Gentle Massage is Good for Babies
Premature babies are exposed to numerous stresses in intensive care nurseries, including loud noises, bright lights, blood drawing, and invasive procedures. Stress can have negative effect on these babies’ immune systems. Massage therapy can be beneficial because it lowers stress and improves their immune system.
Massage promotes growth and development in premature infants. Prior to birth babies are physically stimulated while in their mother’s wombs.
Premature and low birth weight babies are usually placed in incubators or open beds, are are connected to several monitors. This situation makes it very difficult to touch them as often as full term babies are.
Researchers at the University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute have reported for over two decades on the benefits of infant massage. It increase the baby’s resistance to infection by enhancing the immune system. Also, babies receiving massage experience faster weight gain.
Oxytocin levels are increased by massage. It is a hormone with pain relieving and calming properties.
A review of 14 randomized research studies involving premature and or low birth weight babies was conducted.
The review included studies in which a group of babies did not receive massage and were used in comparison to those who did. In most of these studies babies were rubbed or stroked for about 15 minutes, three or four times a day, usually for five or ten days. The studies found that when compared to babies who were not touched, babies receiving massage, gained more weight each day (about 5 grams). They spent less time in hospital, had slightly better scores on developmental tests and had slightly fewer postnatal complications, although there were problems with how reliable these findings are. The studies did not show any negative effects of massage. Massage is time consuming for nurses to provide, but parents can perform massage without extensive training.
Benefits for Babies:
* Improves weight gain
* Helps the baby to become more organized
*Assists the baby in becoming more alert and interactive with others
* Helps start oral feeding earlier (rather than tube feeding)
*Promotes healthier bones
*Supports infant-parent interaction
*Facilitates weight gain in preterm infants
*Lowers cortisol levels, a major stress hormone
*Improves muscle tone
*Improves sleep
* Shortens lengths of stay in hospitals
*Improves motor and cognitive development at 8 months of age
*Infant massage is an inexpesive tool
* Can be used as part of the developmental care plan of preterm infants
Benefits for Parents and Caregivers
* Provides all of the important ingredients of the parent-infant bonding and attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, smell, movement, voice and temperature regulation.
* Encourages pre-verbal communication between caregiver and infant
* Helps parents feel more confident and competent in caring for their children
* Helps parents to reduce their stress, if they are working and must be separated for their child for extended periods during the day
* Allows parents interactive play or one-on-one quiet time with their child
* Creates a regular time of infancy between child and parent
* Increases parents’ self-esteem by reinforcing and enhancing their skills as parents, and validates their role
* Provides parents with the tools for understanding their child’s unique behavior and patterns
* Teaches parents how to read their infant’s cues and recognize their states of awareness
Gives parents a precious way to interact with their children who may be hospitalized. It helps parents to feel a greater part of the healing process
* Daily massage helps parents to unwind and relax
* Provides a positive way for fathers to interact with their infant child
