Therapists certified through Infant Massage USA (www.infantmassageusa.org) have completed the four-day class and taught several caregivers how to massage their infants.
Infants have several behavioral states, including the quiet alert state. The quiet alert state is exactly what it sounds like, that time when your child is awake, but not crying, and is often looking around or staring at something (like lights!) and absorbing everything around them. We only massage infants when they are in this state.
We strive to respect the humanity of each infant and allow them to choose whether or not they get a massage. At first this may seem silly, after all, infant can't talk. The derivation of the word infant even means without voice. But they can communicate. You know when your baby does not like something you are doing, they usually cry. We start each massage by rubbing the oil (see discussion below) and asking permission. Like Pavlov's dogs, infants do learn to recognize the action of rubbing the oil as the signal to start a massage and if they are not up for it, they will let you know.
Infant benefit from massage in various ways. As with adults, it helps them to relax. It also helps them deal with gas and sleep better. Parents and caregivers benefit too. As with massage therapists, giving a massage relaxes the giver almost as much as it relaxes the receiver! Giving your infant massage also helps you feel like you can soothe and comfort your baby. Infant massage also helps promote bonding and attachment between parent and child.
A brief note on oils - In class we will use what's known as baby butter and is available through the organization's website and provided by us. When you run out of that, you may use any cooking-grade oil, preferably not a nut oil as an allergy precaution. We recommend olive, sunflower, or safflower, all of which are easily found in the grocery store. They are often cold-pressed with vitamin E to preserve freshness. Vitamin E is beneficial to skin, so it's an added bonus. For most babies, not a lot of oil is required, but if you feel uncomfortable using any, we can work around it.
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