I believe that massaging your baby is very important for parent-child connection. It is also fantastic for helping babies develop. Not being qualified in baby massage, but feeling the need to promote the wonders of this lovely skill I thought it would be more fitting to enlist the knowledge and experience of two people who really know what they are talking about!
Over the next few weeks Suzanne Yates and her collegue Anne Badger will be guest blogging to provide information, guidance and instruction on Infant Massage.
Suzanne has been practising shiatsu and massage for over 2 decades. She set up Well Mother in 1990 to teach shiatsu, massage and exercise to parents and babies in Bristol. Following its success she was asked to develop professional training courses for practitioners in Bristol, London and worldwide.
Suzanne has written three books, "Shiatsu for Midwives", "Beautiful Birth" and , "Pregnancy and Childbirth".
Anne Badger, an aromatherapist with 14 years experience of baby massage and Shiatsu runs Infant massage courses in Bristol alongside Suzanne. She also has her own successful pregnancy massage and aromatherapy and parent massage classes in Bristol.
BABY MASSAGE
By Suzanne Yates and Anne Badger
Why massage my baby?
In many societies and cultures, baby massage has been part of baby care-giving traditions passed from parent to child for generations. It has recently become more popular in our society as parents and professionals start to realise its full benefits for both babies and parents.
Many parents, often Mums attend classes to learn baby massage and whilst learning a basic routine can be a helpful starting, it is important to respect the differences between parents and babies. The important thing to remember is that baby massage is something you do with rather than do to your baby. Massaging your baby is very much about learning and responding to your baby’s cues. For some babies a class is great, for others it is nicer to do it as quiet time in your own home.
Infant massage can also be a lovely way of getting dad involved. It can also be time for the whole family together or a quiet time for mum and baby. It can be fun, lively, include exercises and stretches, songs and movement or it can be calming and a space to relax and breathe.
When can I start?
As soon as you feel you want to. Massage in fact begins in the womb. Touch is the first sense your baby develops and already around 8 weeks they are responsive to touch. It is great to massage your belly in pregnancy and already begin to become aware of your baby’s body, and movements and how they respond to your touch and to that of others close to you . Often babies who have received focused touch during pregnancy seem to be very responsive to touch after birth: like many parents have noticed how babies respond to sounds they have heard regularly while in the womb. Often first touch is simply skin to skin contact between a mother and her baby, and getting to know your baby’s body outside the womb. Mammals lick their babies, we can stroke, touch and caress ours. Sadly often people feel wary of massaging their baby and worry they might do something wrong. Instead of thinking as massage as a particular technique, think of it more as a way of getting to know and communicating with your baby.
How to massage
The most important “rule” is to feel free to try whatever feels right for you and your baby; as long as you are prepared to listen to your baby and be guided by them. Your baby will let you know if they are not happy. Younger babies will want less active work and probably more holding style techniques. For older babies the massage can become more lively, although they may still enjoy the holding, slow techniques. However while it is fun to include stretches and movements, it is important that they are appropriate for the developmental stage of your baby.
Getting started: Handling/moving:
How to pick up and move your baby.
In some countries parents are shown the best ways to lift and hold your baby. It doesn’t always come naturally. The most important aspect of moving a younger baby is to do any movements slowly and to support your baby appropriately. You don’t want them to startle. Remember they are getting used to a whole new world. Take it easy. You need to make sure their head is supported and lift them up and put them down by gently rolling and turning them. With a new born it is best to hold them close to your body while you massage. This often means that you would sit on the floor, often against a wall with a cushion so that you can support your back, and then have the baby placed across your legs which are covered with a towel. You can have your legs fully extended or raise up your knees a little, depending on what your baby enjoys. This can be a great position for getting your baby used to lying on their tummy because their head can rest on your knees so that they can see . With an older baby you can have your baby lying on a towel on the floor in front of you and move them more.
Your position
Be in a comfortable position: you might want to be sat against a wall with comfortable cushions.
