benefits of baby massage

Baby massage is in effect “touch”. And touch is essential to a baby’s emotional and physical growth and health.

For Mom:

• creates a complete different way of interacting with your baby
• gives you an opportunity to “tune in” and bond with your baby and express affection
• develops your confidence, especially if a first time parent

For Baby:

• relaxes baby
• helps boost the ‘feel-good’ hormone: oxytocin
• can improve sleep patterns
• helps develop muscular co-ordination
• calms and relieves an anxious baby; reduces stress levels
• soothes and helps relieve wind, constipation and colic
• stimulates immune, circulatory, digestive and eliminative systems
• increase weight in pre-term babies
• to identify any areas of hypo or hyper mobility / hidden stiffness or excessive flexibility or floppiness that could signal potential developmental delay

"In addition to being critical for growth and development, communication and learning, touch also serves to comfort and give reassurance and self-esteem."

- Tiffany Fields – Researcher at the Touch Research Institute