Infant Massage as a Healing Tool After a Difficult or Delayed Start
- Crystal Miles
- May 16
- 5 min read
“Infant massage is not a fad, it is an ancient art that connects you deeply to the person who is your baby , and it helps you to understand your baby's particular nonverbal language and respond with love and respectful listening.”
Vimala McClure’s quote expertly expresses the power of Infant Massage far beyond the physical benefits. Baby massage courses often publicly focus their marketing strategies on the relief benefits that massage can offer babies such as colic, constipation, teething to relate to parental struggles, yet the benefits are many are far reaching. You’d be forgiven for thinking that baby massage only offers benefits to the recipient but there is a wealth of evidence to highlight the benefits for parents also, and they are literally at your fingertips.
Having worked with families over the past ten years both antenatally and postnatally, one of my favourite attributes to Infant Massage is how healing it can be for both parent and baby after a difficult or delayed start. It’s common during the antenatal period for parents to learn how important the hormone oxytocin is which can peak during a vaginal delivery, or when breastfeeding and having skin to skin contact, and how essential this hormone is for bonding, but where does that leave the parents that may have experienced a different beginning?
We know beyond doubt that there is nothing more healing than the human touch. Our skin is our
external brain, even just 1cm2 contains around 5000 touch receptors. Some psychologists term our physical need for human contact ‘touch or skin hunger’ and note that to deny this hunger can have profound emotional and even physical consequences. We are programmed to satisfy this need.
Studies show that Infant Massage is linked to a reduction in the incidence of post-natal depression as well as resulting in better interactions between Mothers and Babies. Parents recognise improvements in areas such as baby's relaxation and sleep, as well as their own confidence as a parent; recognising their babies’ needs and feeling more relaxed themselves overall.
Research also shows us that baby massage is effective in increasing the Mother-Infant attachment and this has a lot to do with the hormone oxytocin. When we hold and touch our babies, make eye contact, kiss them, smell them and remain close to them, we have a wonderful release of oxytocin. Oxytocin expert Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg studies the many benefits of oxytocin concluding that when released, though touch, warmth and affectionate connection, it increases bonding and attachment, decreases blood pressure, increases blood circulation to parts of the brain, reduces muscle tension, gives pain relief and increases secretion of digestive enzymes and stomach acid amongst many other benefits. Oxytocin is the hormone that keeps us calm, happy, relaxed and essentially, allows us to fall in love.
“Thank you so much for making me and Isobel feel so very comfortable. Greatly helpful and
invaluable for me as I start my new journey with her. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It
helped me tremendously.” IAIM Parent of a child with additional needs.
Where extreme prematurity or health/surgery to baby or mother prevent immediate skin-to-skin
contact, Dr. Nils Bergman, specialist in perinatal neuroscience, and his team have found that you
can start again, even after weeks of separation, to build the skin-to-skin bond between parent and infant. Skin-to-skin contact is not just for the immediate period following birth. So many of the benefits will continue as your child grows. An ideal way is to massage your baby, infant massage is often used as a tool to help adoptive or foster parents, and for families with additional needs, to build bonds with their babies through nurturing touch and connection. The International Association of Infant Massage (IAIM) will work with these families up to the age of seven.
Infant Massage is not just for Mothers of course, research has found that up to 1 in 10 new Fathers can become depressed after having a baby. As well as raising their own levels of oxytocin, massage increases the hormone prolactin in Fathers which promotes caregiving behaviour and, over time, directs the brain reorganisation to favour these behaviours.
Bonding is a process and humans are resilient. This process that can be enhanced in many ways
through touch such as skin to skin contact, keeping your baby close, massage and responsive
parenting. Getting to know your baby through nurturing touch involves all of the senses and
incorporates all of the main elements of bonding when done respectfully and with love. Children are born with the innate desire to seek security and relationships from a primary caregiver and secure attachment happens when parents are able to recognise the cues of their child’s behaviour and support the child.
Having a baby is a colossal transition at the best of times, feel confident that nurturing, loving, touch is there for both you and your baby. It is never too late for humans to bond.
Crystal Miles
International Trainer for the International Association of Infant Massage
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