Infant Massage

"Being touched and caressed, being massaged, is food for the infant. Food as necessary as minerals, vitamins and proteins."

~ Dr.Frederick Leboyer

The past two weekends of my life have been great but have been occupied with the Infant Massage Elective at BCMT. The elective teaches students (soon-to-be therapists)how to teach infant massage to parents and other caregivers.

Massaging an infant, whether it's yours or a baby you are caring for, has so many benefits. Some of the many benefits include:

*enhances your baby's bond with you
*creates healthy tone in your baby's developing muscles and reduces muscle tension
*enhances your baby's immune system
*helps reduce the discomforts of digestion, elimination, and teething and may eliminate colic in some cases
*facilitates better sleep patterns
*for the premature baby, may increase weight gain and the chance of an earlier discharge from the hospital
*strengthens your communication with and your intuition about your child
*allows you to be an example of compassion and love for your baby
*gives partners a specific role to fulfill in parenting which helps them feel integrated and important in the parenting process

"Touch is a language that can communicate more love in five seconds, than five minutes of carefully chosen words."

~ Phyllis Davis,Power of Touch

I worked with the sweetest 9 week old girl these past two weeks and really enjoyed her company. She already slept 7 hours a night and was very calm. Her mother came to the sessions and ended up massaging her daughter almost everyday during the week. She saw positive changes in the both of them. Her daughter had more solid stool and her digestion was better! The mom said that she enjoyed the quiet time with her new infant and felt calmer. This experience makes me excited for my own children and had left me wanting to persue a certificate in infant massage so I can work at health centers and hospitals. Many people think they spoil their children when they touch them or hold them too much but healthy touch and love is what people, especially new people to this world, need in order to feel safe and to thrive.