Nurturing, affectionate touch and tactile stimulation helps to build bonds of connection and communication that last a lifetime. Vimala McClure, founder of the International Association of Infant Massage, writes in ‘Infant Massage: A handbook for loving parents’ that this highly rewarding ancient practice “is not a therapy that you do to your baby; it is a deep communicative art that you do with your baby”.

Clinical data is evidencing what natural instinct has taught mothers for generations – that loving interactions, close contact and touch is essential for the healthy development and well being of infants.

Important elements of baby massage that promote the unique attachment bond between you and your baby include eye contact, skin contact, vocalisations, responsiveness, better understanding of infant cues and behaviours, activation of maternal and paternal hormones, temperature regulation, heart regulation and increased parental confidence, competence and relaxation.

Infant massage facilitates a calming response in baby that supports their central, motor and cardiovascular regulations. This calming response teaches your baby to enjoy the comfort and security of loving, nurturing interactions.

Developing a secure attachment bond teaches your baby to trust you and communicate with you, forming the basis of healthy social and emotional development so that they are able to enjoy fulfilling relationships, emotional regulation, resilience and feel good about themselves and others.

Infant massage has been found to promote weight gain in babies by stimulating the release of growth hormones, which in turn helps to boost their appetite. There are numerous studies linking infant massage with healthy weight gain in both preterm and full term infants. One study even showed preterm babies who received infant massage averaged a 47% greater weight gain per day, were more active and alert and had better behavioural organisation.

This gentle and nurturing approach to infant care not only facilitates healthy weight gain but also supports the baby's overall healthy development. One study showed massage infants have increased bone density, while another study demonstrated newborns who were massaged gained more weight per day and had increased awareness and motor skills.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses examining infant massage as a method of jaundice management have noted that infants receiving massage therapy demonstrated a significant increase in bowel movements. This not only increases excretion of bilirubin but also helpfully reduces constipation. Stimulation of the digestion system helps to increase gastric motility which prevents gas and pressure from building up and causing discomfort.

The Infant Massage USA course teaches a specific routine of strokes aimed at relieving gas and constipation.

There’s no need to break the bank on these high-tech gadgets such as vibrating baby swings and rockers! Here’s the good news! You can turn to infant massage instead —a more natural, interactive, and scientifically-proven method that is just as effective in soothing a fussy baby. This study showed that infant massage was comparable to a crib vibrator in reducing crying and symptoms of colic. Infant massage helps stimulate the release of serotonin and oxytocin which lowers the stress hormone cortisol and reduces crying.

Jaundice is a common condition in newborns, marked by the yellowing of the skin and eyes due to elevated levels of bilirubin. While jaundice is generally harmless, severe cases may require medical intervention. However, in many instances, gentle massage can aid as a supportive measure for reducing the symptoms of jaundice in infants. Studies have shown that infant massage benefits newborns by increase the frequency of bowel movements, aiding in the expelling of excess bilirubin from the body, not to mention helping to alleviate constipation. Massage is known to promote relaxation and boost circulation, which can help in the breakdown of bilirubin and its excretion from the body.

This study concluded that through massage therapy the bilirubin level in preterm newborns can be controlled in combination with phototherapy, while another study found a significant lowering of bilirubin levels after 3-4 days of massage therapy.

Baby massage is proven to reduce the stress hormone cortisol and stimulate production of melatonin (the hormone that regulates sleep cycles). This helps babies to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Dr Martha Brown Menard noted that one research analysis of a massage-based bedtime routine led to a significant reduction in the number of nighttime wakings for children and mothers. Overall, mothers perceived improvements in bedtime difficulty, how well their child slept, their child’s morning mood and their confidence in managing child sleep issues.

Baby massage is proven to promote alert states in babies, enabling them to learn more. In one study, 4 month olds who received massages demonstrated increased responses to audio-habituation tasks. The natural sensory stimulation of infant massage speeds myelination of the brain and nervous system. The myelin sheath is fatty covering around each nerve. This boost rapid neural-cell firing and improves brain-body communication, enhances oxygen and nutrient flow to cells, release of growth hormones and improves breathing patterns and lung health (respiration). These all help to spark neurons in the brain to grow and branch out to improve mental processing/skills (cognition).

According to Children’s Hospital of Richmand at VCU, baby massage can enhance early development with a “lifelong impact in five important areas improving:

• Communication skills – promotes emerging speech, direct eye gaze, listening and turn taking

• Motor skills – improves muscle tone and coordination, increases body awareness

• Social skills – encourages infant and caregiver to engage one another

• Self-help skills – stimulates oral motor musculature awareness, lip closure, and relaxation of tension needed for swallowing

• Cognition – enhances overall awareness of self and body boundaries, cause and effect, and increase in attention span”.

The benefits are not just for babies either! Infants who received increased physical stimulation demonstrated increased mental development throughout the first six months, with improved cognitive development shown lasting even after 8 years. In one study, preschoolers further improved their scores in tests performed after receiving massage.

Mothers struggling with postpartum depression have found baby massage beneficial due to helping stimulate oxytocin and endorphins in both mother and infant. A study examining the benefits of infant massage for mothers with postnatal depression found it helped mothers relate better to their babies and learn to understand their cues.

Linda Storm, founding director of Infant Massage USA, noted that “when parents massage their baby, hormones are released to help them relax. Through massage, they learn to understand their baby, building their confidence.”