Many people with kids have a deeply held sentiment that there are few things they wouldn’t do for their children. Their children are their world and that means acting like it and supporting their children in every way that they can through every stage of their life. Infants, especially newborns, are often a bit more than first-time parents know how to handle given the sheer complexity of caring for a life that cannot truly take care of itself on its own, but raising an infant is still seen as one of the gateways to true adulthood. Parents dote and fawn over their infant children in a continual quest to find ways to help them grow into the people their parents will only know years in the future. Diet, clothing, and basic exercises for motor skills all play a part in this process. It turns out that massage therapy may also play a role in the lives of more fragile newborns who need just a little bit more care when moving towards a healthy future.

Massage Therapy and Infants
We generally think of a massage as largely being for adults thanks to its muscle relaxation benefits. Making sure an infant is relaxing enough and doesn’t have improper muscle tension doesn’t necessary make it to the short list for most first time parents. This is especially true with particular fragile newborns whose parents are likely more concerned about potential issues with illness. Massage therapy for infants has been studied plenty of times by various doctors to see the potential benefits of it. The studies have repeatedly shown that, when applied properly, the movements and pressure involved in a proper infant massage can actually help infants, especially preterm infants, can actually have notable improvements in the child’s health over time. The trick is finding someone who knows what they’re doing or learning to do it properly oneself. There are also a few extra considerations to keep in mind as well that can influence one’s decisions when it comes to particular extra components of an infant massage.

The Details
Weight is an especially important factor when it comes to fragile, preterm infants. They need to reach a healthy, viable weight to maintain their long-term health. Strangely enough, massage therapy actually appears to help with this. This is likely due to helping to encourage growth in the infant’s musculature. Massages that work on the limbs, in particular, can help her and improvement to musculature, in turn, improves the bone density of the infant’s skeleton as well. Some studies have actually shown that the use of a skin-friendly oil, such as coconut or safflower oil, can actually improve these benefits by increasing overall weight gain. These physical benefits are combined with the fact that the massage can be just as a relaxing to your infant as a massage might be to you. This in turn can help an infant relax more and cut back on random crying in some cases. Massage therapy as a way to manage the infant’s stress can also lead to deeper and more restful sleep for them as well.

How To
We strongly encourage you to talk to your doctor about any specialists in infant massage in the area. This is honestly the best approach if you want to ensure that the infant gets the best care and results from the infant massage. A specialist can perform as well as teach you any basics that you can do at home as well as teach you the appropriate amount of pressure to apply. The regulation of pressure and knowing the appropriate movements to make in an infant massages are very important. Infants, especially ones in fragile health, need great care to be taken with them to ensure that their health improves. Attempting to give an infant massage on your own with previous professional instruction may result in harm being done to the child’s health. Finding a specialist in an urban area shouldn’t be too hard or, that failing, your doctor may be able to teach you the appropriate methods themselves.

An infant massage is a somewhat surprising way you can support the health of all infants. It can be especially good for those in fragile health though where weight gain and increased muscle strength and bone density are desirable. These massages need to be done by someone with the proper knowledge to actually be of help though. As a result, it is best to find a professional or receive instruction from one before trying to perform a massage on your own infant.