Clothed or unclothed. Decide if you want to undress them and work with oil or keep their clothes on. It is lovely to get them undressed and have skin contact. Remember their body was covered with a natural oil (vernix) which protected them in the womb. It is also nice for them to have some time without their nappy on. Good oils for babies are vegetable base oils, preferably organic and cold-pressed, which are more natural . Here you could use Kadria Baby Oil with Apricot and Rosehip. If you have less time or don’t always feel like undressing your baby, you can do a lot of the stretches and holding work through their clothes.
Simple touch over whole body is a quiet soothing way to start.
It is lovely to simply stroke gently all over their body. Use your whole hand. You can focus more on your finger tips or more on your palms. Explore the areas they like being touched. Notice the amount of pressure they like which is likely to be different in different areas. Notice how quick they like the stroking to be. Again it may be different in different places. Notice if they like you to stop and stay on certain areas. Notice how they move and respond. If they start kicking with their legs or opening out their arms, then you might want to encourage them with these movements by gently stretching. Don’t force any stretches and see the stretches as supporting movements the baby is already doing. Try to cover all areas of their body; back and front.
Tummy time
Many parents are concerned about putting their baby “back to sleep” and they forget how important tummy time is for babies development. Babies from birth need to lie on their tummy to develop their neck, shoulders and back in preparation for sitting, crawling and eventually standing and walking. If babies aren’t given ‘tummy time’ early on, it may become hard for them to lift their head when they are placed their tummy later on. This means they often get frustrated and so parents don’t put their baby on their tummy aggravating the situation even more. It is important to try to overcome this but without distressing your baby. Ways to do this can include laying your baby along your legs and then lifting your knees (as in early positioning). You could also try by putting a squishy pillow or rolled towel under their shoulders.
When is a good time to massage my baby?
It can be at any time of day or when your baby is starting to fall asleep. It can be for older children as part of a bed time routine.
This is the end of the first blog. Tune in for the next instalment where you will learn in more detail how to perform an infant massage.
Images courtesy of Baby Shiatsu, Karin Kalbanter-Wernicke, Tina Haase and Monika Werneke (2012), Singing Dragon
Over the next few weeks Suzanne Yates and her collegue Anne Badger will be guest blogging to provide information, guidance and instruction on Infant Massage.
Suzanne has been practising shiatsu and massage for over 2 decades. She set up Well Mother in 1990 to teach shiatsu, massage and exercise to parents and babies in Bristol. Following its success she was asked to develop professional training courses for practitioners in Bristol, London and worldwide.
Suzanne has written three books, "Shiatsu for Midwives", "Beautiful Birth" and , "Pregnancy and Childbirth".
Anne Badger, an aromatherapist with 14 years experience of baby massage and Shiatsu runs Infant massage courses in Bristol alongside Suzanne. She also has her own successful pregnancy massage and aromatherapy and parent massage classes in Bristol.
BABY MASSAGE
By Suzanne Yates and Anne Badger
Why massage my baby?
In many societies and cultures, baby massage has been part of baby care-giving traditions passed from parent to child for generations. It has recently become more popular in our society as parents and professionals start to realise its full benefits for both babies and parents.
Many parents, often Mums attend classes to learn baby massage and whilst learning a basic routine can be a helpful starting, it is important to respect the differences between parents and babies. The important thing to remember is that baby massage is something you do with rather than do to your baby. Massaging your baby is very much about learning and responding to your baby’s cues. For some babies a class is great, for others it is nicer to do it as quiet time in your own home.
Infant massage can also be a lovely way of getting dad involved. It can also be time for the whole family together or a quiet time for mum and baby. It can be fun, lively, include exercises and stretches, songs and movement or it can be calming and a space to relax and breathe.
When can I start?
