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August 26, 2024

A Step-by-Step Guide to Safe and Soothing Baby Massage

Holding and cuddling your little one is a wonderful experience for you and your baby. The warm touches are not only expressions of love, but medical research has also proven that they are an important aspect of your child’s emotional and physiological development.

Your touch works like magic for your baby be it feeding them, massaging them, changing their diaper, rocking them or doing the other things in their daily care routine. These are also simple ways to make your baby feel safe and calm.


What is a Baby Massage?

Gentle, rhythmic stroking of your baby’s body with your hands is called baby massage. During the massage, you can gently manipulate your baby’s wrists, fingers and ankles. Ideally, you should start massaging your baby within the first few weeks of birth.

The best time to massage is before sleep, before or after bath and 45 minutes after feeding. You can use a comfortable bed or soft carpet on the floor to massage your baby. Using a suitable oil is essential.


Benefits of Massaging Your Baby

Studies have revealed that baby massage has lasting benefits not only for the baby but for the parents too!

Benefits of Massage for Your Baby

Let us look at the positive effect of massage on your baby’s physical health:

  • Promotes restful and healthy sleep
  • Calms the baby by lowering the levels of stress hormones
  • Relaxes muscles, improves the flexibility of arms and legs, relieves cramps and growth pain
  • Promotes healthy breathing leading to good body awareness
  • Improves digestion, reducing the chances of constipation
  • Improves blood circulation and increases immunity
  • Reduces skin sensitivity
  • Helps release gas
  • Provides relief from symptoms of colic such as sleeplessness and irritability
  • Provides relief from the discomfort associated with teething and stimulates oral development

Benefits of Massaging Your Baby for You

Regular baby massage can be beneficial for you too, as a parent. Here’s how:

  • Improves your awareness about your baby’s needs
  • Boosts your confidence in your baby’s daily routine
  • Helps you understand your baby’s cues, what they like and don’t
  • Improve your bond with your child and develop a healthy attachment
  • Feel relaxed as a parent
  • Builds trust between your baby and you, which in turn, can promote the healthy development of your baby
  • Improves your state of well-being, in case you are suffering from postnatal depression and other mental health issues

Why is Touch Important for Your Baby

Touch is important for all humans, especially for babies. They are wordless messages of safety, love, sympathy and much more. This unspoken language especially matters when you are bonding with your baby. Your touch is how your child associates with you and bonds with you.


When Should You Start Massaging Your Baby

Well, there’s no hard and fast rule about when to start massaging your baby. Some babies may find structured massage too stimulating in the first few weeks after they are born. Many parents wait till the infant is about six weeks old and more settled with their daily routine. Usually, your paediatrician will check your baby for any issues with development around six weeks after they are born. It is good to start the massage after this check-up.

Most importantly, we recommend getting your doctor’s approval before starting to massage your baby.


Getting Ready to Massage Your Baby

Okay, so you are ready to start massaging your baby. But how do you actually start? What do you need?

Let’s answer these questions.

You need two things to massage your baby – a towel or blanket and massage oil in a non-breakable container. Take your doctor’s opinion on the massage oil you want to use, to avoid using anything with harsh ingredients or strong fragrances that may irritate your baby. Take a little bit of oil and massage a small spot of your baby’s skin to ensure it doesn’t cause any discomfort to your little one.

Your baby should be in a quiet but alert state while being massaged. Do not massage immediately after feeding or when they are feeling sleepy.

Now, let’s talk about how to hold your baby.

Sit on the floor and form a diamond shape with your legs by touching the soles of your feet together. Put the towel or blanket over your feet. Place your child on the towel or blanket. Ensure your little one is not wearing a diaper.

Start slowly. If your child cries, gets irritable or stiffens, avoid massaging. Continue only if the child responds well.


Massaging Techniques

Let’s talk about massaging techniques that you can use for various parts of your infant’s body.

Stomach and Chest

It has been researched that messaging a baby’s stomach can provide relief from gastrointestinal issues such as gas and constipation, and improve digestion, and symptoms of colic and improve digestion.

Here are some of the techniques you can follow:

  1. Start at the navel. Place your thumb beside the baby’s navel and move them slowly towards the sides. Ensure to put gentle pressure. Repeat this a few times.
  2. Place your hands on the left side of the baby’s stomach and massage forming the letter ‘I’ with your fingers. Repeat this motion by forming the letters ‘ L’ and ‘U’. Follow the same method for the right side.
  3. Move your hands one by one in a cross-motion between the child’s chest to lower tummy. Repeat this a few times.
  4. Put your fingers on the infant’s stomach and massage in a circular motion.
  5. Place your hand on the child’s tummy and move them one by one in horizontal motion. Repeat a few times.
  6. Hold your little one’s knees together and gently push them towards the abdomen. This often helps in releasing gas.

