YOLO Acupuncture is now certified to perform baby massage. This course was undertaken to follow on the keen interest and special focus YOLO Acupuncture has with fertility and helping men and women get pregnant.
Baby massage promotes a special bonding between baby and parent and it complements the natural instincts to soothe and calm. Studies have shown that routine touch and massage can lead to improved physiological, cognitive, emotional and social development of the infant.
In many cultures, the practice of massaging babies is a technique passed down from generation to generation. Historians have found evidence of baby massage dating back over 3000 years.
Bonding is an intense attachment you develop for your baby. It is a feeling that makes you want to shower them with love and affection. However, it is not always an instant process. One in five mothers will find bonding with their baby difficult. One in ten mothers are likely to suffer from postnatal depression within a year of their child’s birth.
Baby massage is a great way for parents and baby to bond, show their love and care for the baby through touch. 80% of a baby’s communication is through touch. Bonding is essential for a baby. When a parent responds to a baby’s needs, it sets the stage for the growing child to enter health relationships with other people throughout life.
SEN: Baby massage is an exceptionally wonderful bonding tool for parents and children with special needs. It is a wonderful way to strengthen the communication between parents and their children. Baby massage can help with hearing impairment, visual impairment, cerebral palsy, development delay, hypersensitivity, or autism. Baby massage can also help if your baby has had surgery or suffered trauma. For more information on how baby massage can help a baby with special needs, please contact me for a free consultation and discussion.
Benefits to baby massage:
- Builds confidence in handling the baby: Handling a new baby can cause new parents a great deal of apprehension. The fear of hurting, dropping, doing something wrong can be overwhelming. Baby massage is a method where parents gain confidence in handling their baby
- Sleep deeper and longer: Baby massage regularly helps to get the circadian rhythm on track meaning the baby will sleep more at night and be more active during the day
- Relieves pain from colic and constipation: Baby massage is believed to decrease the pain caused by colic. Massaging the tummy area relaxes the abdomen, allowing any gas build up to move up and out. Constipation in babies can start a vicious cycle of colicky pain, holding back passing a stool and not eating. Massaging the baby’s tummy and moving their legs will make the stomach muscles move and in turn place pressure on the intestines.
- Improves circulation: Massage stimulates the flow of blood and lymph vessels, thus enhancing circulation. Improved circulation enhances the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscle cells.
- Improves weight and aids digestion: Massage improves the tone of the large and small intestine, stimulates the digestive organs and manipulates the soft tissues and aids absorption of fat. It also stimulates bowel movements and maintain healthy bowel regularity.
- Eases teething: Baby massage is an effective tool for calming a baby with teething. By massaging the baby’s toes and joints of the toes, you stimulate the energy meridians that directly connect to the mouth and teeth.
