabilizes the ankle
while the other molds to the leg and massages in one long smooth
stroke down toward the buttock. That hand then stabilizes the ankle,
and the other moves from ankle in one long, smooth stroke from ankle
to groin. Babies like your strokes to be smooth, long, and firmly
encompassing, not tentative or ticklish.
- To finish, roll the leg between your palms from thigh to
ankle. Most babies love this!
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