More class pictures of our amazing Moms and Babes!

Love!

As Seen in "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp, M.D.

Dr. Karp devotes a section in his book, , to baby massage.  He posits that "a baby is fed with milk and caresses."  He suggests that massage be used along with the 5 S's (swaddeling, side/stomach, shhhing, swinging, and sucking).

Meet Baby Vimala!

Baby V helps me out with teaching massage class.  She sits in for sleeping babies during class--so moms can still practice strokes. 

 

She is named for Vimala Schneider McClure "mother of modern baby massage who wrote Infant Massage--Revised Edition: A Handbook for Loving Parents.   She is sporting her awesome Tummy Trouble onesie!  Diagram of the intestines helps make teaching the stomach "I Love You" stroke easy!

Past Class Series

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Song to Massage With

There is a good reason our culture is rich with lullabies and silly songs.  Children love singing and being sung to.  Songs can be soothing and relaxing, but also can be engaging and exciting.  Having soft music during an infant massage can add to the relaxing nature of the massage.  For older children doing the massage to fun music will make the massage engaging and even more enriching experience.  This is a fun silly song that matches the stomach massage strokes perfectly!  Great for distracting and engaging your little one when he/she has tummy troubles.

Weight Gain--A Proven Effect of Infant Massage

Found this awesome blog post on ergobaby.com
Written by Dr. Henrik Norholt is a member of The World Association of Infant Mental Health.

Extensive research has been conducted on the effects of infant massage on stable pre-term infants. Certainly, premature birth is no trivial matter. At present approximately 14% of infants in the United States are born prematurely, according to The National Center for Health Statistics. Prematurity, in turn, is one of the leading causes of infant morbidity and mortality, and it results in approximately 15.5 billion dollars in hospital costs per year.
Following intensive care treatment, weight gain becomes the main criterion for hospital discharge. Thus, several interventions have been designed to promote preterm infant weight gain, including massage therapy.
Several independent, randomized, controlled studies confirm the efficacy of infant massage in promoting weight gain in premature babies, leading to earlier discharge from the hospital.
The infant massage protocol, in studies on the effects of massage therapy on neonatal intensive care unit preterm infants, involves moderate pressure stroking (tactile stimulation) and flexion and extension of arms and legs (kinesthetic stimulation). These sessions have varied between 10 and 15 minutes and have been held two to three times a day for 5 to 10 days.
Mothers as massage therapists
The question occasionally arises whether infant massage can be done by mothers or if professional physiotherapy is required to achieve these desired increases in weight gain.
An elegant study investigated this issue by assigning preterm infants to three groups. These three groups included one treatment group in which the mothers performed the massage, and another, in which professionals unrelated to the infant administered the treatment. These two groups were then compared to a control group. Over the 10-day study period, the two treatment groups gained significantly more weight compared to the control group suggesting that mothers were able to achieve the same effect as that of trained professionals.
Maternal depression
Benefits on the infant massage were not just observed for the babies involved. Interestingly, the mothers who massaged their infants in one study experienced a decrease in depression symptoms, which are often seen in mothers of preterm infants. In another study using mothers as the massage therapists, even one session was effective in lowering both the mothers’ depression and anxiety symptoms.
Moderate pressure is critical
The question of whether light or moderate pressure in the massage therapy is most effective in promoting weight gain has also been addressed in several studies. The evidence to hand suggests that moderate pressure is most optimum. Moderate pressure massage has also been shown to reduce stress behaviors in the massaged infants, compared to the control group.
Infant massage for full-term babies
Weight gain
The effects of infant massage on the baby’s weight gain are not just seen in premature babies.
In one study, parents delivered the massage to their full-term newborns from day one to the end of the first month. Those infants gained more weight and gained more length, as well as performed better on the thoroughly validated “Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale,” by the end of the month that the parents provided the massage.
The parents involved were taught by massage therapists in infant massage classes whereupon the parents could continue the massages at home.


Link to NIH research:   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2844909/

Ancient Art of Infant Massage

Mothers have been practicing the art of infant massage for centuries. Based on this historical fact, it is very clear that all babies should be massaged, touched and loved to promote their social-emotional-cognitive and physical development. As an early intervention strategy and therapeutic tool, infant massage is becoming a specialty therapy in the United States. Infant massage is being embraced by a wide variety of professionals who are incorporating it into their practices to help families cope with children with special needs as well as healthy full term newborns. Techniques are simple and effective and are most likely performed by parents and primary caregivers who have been taught by certified infant massage instructors. The approach is empowering and improves the parent-infant attachment process. There is a growing body of research that supports the therapeutic benefits. Infant massage is a crucial and routine part of infant care around the world and has the ability to create great benefits for both parents and the newborn.

"Being touched and caressed, being massaged, is food for the infant; food as necessary as minerals, vitamins, and proteins" ~ Frederick Leboyer

 

credit:   http://lovingtouch.com/about-infant-baby-massage

Keep Calm Poster

Photos from class!

Thanks to the great moms and babies that joined us at Soft and Cozy Baby!