The gentle touch: a guide to baby massage

This will be helpful to all you mothers out there, and fathers?

The gentle touch: a guide to baby massage
(Sunday, 2nd March 2003)

By Sarah Lonsdale

Baby massage: is it just the latest in childcare hype or could it enhance your relationship with your child and also boost the health of you and your baby?

People have massaged their babies for centuries in Eastern cultures but the practice has only made its way to the UK fairly recently. However, the therapy is becoming more and more popular among new mums.

Advocates say the benefits for babies are wide ranging, promoting physical, emotional and mental well-being. It is also thought to lower the risk of post-natal depression in mothers.

And the idea has its supporters in the NHS too. As well as being used in some hospital special baby care units, increasing numbers of health
visitors are being trained to teach baby massage to new mothers.

A mother's touch

Clare Mundy has been teaching baby massage for the past 10 years, and runs group classes and individual sessions in south-east London and Kent. She says when she first started out there was a lot of ignorance about the practice.

'I think it was first seen as a bit unusual and possibly a bit 'alternative',' she says. 'But there is now such a growing body of evidence that it can help with things like weight gain in premature babies, and help mothers with post-natal depression, that I have now been asked to train health visitors so they can teach their new mums.'

Baby massage uses only the gentlest of touches over various parts of the body, including legs and feet, stomach, chest, arms, back and face, and is very different from the deep muscular massage adults have.

Among its many listed benefits, the International Association of Infant Massage says baby massage promotes better sleep, boosts the immune system, aids digestion and helps relieve teething pain in babies.

It also promotes bonding between infant and parent, makes the child feel loved, builds parents' and baby's self-esteem, relaxes parents and helps them learn about their baby's needs.

Most of the evidence tends to be anecdotal rather than research-based, however. But where research has taken place, the benefits have been endorsed.

Super smilers

One study in the US looked at the effects of baby massage on grandparents. Half were given a relaxing massage and the other half gave their grandchild a 15-minute massage. The massage givers were consistently healthier and had a lower heart rate than the grandparents who were given a massage. Clare Mundy is unsurprised by this finding. 'I have been massaging for 10 years and I am never ill,' she says.

And research conducted at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in Hammersmith, London, suggests that baby massage helps mothers with post-natal depression bond with their babies.

Professor Vivette Glover, an expert in child stress who carried out the research, says post-natal depression severely affects a mother's relationship with her baby and the effects can be seen in the child as he grows, sometimes making him over-anxious and withdrawn.

But mothers who massage their babies find it easier to interact with them. After just five sessions, Prof Glover found the babies who had been massaged were smiling more than before.

A magical moment

One mother who has noticed the benefits is Pamela Collins, an accountant from south London. Pamela was 38 when she had her son Billy. She took him to baby massage classes when he was eight weeks old, initially to give her the opportunity to meet other mothers, but she says it soon became apparent that Billy was really enjoying the sessions.

Although Pamela isn't convinced that it made any difference to her son's well-being, she feels the exercise had other benefits.

'I didn't really see any change in Billy's health,' she says. 'He didn't start sleeping better and nor was his eczema improved. But having said that, it was a really lovely way to enjoy being with my baby, and that must be a positive benefit in itself.'

'It was a really special time for both of us,' she adds. 'We both felt relaxed and happy afterwards.'

Getting going

So if you're convinced it's something you want to do, how do you go about it? The National Childbirth Trust can give you details of where to attend your nearest baby massage class, or you can ask your health visitor for details.

And once you've picked up those skills - which tend to include Indian-style massage, Swedish massage, reflexology and gentle yoga-style movements - when's the best time to practice it?

'A lot of mums think baby massage helps their baby sleep, but I would not recommend a massage at bedtime,' says Clare. 'Although it is relaxing, it can also leave baby energised and alert. Also, at the end of the day he might be too tired to enjoy it properly.

'I recommend mums choose a time in the day when baby is neither too tired nor too hungry, possibly after a mid-morning bath. Remember, massage is not a medicine to be administered at set times: choose a time when both you and your baby are going to appreciate it.'

Kitchen cupboard therapy

Until recently, baby massage was done with almond oil, a light oil used in many skin preparations. But worries about nut allergies have prompted massage trainers to go for other oils, such as grape seed, wheatgerm, olive or sunflower oil.

Mervi Jokinen, a midwife with the Royal College of Midwives who has practised baby massage, says, 'The important thing is not to use the traditional clear baby oils, which are mineral based, contain a lot of added ingredients and are not absorbed very well by the skin.

'Because babies are constantly putting their fingers in their mouths, it is important that you use an edible oil. Peanut oil is of course out of the question.'

Pamela says it took a while to gain the confidence to practise massage alone at home - and she also found there were some unexpected costs. 'You need to be ever so gentle with a baby, not like massage for adults,' she says.

'Mind you, it cost me a fortune in olive oil. I was so worried about his skin and allergies that I only used the really expensive organic stuff. He's 14 months old now and too busy running around to lie down and have a massage, which I kind of miss. But at least we can have salad dressing again.'

Further information:

Clare Mundy's baby massage classes

International Association of Infant Massage

National Childbirth Trust