I was recently asked to share an expert article with MyBump2Baby on six reasons to do baby massage
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Six reasons to do baby massage
How beneficial is baby massage? Infant massage brings a multitude of benefits to parent and child. It is an experience that helps strengthen vital bonds, while providing stimulation and relief for babies. Baby massage is suitable for babies from birth, so it is an ideal first class to attend with your new-born, just as soon as you feel ready to come to a class. Here are half a dozen key benefits of baby massage:
Massage also reduces levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and noradrenaline. Furthermore, over time, regular massage can actually help baby with their ability to self-regulate and cope better in stressful situations, regulating their behavioural states and remaining calm.
You will also learn touch relaxation, a technique which helps with physical and psychological tension.
Baby massage helps increase connections between the neurons in the brain and promotes the growth of the myelin sheath around those neurons, as well as aiding sensory integration and body/mind awareness. Also, as we learn to recognise and respond to baby’s cues, baby’s language development is stimulated which leads to improved learning ability.
When you really know your baby and can read their cues you will feel more confident in caring for them. Being involved in a positive activity with baby provides quality time with them and a chance to discover their uniqueness. Massaging your baby decreases stress hormones and increases levels of relaxation hormones such as oxytocin and prolactin. If you are breastfeeding, you might also find that milk production is stimulated. Baby massage will help you to feel more relaxed and can improve your sleep too. In addition, attending a baby massage course is a great way to get out and about and meet other parents with babies of a similar age, with whom you can share the experience, perhaps even making lifelong friends for you and baby. And perhaps most important of all, studies have shown that baby massage decreases incidences of post-natal depression.
Our IAIM baby massage courses run every half term. Email [email protected] to book your place. Hi everyone, Clare here!
I thought it was a good time to introduce myself. I am a Mam to 3 children (Ben, 21, Emily, 13 and Alfred, 11). I have been a Breastfeeding Peer Supporter with Newcastle Breastfeeding Support since 2008 and a Certified Infant Massage Instructor (CIMI) since I trained with the International Association of Infant Massage (IAIM) in 2010. I love supporting women with their breastfeeding and teaching families baby massage and was always sad to say goodbye to them at the end of their 5 week baby massage course. I wanted to have a follow on course for families to attend so in 2012 I trained to be a Baby Yoga instructor with Birthlight, this was a natural progression for me as I have practised yoga all of my adult life. As the babies grew the parents asked me to do more training so that they could continue to attend my classes. Over the next few years I trained to teach Baby Yoga for mobile babies and Toddler Yoga with Birthlight, Children's yoga with Calm for Kids and Teen yoga with TeenYoga. I still teach those first baby massage babies in my children's yoga classes at our local primary schools. As well as teaching yoga in primary schools I also teach in local nurseries and pre schools and our local secondary school. I absolutely love my job, helping new parents to communicate with their babies through touch in baby massage and introducing parents and children to the benefits of yoga. Hopefully I will welcome you to one of my classes in the near future. Love and light Clare :) xx |
Clare StraughanMam of 3, CIMI, Wellbeing for Mothers and Babies Instructor, Birthlight Baby and Toddler Yoga Instructor, Calm for Kids Children's Yoga Instructor, TeenYoga Instructor and Breastfeeding Peer Supporter. Archives
April 2023
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