Baby massage is a wonderful practice with numerous benefits for both baby and parents. Adults love to be massaged, and babies are no different. Just as therapeutic massage sooths ailments and promotes health in adults, baby massage will increase your baby's well being. The benefits of baby massage are physical, mental and extend to both the baby and parent.
The physical, mental and emotional benefits of baby massage give baby a great start in life. The caring touch of a father and mother is proven to stimulate a baby's growth. The touching and massaging stimulates the release of growth-promoting hormones and increases the enzymes that make cells respond to these hormones. This is why infant humans and animals won't grow unless touched by their parents. Besides general growth, brain growth is also traced back to tender touch. The current belief is that touch or massage promotes the development of myelin which insulates neurons and makes nerve impulses travel faster. So, you can actually make your baby smarter through massage. Digestion is another part that benefits by the enhanced secretion of digestive hormones. This is good news for parents with colicky babies as frequent massage can relieve the symptoms. The mental benefits include improved behavior and self-esteem. Massaged babies sleep easier at night and are less fussy because touch settles them down. As for the self-esteem, even adults benefit in this sense from being loved and touched, so it makes sense that babies would, too.
On that note, the benefits of baby massage extend to the parents. It's great for dads for periodically absent mothers (i.e. working moms) to connect and reconnect with their infant. It breaks down barriers by establishing a trusting relationship between parent and child and is ideal for jump starting that relationship.
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