The Art of Infant Massage

It's one of life's simple pleasures (massage has long been enjoyed by adults), and research is showing that babies grow better and act better when they are on the receiving end of the right touch. Infant massage is a skin-to-skin connection that helps parents and baby better read each other's body language – without saying a word. Massage is a touch you do with your baby, not to your baby. It's an interaction, not a task. You learn which strokes your baby enjoys and become more in tune with the flow of your baby's body language.

Touch stimulates growth-promoting substances

Healthcare providers have long known that babies who are touched a lot grow better, and now there is research to back up this observation. There seems to be a biological connection between stroking, massaging, and grooming infants and their growth. Touch stimulates growth-promoting hormones and increases the enzymes that make the cells of the vital organs more responsive to the growth-promoting effects of these hormones. For example, premature infants showed 47 percent more weight gain when they received extra touch.

Touch promotes brain growth

Not only is touch good for the body, it's good for the mind. Studies show that newborns receiving extra touch display enhanced neurological development. Why this smart connection? Researchers believe that touch promotes the growth of myelin, the insulating material around nerves that makes nerve impulses travel faster.

Touch improves digestion

Babies receiving extra touch show enhanced secretion of digestive hormones. Researchers believe that this is another reason that touched infants grow better. It seems that touch makes the babies' digestive system more efficient. Babies with colic caused by the irritable colon syndrome may have less trouble in the colon when massaged frequently.

Touch improves behavior

Research shows babies receiving extra touch become better organized. They sleep better at night, fuss less during the day, and relate better to caregivers' interactions. Touch settles babies. Massage can be a wonderful tool for helping your baby sleep at night.

Touch helps parents

A daily massage helps you to get in touch with your whole baby, to read her body language, and to learn her cues. Giving your baby the right touch is just one more step up the ladder of learning about your baby. For dads who are novices at caring for babies, massage is a hands-on course in baby handling. Also, it's important for baby to get used to dad's touch as well as mom's. Babies thrive on different strokes.

Special touches for special babies

Handicapped infants – and their parents – particularly benefit from infant massage. Studies show that massage helps motor-impaired infants to better communicate their needs to the parents – a process called social cueing. Massage puts you in touch with your infant's body signals.

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Infant massage - great for you and your new baby

I teach parents/caretakers in private lessons or small groups (never more than three families at once). You learn by massaging your child while I demonstrate the strokes on a doll (his name is "Ricco"). Each class is taught in 3 sessions which are spaced one week apart. This gives parents a chance to practice at home, determine what is working for their family and write down any questions or troubles they are having. This makes the classes more interactive and effective.

Group Classes: $75/family

Private Classes: $90/family

Give a gift certificate to friends who are expecting!

Makes a great Baby Shower gift!

Prenatal massage also available to help mom get ready for the big event.

Text Box: Infant Massage is an ancient tradition which has been re-discovered in the West. Clinical evidence shows that loving, nurturing contact between caregiver and infant has a positive impact on subsequent development. Infant massage classes teach you how to give your child benefits that last a lifetime.

Benefits of infant massage

Text Box: Enhance bonding, communication & parenting skills Helps strengthen & regulate the digestive, respiratory & circulatory systems Helps parents understand & respond to baby's non-verbal clues Relieve the symptoms of gas & colic Teaches babies to be aware of their own tensions & how to release them Enhances parent's sense of competence in dealing with fussy, sick, or special needs babies