Massaging your baby is amazing. Technically extremely simple, baby massage means a lot to your baby. It’s a very important way to convey your love.
It is very important to establish a routine especially for babies in the first year. And for this, massage is also very useful.
PURPOSE OF INFANT MASSAGE
It is the relaxation of the baby by performing baby massage with the right and appropriate technique and making a positive contribution to the growth, mental and motor development of the baby by performing it regularly.
How do we do Baby Massage?
When massaging your baby, you should massage under dim lights and in a warm room. Room temperature can be 22-23 degrees on average. We peel our baby for baby massage. The floor must be a flat, safe surface. Place a soft towel or blanket on the baby’s back. There may also be pleasant music in the environment.
When massaging your baby, the baby’s diaper should be in the open position. There may be minor accidents.
Give your baby a massage with baby oil or lotion specially prepared for babies. Natural oils should be used if organic olive oil is prepared in accordance with the pH of the baby’s skin.
If the oil is cold, pour it into their first hands and massage it after rubbing it together to warm the hands.
Light touches are very important when massaging babies. Babies’ skin is gentle. Therefore, light touches are important and stimulate the baby’s skin. Hands, chest, abdomen, legs and feet, back, shoulders, hips and face are massaged. Before the massage, relax yourself by doing 2-3 relaxing breathing exercises. Since babies will take all your energy with touch, it is very important that the energy of the massager is high and positive.
Baby massage should not be uncomfortable. It is a process in which the baby relaxes and has a great time with the mother. While massaging, you need to stop when you feel that your baby is crying and uncomfortable.
Babies are very happy and peaceful to be in close relationships and skin-to-skin contact during the day. Especially in troubled moments such as gas and constipation, baby massage is the moment that relaxes the baby.
Try not to do baby massage when you are very hungry. If your baby is very hungry, he may not be able to stand the end of your massage. I recommend waiting 45 minutes after eating. When you massage with a full stomach, your baby may feel nauseous and vomit.
Baby massage soothes the baby and is a great way to help him sleep. When you give regular massages, the baby helps you to get regular sleep. Try baby massage after a bath or other regular evening ritual. After about half an hour, you will see that your baby will go to sleep.
Points to Consider
• The massage room should be quiet and there should be no airflow.
• Room temperature should be 24oC- 25oC.
• The jewelry on the hands of the person who will perform the massage should be removed, the nails should not be long, and the hands should be clean and warm.
• Factors that may cause an accident should be avoided during the application (drinking hot beverages, etc.).
• The baby should never be left alone.
• For the duration of the massage, 15 minutes in which each movement is repeated twice is sufficient.
• Massage should be done in a systematic order, and one area should not be switched to another before the massage is over.
• During the massage, the baby’s reactions should be checked. If the baby has expressions of discomfort, the massage application should be terminated and tried again the next day.
• Massage should not be performed in the following cases:
a. If there is a bone fracture or mobility problems in the joints,
b. If there is infection, eczema, etc. on the skin,
c. The person performing the massage has a skin infection.
Positive effects of infant massage
There are too many baby massages to count. This helps the baby to grow, strengthen the immune system and digestive system. That is, it strengthens health, reduces stress, and strengthens babies’ emotional development. It also contributes to mothers’ increase in breast milk. It’s a great way to build a close relationship with an ideal baby for fathers and their babies.
If you are going to do the baby massage for the first time, leave the face to the end. You can start with the chest and abdomen.
It shows that the parent’s loving routine touches and massage are very important for the baby’s growth and development, communication and learning. It shows that infants who routinely experience touch and massage (compared to infants who do not have these experiences) make 50% more eye contact, but are also three times more likely to exhibit positive expression (smile, eye contact) in general.
Massage strengthens the bond between mother and baby.
During the massage, parents will only take care of their babies, make eye contact, touch and talk to them lovingly, so that if the bond between them has not been established before, it will be established, and if it has been established, it will be strengthened.
Baby massage is a very good method of relieving colic and gas pains, as well as providing relief for you and your baby.
Positively contributes to the immune system of babies by circulating lymphatic fluid
It supports the development of the nervous system in babies in many ways – by supporting the formation/development of emotional bonds. Then, thanks to touch, the most developed sense of infants, new connections between neurons