Baby massage stimulates the circulatory, digestive, hormonal, nervous and lymphatic system, thus providing relief from tension and stress (both physically and psychologically) while relaxing the body and mind of baby and parent alike through increased levels of calming and bonding hormones.
On the physical level, baby massage may, for example, smoothen out baby’s (and by extension our) sleeping pattern, reduce crying, improve muscle tone development, and ease digestion by helping relieve colic, gas and constipation in our little one. Importantly, though, the benefits of infant massage are not only physical. Parents who regularly massage their baby tend to gain a deeper understanding of their little one’s needs and pre-verbal communication cues, thus becoming more relaxed and more confident in their parenting skills and styles.
Experience and research show that our mental health is most significantly shaped by our earliest relationships in the first year(s) of our life. Thus having baby establish a strong and secure relationship with the primary caregiver(s) in the first months and year can make all the difference. Infant massage helps exactly with this. Through skin-to-skin and eye contact; strokes, resting hands and touch relaxation; singing and rhyming, infant massage contributes to building the foundations of baby’s lifelong mental health by relying on their very first sense to develop in the womb: touch.