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New Baby

Baby Massage

Infant or baby massage is when a parent or carer uses an oil to stroke their baby or child while talking softly to them and making eye contact. The massage strokes and communication through touch, words and sight helps the baby to feel relaxed, contained and loved, enhancing bonding and relieving common conditions such as wind.

 

Dive Deeper

How Infant Massage Can Help Your Baby

Research and evidence has shown that baby massage may help your baby in lots of ways.

  • It can develop and strengthen the attachment and bond with their parents and carers.
  • It can relive the discomfort from common issues such as wind, colic and constipation or teething pain when they are older.
  • The relief of common issues such as trapped wind or the relaxing effect of massage may help your baby to sleep.
  • Although crying in newborns is normal and peaks around 6-8 weeks after birth, the soothing touch and gentle communication used in infant massage may help to calm the baby. It can help to reduce any stress they may be feeling and release feel good hormones into their system.
  • Talking to your baby when they are receiving a massage (or any other interaction such as nappy changing, bathing or dressing/undressing) will help their early communication skills to develop. This includes both verbal and non-verbal.
  • Massage can help your baby to develop an awareness of their body and how it works. This may help with their co-ordination, promote their growth and physical development.

How Infant Massage Can Help Parents and Carers

Infant massage can help parents and carers in lots of ways.

  • It can help you feel close and connected to your baby through this special one to one activity.
  • It can help you recognise and respond to their cues for comfort/discomfort or feeding through a greater awareness and understanding of their behaviours, body language and communication.
  • It can help you to feel relaxed and contained through the release of oxytocin into your system triggered by the therapeutic touch of skin on skin. This may mean increased confidence in parenting skills and positively impact on postnatal mood for both parents and carers.

What You Need to Know Before Starting Infant Massage

  • Dads can massage too.
  • It is recommended to wait until 4-6 weeks after birth so that the baby’s skin can adapt to their environment and your baby is more settled into the world outside the womb.
  • All babies can have massage but not all babies like it at first or are ready yet and that’s ok. You can stop and try again when they are a little older.
  • A non-scented cold pressed vegetable oil is best to use on babies’ skin.
  • Avoid the use of potential allergens (such as peanuts or sesame) in oils if your baby has eczema or broken skin.

Read more about what oils to use in infant massage (including those to avoid).

Where to Access Infant Massage

Free infant massage courses can be accessed via the Early Childhood & Family Service.

You can also find out infant massage groups in the Norfolk Community Directory.

Please be aware that some groups may have a charge for infant massage courses.

Who Can Help?

If you feel worried and would like more advice you can speak to your midwife throughout your pregnancy and up to 28 days after the birth of your baby.

If you live in Norfolk

  • You can contact the Healthy Child Service team for advice and guidance by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123 or texting Parentline on 07520 631590. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays).

If you live in Suffolk

If your child is 11-24 years old, FYI Norfolk is an interactive NHS website just for them. It provides reliable and trustworthy advice and support on lots of health and wellbeing topics.

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