By Annaliese Phillips, The Alternative Healthcare
“Touch - the most underrated of all the senses”- this was my husband’s favourite saying when we were first married. It’s true. Touch is so simple yet such a powerful tool.
I read about the benefits of baby massage: improved sleep, easing the symptoms of colic and constipation, aiding bonding, reduced restlessness and in general
helping to strengthen and regulate the baby’s primary systems (i.e. the respiratory, circulatory, nervous, musculature and gastrointestinal) but it is only now after hearing the stories and working on my children, that I really ‘get it’. It works.
It’s never too early to receive a massage. Likewise, it’s never too late. Sadly ‘touch’ is something that has been lost in today’s culture. Something that was so natural in days gone by - and still is in other parts of the world - has been muddied.
In India, for example, on a daily basis a grandmother would massage her daughter, who in turn would massage her daughter. It's a way of communicating without words. A friend of mine who teaches massage has commented that her teenage son struggles to talk about a bad day but he will ask for a massage. Post-massage, he will often share his worries.
Baby massage is the beginning of communication - one that can continue into adolescence and, if you enjoy massage yourself, you could also think of it as ‘in-house’ training! Massage allows you to familiarise yourself with your newborn.
BABY MASSAGE