Touch is a form of communication on the most basic, fundamental level, where there are no words or judgments or ego. It is simply the purest possible interaction between two people.
Touching a new born babe by family members and loved ones welcomes the new baby into the family structure by showing bub that he or she is not only safe and protected, but truly cherished. All parents have that power at their fingertips.
Touch is vital and establishes powerful physical and emotional connections between baby and his or her caregivers and touch plays an essential role for the development of attachment behavior and for the early social development of the young child.
“All humans need loving physical contact including babies. Parents can literally boost their baby’s immune function, accelerating healing and speed recovery from physical stress by giving their babies the gift of human touch. It’s powerful medicine.” (Mike Adams, natural health advocate USA). Touch is vitally important to communication and learning and is a powerful healing force.
“To be tender, loving, and caring, human beings must be tenderly loved and cared for in their earliest years, from the moment they are born. Held in the arms of their mothers, caressed, cuddled, and comforted.” - Dr Ashley Montagu.
The power of touch has been known for eons and infant massage has been around for centuries. Documented evidence of infant massage occurred as early as 2760 BC in China. It has been practiced for centuries in parts of South Africa, South America and the Far East as part of the mothering process. Infants have enjoyed its benefits as part of their daily lives in places such as Nigeria, Uganda, Fiji, New Guinea and Venezuela.
Within 3 weeks of conception, we have developed a primitive nervous system which links skin cells to our rudimentary brain. Because of this fact massage on any area of the body stimulates nerves which then effect different organs, relax muscles and effect secretion of a number of hormones and neurotransmitters for example, cortisol, serotonin, melatonin and oxytocin. All of these factors are critical to the maintenance of physiological and psychological regulation in infants, children and adults.
The Touch Institute of the University of Miami’s School of Medicine, Florida has conducted significant research on the importance of touch. When it was formally founded in 1992 by Dr Tiffany Field, The Institute was the first centre in the world devoted solely to the study of touch and its application in science and medicine.
Infant Massage is one of the most gratifying experiences that your baby can enjoy emotionally for healthy growth and development, and is a beautiful and simple way for you, as a parent, to express your love for your baby. A loving massage by a parent enriches a baby’s body and soul, and softens many of the “bumps in the road” for a new baby and his or her family.
Formal infant massage techniques involves the systematic touch by human hands in a particular sequence: legs and feet, buttocks, abdomen, chest, arms and hands, face and back.
Parents who massage their infants become sensitive to and understanding of their baby’s cues and thus bonding is developed as parents engage and relax their child in a mutually pleasurable interaction. Infant massage contributes to infant-parent attachment.
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