In the central Venezuelan city of San Fernando, in a small, one-room hut, a traditional infant procedure that’s gaining in popularity in the United States is being practiced.
Eleven-week-old Maria looks up at her mother, after returning from an upsetting visit to her family doctor. After a bath, she’s a bit fussy. It’s difficult to imagine that this well-formed, energetic baby will soon be sleeping.
Maria’s mother pours warm baby oil onto her palm and begins massaging her baby. She provides a pressured stroking, explaining that light stroking “is not good. It makes her jumpy.”
The massage begins with mother holding Maria, chest-to-chest, and massaging her back. Then, after gently being placed on her back on her mother’s lap, the baby is rubbed slowly and firmly on her chest. Mother and baby gaze at each other.
Maria’s mother’s hands move toward her shoulders, arms and fingers.
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Her hands move expertly to Maria’s left leg. She massages the thigh. Then she flexes her leg several times, before repeating the same thing with her right leg. Then she spends a few seconds, massaging both feet, using more pressure.
As though she were pulling all her touches together, she moves to Maria’s head and face. Carefully she touches face and neck, as baby and mother continue their mutual gaze.
All of this takes about four minutes. Mother and baby seem used to the routine. Both appear relaxed. Maria moves in ways that anticipate her mother’s hands.
After a few minutes of rest, in which mother and infant lie next to each other, and gaze, the massage is reapeated. The second massage ends within 20 seconds of the time the first one took.
This time, Maria drifts into a long nap.
Maria’s mother remarks at how much she enjoyed the two massages. She explains that infant massage was practiced by her mother and by her two sisters.
The mother also massaged Maria when the baby received an inoculation at the doctor’s office. She explained that massage helped Maria when undergoing a procedure that could be painful or frightening.
Infant massage, or tactile-kinesthetic stimulation, has been standard procedure for centuries in India, in several central African countries, and in the islands of the southwest Pacific. In the U.S., texts by Amelia Aukett (1981) and Vimala Schneider McClure (1989) describe many of the Indian techniques.
Professional literature in India and Italy, and recently in the U.S., report important benefits of infant massage. Parents say they enjoy massaging their babies. Several parents in a Seattle study report that massaging helped them understand their infants better. The infant-parent bonding process seems to be facilitated by massage.
Massage is associated with sleep induction. Like Maria, many babies are helped into peaceful sleep by massage. Several studies have shown that infants have an easier time gaining weight when they are massaged.
Massage has also been shown to be an effective help during times of pain and distress. Indian doctors report that infant massage is routinely used during physical examinations and inoculations. Infants suffering from gastrointestinal distress, such as cramping, are helped by massage. Massage can also routinely distract an infant from pain associated with teething.
Recent research shows that infants who are routinely massaged do better on developmental tasks. Alertness and eye tracking are especially enhanced.
Parents and grandparents are encouraged to be open to using massage with little ones. Grandparents especially enjoy massage. In fact, several grandparents said they would rather massage an infant than receive a massage themselves.
Massage, more than anything else, is a natural way of relating to a newborn. In North America there are many highly trained infant massage therapists who help parents and grandparents learn how to massage their babies. These therapists typically provide training in groups of several families, using films and demonstrations.