The purpose of Infant Massage is to promote nurturing touch and communication so that parents, caregivers and children are loved, valued and respected. Infant massage has existed for centuries across many different cultures. In the 1970’s, infant massage was re-introduced to the United States through the creation of a specific massage process combining Indian massage strokes, Swedish massage and principals of reflexology and yoga. Vimala McClure authored and published a book about infant massage in 1978 and the most recent edition was published in 2000. Dr. Tiffany Field, one of the leading authorities and researchers in the field of touch has conducted numerous studies using Vimala McClure’s Infant Massage protocol and her research is available at the Touch Research Institute out of the University of Miami.
Research indicates that a fetus’ sense of touch develops around 6-9 weeks gestation. As humans, our skin is the largest organ and our most important and primary connection to the outside world. Each individual person has a different relationship to touch which is influenced by many factors, such as: culture, education, touch experiences received throughout the lifespan and the person’s underlying physiology.
Evolutionarily speaking, we as humans were designed to live interdependently not independently. Children instinctually want to be close to their parents and one can easily see how infants are calmed when we pick them up and hold them. Chinese and Indian cultures as early as 3000 BC believed that massage was a way to promote healing and prevent disease. However, in the United States, in the early 1900’s Luther Emmet Holt wrote a book called The Care and Feeding of Children. It encouraged mothers to not pick up a crying baby, to feed strictly on a schedule and not handle the child too much. Mothers were considered the contaminators of their infants with disease. John Watson, a behaviorist during that time, encouraged parents to keep an emotional distance from their child in order to avoid making children overly dependent. He believed that you could train a child to be whatever you wanted them to be no matter who the infant “was.” There became a societal fear of spoiling children which continues to inhibit parental response and touch today. Currently most studies around attachment indicate that about 35-40% of children are not securely attached to their caregiver.
Infant massage has been shown to have direct positive benefits on the child and parents. For the child, the benefits can be broken down into four categories: Interaction, Stimulation, Relaxation and Relief.
Interaction
· Promotes bonding and secure attachment
· Undivided attention of parent-child dyad
· Increases verbal, non-verbal and pre-language communication
· Increases feelings of respect, love, tolerance, empathy and nurturing touch
Stimulation
· Enhances development of the circulatory system, digestive system, immune system, lymphatic system, nervous system, respiratory system, vestibular (coordination and balance) system
· Language development
· Motor development including muscle tone
· Stimulates growth
· Supports sensory integration
· Increases mind/body awareness
· Impacts the connection between neurons in baby’s brain
Relaxation
· Improved sleep patterns
· Normalizes muscle tone
· Increased flexibility
· Increased environmental coping mechanisms
· Regulation of behavior states
· Improved self-regulation
· Reduction of stress levels and stress hormones
· Less hyperactivity
Relief
· Eases gas and colic
· Improves constipation and elimination
· Assists with sinus drainage and lymphatic system health
· Decreases muscular tension
· Decreases teething discomfort
· Improves organization of the nervous system
· Decreases sensitivity to touch
· Eases physical and psychological tension
Parents begin to better understand their baby’s cues and unique communication style through infant massage. In addition, parents show better bonding and secure attachment with their baby and demonstrate improved self-esteem and confidence as a parent. Infant massage has been shown to decrease the parent’s stress hormones by stimulating higher levels of relaxing hormones leading to better sleep, better breast or bottle feeding, and a decrease in postnatal depression.
Hi, I'm a pediatric physical therapy and parent support clinician. I help families with children aged 0-5 years old by providing developmentally appropriate and skilled care. My
goal is to make sure each child has the best possible start in life and that each family feels supported. I work closely with parents to provide individualized care plans tailored to their child's needs, while also helping them gain skills and confidence as parents. I love working with families and young
children and watching them grow and develop!
Give Warm Heart Parenting a call today and find out more about how infant massage can support your child and your parenting journey,
508-202-0702 or info@warmheartparenting.com
1. McClure, V. (2000). Infant massage: A handbook for loving parents (rev. ed.). New York: Bantam Books.
3. Eliot, L. (1999). What’s going on in there?: How the brain and mind develop in the first five years of life. New York: Bantam Books.
5. Holt, L.E. (1907). The care and feeding of children: A catechism for the use of mothers and children’s nurses (4th ed.). New York: D. Appleton and Company.
6. Bigelow, K.M., & Morris, E.K. (2001). John B. Watson's advice on child rearing: Some historical context.Behavioral Development Bulletin, 10(1), 26–30. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0100479]
7. Moullin, S., Waldfogel, J., & Washbrook, E. (2014). Baby bonds: Parenting, attachment and a secure base for children. London: The Sutton Trust.
8. Loo, M. (2009). Manual therapies. Integrative Medicine for Children. St. Louis, Missouri: Saunders. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-141602299-2.10003-9.
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