As soon as you feel you want to. Massage in fact begins in the womb. Touch is the first sense your baby develops and already around 8 weeks they are responsive to touch. It is great to massage your belly in pregnancy and already begin to become aware of your baby’s body, and movements and how they respond to your touch and to that of others close to you . Often babies who have received focused touch during pregnancy seem to be very responsive to touch after birth: like many parents have noticed how babies respond to sounds they have heard regularly while in the womb. Often first touch is simply skin to skin contact between a mother and her baby, and getting to know your baby’s body outside the womb. Mammals lick their babies, we can stroke, touch and caress ours. Sadly often people feel wary of massaging their baby and worry they might do something wrong. Instead of thinking as massage as a particular technique, think of it more as a way of getting to know and communicating with your baby.
How to massage
The most important “rule” is to feel free to try whatever feels right for you and your baby; as long as you are prepared to listen to your baby and be guided by them. Your baby will let you know if they are not happy. Younger babies will want less active work and probably more holding style techniques. For older babies the massage can become more lively, although they may still enjoy the holding, slow techniques. However while it is fun to include stretches and movements, it is important that they are appropriate for the developmental stage of your baby.
Getting started: Handling/moving:
How to pick up and move your baby.
In some countries parents are shown the best ways to lift and hold your baby. It doesn’t always come naturally. The most important aspect of moving a younger baby is to do any movements slowly and to support your baby appropriately. You don’t want them to startle. Remember they are getting used to a whole new world. Take it easy. You need to make sure their head is supported and lift them up and put them down by gently rolling and turning them. With a new born it is best to hold them close to your body while you massage. This often means that you would sit on the floor, often against a wall with a cushion so that you can support your back, and then have the baby placed across your legs which are covered with a towel. You can have your legs fully extended or raise up your knees a little, depending on what your baby enjoys. This can be a great position for getting your baby used to lying on their tummy because their head can rest on your knees so that they can see . With an older baby you can have your baby lying on a towel on the floor in front of you and move them more.
Your position
Be in a comfortable position: you might want to be sat against a wall with comfortable cushions.
Clothed or unclothed. Decide if you want to undress them and work with oil or keep their clothes on. It is lovely to get them undressed and have skin contact. Remember their body was covered with a natural oil (vernix) which protected them in the womb. It is also nice for them to have some time without their nappy on. Good oils for babies are vegetable base oils, preferably organic and cold-pressed, which are more natural . Here you could use Kadria Baby Oil with Apricot and Rosehip. If you have less time or don’t always feel like undressing your baby, you can do a lot of the stretches and holding work through their clothes.
Simple touch over whole body is a quiet soothing way to start.
It is lovely to simply stroke gently all over their body. Use your whole hand. You can focus more on your finger tips or more on your palms. Explore the areas they like being touched. Notice the amount of pressure they like which is likely to be different in different areas. Notice how quick they like the stroking to be. Again it may be different in different places. Notice if they like you to stop and stay on certain areas. Notice how they move and respond. If they start kicking with their legs or opening out their arms, then you might want to encourage them with these movements by gently stretching. Don’t force any stretches and see the stretches as supporting movements the baby is already doing. Try to cover all areas of their body; back and front.
Tummy time
Many parents are concerned about putting their baby “back to sleep” and they forget how important tummy time is for babies development. Babies from birth need to lie on their tummy to develop their neck, shoulders and back in preparation for sitting, crawling and eventually standing and walking. If babies aren’t given ‘tummy time’ early on, it may become hard for them to lift their head when they are placed their tummy later on. This means they often get frustrated and so parents don’t put their baby on their tummy aggravating the situation even more. It is important to try to overcome this but without distressing your baby. Ways to do this can include laying your baby along your legs and then lifting your knees (as in early positioning). You could also try by putting a squishy pillow or rolled towel under their shoulders.
When is a good time to massage my baby?
It can be at any time of day or when your baby is starting to fall asleep. It can be for older children as part of a bed time routine.
This is the end of the first blog. Tune in for the next instalment where you will learn in more detail how to perform an infant massage.
Images courtesy of Baby Shiatsu, Karin Kalbanter-Wernicke, Tina Haase and Monika Werneke (2012), Singing Dragon
