What is Baby (Infant) Massage?
Baby massage is an ancient art that connects you deeply with your baby. It helps you to understand baby’s particular non-verbal language and allow for your baby to respond with love and understanding. It gives you the technique to respond according to your baby’s unique needs.
Touch is the first and most vital sensory experience. A nurturing touch (or the lack of it) can impact the way we think, feel and relate to others, especially for babies.
A baby massage uses gentle, tactile stimulation and loving verbal communication to deepen the relationship between parents and their baby. It is a shared experience, done with the baby and not to the baby.
The Benefits for Baby
- Helps growth & development
- Develops baby’s first language: Touch
- Promotes relaxation to aid sleep
- Helps relieve discomfort from gas, colic and constipation
- Strengthens the digestive, respiratory and immune systems
- Balances the nervous system
- Develops baby’s body-mind awareness and co-ordination
- Encourages bonding and interaction
- Enhances his/her feeling of being loved, respected and secure
- It’s fun!
The Benefits for Parents
- Increases bonding with baby
- Helps in postnatal depression
- Decreases stress hormones
- Gains self confidence
- Learns about baby’s body and development
- Understand awareness of baby’s needs and development
Will rubbing a baby gently with massage oil suffice? Or is there a specific method that a parent should follow?
Having a good knowledge of the various massage strokes can help to improve your baby’s wellness such as relieving discomfort from gas, colic and constipation.
The strokes and styles of baby massage are easy to grasp when demonstrated by our Certified Instructors. The right pressure, pace, rhythm and length of time taken for the massage are also important to your baby. We make sure to teach a digestible amount to ensure that parents are able to follow and are confident with every stroke.
What should a parent prepare before starting the massage?
No special preparation is needed. It is good to massage your baby after the daily bath. But it is advisable not to massage within 30 minutes from the last milk-feeding.
What kind of massage oil should be used?
It is advisable to use massage oils that are natural such Pigeon’s Baby Oil, we use exclusively for our in-house baby massage. Parents can purchase this baby oil and other Pigeon products at our spa.
Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Avocado Oil & Rosehip oils contain components that mimic the composition of the skin, so they are easily absorbed. Sweet Almond Oil especially is a very gentle oil that is soothing, nourishing and moisturizing.
Are there certain ingredients that parents should avoid when choosing massage oils?
You can start with massage oil that is fragrance free for the initial massage experience. Artificial fragrance can be a source of irritation on baby’s delicate skin.
Although babies are not able to speak yet, they express themselves through their body. As you massage them, you look at their body language and their facial expressions. You can tell when they are enjoying it.
In today’s busy and fast-paced lifestyles, take a moment out of your day to connect, laugh, and relax with your baby by setting aside time each day for a baby massage. It’s a wonderful bonding activity you do WITH your child and has countless positive health effects for you both.
It’s simple to learn and NO special tools are required. Register now to bond with your child and enjoy parenthood!