Infant
Massage Training
Massaging
your baby is a beautiful and loving way to begin a lifelong relationship.
Early psychological
and sensory input is essential in facilitating the development of all
infants. Infant Massage is a preventative program that provides loving
touch right from the start. Understanding and beginning touch early in
life can improve the quality of parenting and family life and promote
the well-being of the infant.
Infant Massage
contains such critical elements of bonding as eye-to-eye contact, smiling,
soothing vocal sounds, loving touch, caressing, smell, and mutual interaction.
Studies show that bonding increases a parent's feeling of attachment as
well as the desire to nurture and care for their infant.
The
Need for Infant Massage
The
growth in popularity for infant massage instruction is partly due to our
changing lifestyles and a desire by parents to provide better care for
their infants.
In the situation
where both parents are working, daily massage helps compensate for the
separation by re-establishing the bond and providing quality time for
both parents and the baby.
For fathers,
creating and maintaining a close physical bond with a baby is particularly
important. They often do not get time or have the opportunity for nurturing.
However, through the practice of infant massage, a father experiences
a nurturing feeling in a way unlike any other. This mutual interaction
gives both the child and the father more self-confidence and a special
time together.
Massaging
babies provides and important source of tactile stimulation. A study conducted
at the University of Miami Medical Center showed that "stimulated
pre-term neonates averaged a 47% greater weight gain per day, were more
active and alert during sleep/wake behavior observation, and showed more
mature habituation, orientation, motor and range of state behavior on
the Brazelton scale than control infants".
Infant Massage
is being adopted in many hospitals and clinics across the country as part
of their standard community and parenting education programs. In addition,
nurses, occupational and physical therapists, massage therapists, childbirth
educators and other health care professionals are incorporation infant
massage into their practices.
Benefits
for Baby
- Emotionally nourishes
the baby
- Begins a loving,
intimate communication between a parent or caregiver and the baby's
primary systems (i.e. respiratory, circulatory, nervous, musculature
and gastrointestinal)
- Reduces gas and
colic and allows the baby to sleep better
- Helps the baby
relax and release the tensions of daily stimuli
Benefits
for Parents
- Better understanding
about their infant's cues of responsiveness
- Enhances communication
and emotional ties
- Increases confidence
and handling skills
- Greatly improves
the bond of affectional attachment
- Provides a means
to develop quality interaction time
- Helps the parents
relax and listen to their baby
- Massage becomes
a perfect avenue for conversation as the child gets older
It
is never too late to begin massage. Whether your baby is a newborn or
several years old, massage can bring immediate and lasting results. Expectant
parents often take infant massage instruction in advance so they are ready
to begin this wonderful loving touch right from the start.
Please contact me by phone for an appointment or information:
Always in Touch Massage Therapy
Harry Davis
312 225-4878
aitharry@aol.com
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