How Massage Helps Babies
Premature babies are exposed to numerous stresses in intensive care nurseries, including loud noises, bright lights, blood drawing, and invasive procedures. Stress can have negative effect on these babies’ immune systems. Massage therapy can be beneficial because it lowers stress and improves their immune system.
Massage has been used in premature and low birth weight babies to promote growth and development. Before birth, babies are exposed to physical stimulation.
Because premature and low birth weight babies are usually placed in incubators or open beds and are attached to numerous monitors that interfere with them being touch as often as full term babies are.
The Touch Research Institute has conducted numerous studies that revealed the benefits associated with infant massages. It stimulates the immune system, and increases the baby’s resistance to infection. Also massaged babies gain weight faster.
Oxytocin levels are increased by massage. It is a hormone with pain relieving and calming properties.
A review of medical research studies found 14 randomized massage studies involving premature and/or low birth weight babies.
It included studies in which one group of babies did not receive massage and were used in comparison to those who did. In the majority of these studies, the babies were stroked or rubbed for about 15 minutes, three or four times a day, for five or ten days. The studies determined the babies receiving massage gained more weight each day (approximately 5 grams). The massaged babies were discharged earlier from the hospital, had slightly higher developmental test scores and fewer complications. The studies did not determine any negative effects of massage. While it is a time consuming process for nurses to provide, parents can perform it without extensive training.
Benefits for Babies:
* Improves weight gain
* Helps the baby to become more organized
*Allows the baby to be more alert and interactive with others
*Helps start oral feeding earlier (rather than tube feeding)
*Promotes healthier bones
*Supports infant-parent interaction
*Facilitates weight gain in preterm infants
* Lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone
* Increases muscle tone
*Improves sleep and awake patterns
*Earlier hospital discharge
* Improves cognitive and motor development at eight months of age
*Infant massage is a cost effective tool
*Can be used as part of the baby’s developmental care plan
Benefits for Parents and Caregivers
* Provides all of the essential elements of intimate parent-infant bonding and attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, voice, smell, movement, and thermal regulation.
* Encourages pre-verbal communication between caregiver and infant
* Helps to increase parent’s confidence and competence in caring their children.
* Helps parents to reduce their stress, if they are working and must be separated for their child for extended periods during the day
* Allows parents interactive play or one-on-one quiet time with their child
* Creates a regular time of infancy between child and parent
* Increases parents’ self-esteem by reinforcing and enhancing their skills as parents, and validates their role
* Gives parents the tools for understanding their child’s unique rhythms and patterns
* Teaches parents how to read their infants’ cues and recognize their states of awareness
* Gives parents a special way to interact with their children who may be hospitalized. Helps parents feel a greater part of the healing process
* Daily massage helps parents to unwind and relaxe.
* Provides a positive way for fathers to interact with their infants/children
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