Premature babies are exposed to numerous stresses in intensive care nurseries, including loud noises, bright lights, blood drawing, and invasive procedures. Stress can have negative effect on these babies’ immune systems. Massage therapy can be beneficial because it lowers stress and improves their immune system.
Massage promotes growth and development in premature infants. Prior to birth babies are physically stimulated while in their mother’s wombs.
Premature and low birth weight babies are usually placed in incubators or open beds, are are connected to several monitors. This situation makes it very difficult to touch them as often as full term babies are.
The University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute has reported for over twenty years the benefits associated with infant massages. It increases the baby’s resistance to infection by stimulating the immune system. Also, massaged babies experience an accelerated weight gain.
Massage also raises oxytocin levels, a hormone that possess pain relieving abilities and a calming effect.
A review of 14 randomized research studies involving premature and or low birth weight babies was conducted.
The review included studies in which a control group of babies that did not receive massage. The were compared to the babies who did. The babies, in most of the studies were massaged for about 15 minutes, three or four times a day, for five or ten days. The studies determined that that babies receiving massage experienced more weight gain (about 5 grams), were discharged from the hospital faster, had slightly better developmental test scores and experienced fewer complications. Massage did not have any negative effects. While it is a time consuming process for nurses to provide, parents can perform it without extensive training.
Benefits for Babies:
*Enhances weight gain
*Helps the baby to become more organized
*Assists the baby in becoming more alert and interactive with others
*Helps start oral feeding earlier (rather than tube feeding)
*Promotes healthier bones
*Supports infant-parent interaction
*Promotes weight gain in preterm infants
* Lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone
*Improves muscle tone
* Improves sleep and awake patterns
*Shortens hospital stay
*Improves cognitive and motor development at eight months of age
* Infant massage is an inexpensive tool
*Can be used as part of the baby’s developmental care plan
Benefits for Parents and Caregivers
* Provides all of the important ingredients of the parent-infant bonding and attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, smell, movement, voice and temperature regulation.
* Encourages pre-verbal communication between infant and caregiver
*Helps parents feel more competent and confident in caring for their children
* Helps parents to reduce their stress, if they are working and must be separated for their child for extended periods during the day
* Provides parents with one-on-one quiet time or interactive play with their children
* Creates a regular time of intimacy between parent and child
* Increases parents’ self-esteem by reinforcing and enhancing their skills as parents, and validates their role
* Gives parents the tools for understanding their child’s unique behavior and patterns
* Teaches parents how to read their infants’ cues and recognize their states of awareness
Gives parents a precious way to interact with their children who may be hospitalized. It helps parents to feel a greater part of the healing process
* Daily massage helps parents to unwind and relax
* Provides a positive way for fathers to interact with their infant child
Learn more about holistic family health. Stop by Dr. Elaine Ferguson’s site where you can find out all about infant massage and what it can do for you.