Back

Back massages help your child get used to lying on their stomach. But first, ensure that they feel comfortable lying on the stomach before you start massaging them. To massage the back, place your baby on the tummy on your outstretched legs. Keep their hands in front of them, not on their side.

The common techniques followed to massage your child’s back are:

  1. Place your fingers on your baby’s back of the neck and slowly move down to the buttocks. Repeat a few times.
  2. Place three fingers of both your hands at the back of the neck and start making a circular motion. Slowly slide down to the baby’s waist, while moving your fingers in circles. Ensure not to press the spine directly.
  3. Hold your little one’s buttocks with one hand and use the other to stroke down from the neck to the buttocks.
  4. Massage your baby’s buttocks in big circular motions.
  5. Massage the child’s shoulders in small circular motions.
  6. Hold your fingers like a rake and stroke down the back slowly.

Arms

Massaging your baby’s arms improves muscle tone and coordination. It also helps to improve your child’s body awareness.

  1. Hold one of your baby’s arms at the armpit with both your arms and slowly move up to the wrist by moving one hand after another. Repeat on the other hand. This massaging process is known as Indian milking.
  2. Start at your child’s wrist and massage slowly down to the armpit. Repeat a few times.
  3. Hold your baby’s wrist with one hand and tap the upper arm multiple times so that the upper arm is relaxed.
  4. Roll your baby’s fingers by starting at the base and moving up to the tip. Repeat the same step for each finger. Ensure to massage all the fingers several times. Gentle squeeze the fingers when you do this.
  5. Massage the palm of the child’s hand, moving your thumb from the wrist up to the fingers.
  6. Roll the arm between both your hands.
  7. Hold the child’s wrist lightly and move your fingers in small circles.

Leg

Yes, we know your child is not walking yet. But gently massaging the legs can release tension and relax your child.

Here are some leg massaging techniques that you can follow:

  1. Well, you can do Indian milking for your kid’s legs too. Hold the legs, one at a time, and massage from the thigh and move down to the ankles slowly by changing your hands one by one. Repeat a few times in both legs.
  2. Lift one leg by the ankle and tap on the upper thigh lightly. This will relax the upper thighs.
  3. Grasp one leg at the thigh, one hand above the other and stroke down from hip to foot with both hands rotating in opposite directions in a wringing motion.
  4. Place both your thumbs on the sole and slide slowly from the base of the toes up to the heel. Press gently when you do this. Repeat a few times.
  5. Place your hand on the top of the foot and squeeze gently.
  6. Roll your baby’s toes one by one from the middle up to the tip of the toe.
  7. Place your thumb at the child’s ankle and move them in a small circular motion.
  8. Roll the little one’s leg between your hands, like rolling a dough.

Head and Face

Massaging your child’s head and face helps improve blood circulation, release tension and improve your baby’s quality of sleep. A head massage can also promote hair growth.

  1. Place both your thumbs on the middle of your child’s forehead and gently slide to the sides.
  2. Place your thumbs on either side of the infant’s nose and move gently towards the sides to massage your child’s cheeks.
  3. Place your thumb on the sides of your child’s lips and slowly move towards the sides.
  4. Massage your child’s cheeks in a circular motion.
  5. Place your fingers on your child’s fingertips and massage the jaw in small circles.
  6. Cradle your baby’s head in both hands and massage the scalp with your fingertips. Avoid the soft spot on the top of the baby’s head.
  7. Hold your baby’s ears in between your child’s thumb and index fingers and massage gently.

Some Useful Tips for Messaging Your Baby

Messaging should be a fun activity between you and your child. Here are some tips to keep your little one happy and safe.

  • Do not massage your baby immediately after feeding. Wait at least 45 minutes.
  • Ensure your child is alert and calm before you start the massage.
  • Ensure the strokes are gentle but firm. Avoid tickling your baby while massaging.
  • Massage your child regularly and incorporate it into your little one’s daily schedule.
  • Knowing when to stop is important and for this take cues from your baby. When the child starts to cry, squirm or fall asleep, that’s the time you need to stop.
  • Ensure to consult your doctor about the oil to use for massaging. Using essential oils on a baby is not suggested.
  • Don’t use oil to massage around your child’s eyes, nose and mouth.

A Final Word

Well, massaging your baby is not simply about the massage, it is a time when you develop a long-lasting bond with your child. So, don’t worry much about technique and don’t be bothered if you can’t get it right in the beginning. It is going to get better with every passing day.

It is most important for your child to enjoy the massage. Stop as soon as you find your baby is not feeling comfortable. And most importantly, contact your doctor if you feel something is wrong.

Looking for expert care or specialized treatment for your baby? Reach out to our physiotherapy department now!



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