Benefits of Massage Therapy: Part 5- Benefits of Infant Massage

8/27/2014

For the next installment in my Benefits of Massage Therapy series, I want to talk a little bit about infant massage.

As an infant massage instructor, I teach parents and caregivers how to massage their babies. Infant massage has many benefits, not only for the babies, but for the person doing the massage.

Benefits for Babies

The benefits of massage for babies can be broken down into 4 categories; relief, stimulation, interaction, and relaxation. Let's take a look at what kinds of benefits fall under those categories.

Relief of:
•   Gas and constipation
•   Colic
•   Growing pains
•   Teething discomfort
•   Psychological tension

Stimulation of:
•   Language development
•   Muscle development
•   Growth
•   Sensory integration
•   Mind/body awareness
•   All Systems of the body

Interaction:
•   Encourages verbal/nonverbal communication skills
•   Introduces positive, nurturing touch
•   Provides one-on-one time
•   Promotes feelings of:
Love
Trust
Respect
Tolerance
Empathy

Relaxation:
•   Improves sleep patterns
•   Improves the ability to calm oneself
•   Reduces levels of stress hormones
•   Decreases hyperactivity and hypersensitivity

Benefits for parents/caregivers, families, and society*

Parents/caregivers:
•   Decrease in stress hormones
•   Relaxation
•   Improved sleep
•   Stimulation of lactation
•   Decrease in symptoms of depression
•   Achieving a better understanding of your baby
•   Promotion of bonding and attachment
•   More involvement for parents who work full time and don't get as many opportunities to spend time with their babies
•   Quality time

Family:
•   Better sleep for everyone
•   Decrease in sibling rivalry
•   More relaxed environment
•   Increased respect

Societal Impacts*:
•   Increase in respect and empathy
•   Reduction of national health costs due to a healthier society
•   Reduction of:
Abuse
Violence
Vandalism
Crime

* Societal impacts are based on studies that have been done in cultures where infant massage is more prevalent.

To learn more about my infant massage course, with a description of the class structure. Visit my page on infant massage.

3 Comments

Meet the Author

Amanda Tarver, (LMT, CEIM, PES, RMT) is a massage therapist and birth worker in the Chicago area. She is dedicated to using a combination of bodywork and education to help people live a better quality of life.

Amanda opened Women's Massage Therapy in 2011 and has enjoyed bringing quality services to people in Chicago's North Shore ever since. In 2020, she debuted a series of virtual services to help bring those services to people around the globe.

Overview

Women's Massage Therapy has been providing quality services to people and families in Chicago and the North Shore since 2011. Come in for a relaxing massage therapy or Reiki session, or develop a treatment plan to target specific concerns. New parents and pregnant individuals can choose between pregnancy, labor, and postpartum massage therapy options or find a birth doula.

All sessions done by appointment only. No walk-ins please!

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3/31/2016 09:09:11 am

wow, many thanks, very detail post, I will try it tonight :)

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1/7/2020 03:13:48 am

Definitely, massage is very important for infants so mothers should do massage of their new born children on regular basis. It will really help infants to enjoy a healthy childhood as you have also clarified in this article.

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7/1/2021 12:32:57 am

It really helped when you said that massage can bring relief, stimulation, and relaxation for babies. I guess I should look for an infant chiropractic center on Friday who can help my only son. He's been having constipation since last night, so I think that a massage can help improve his condition.