Tips for Massaging a New Born Baby

Baby careis an opportunity for a mother to build strong bond between mother-child relationships. One important activity that mother needs for infant is baby massage. You need to massage your baby yourself or appoint midwife who can massage your baby with proper care. Massage is an essential daily activity that every mother should know. It is not difficult; initially you get little difficult if your baby is not healthy, but once you become habituated with it, you can enjoy in doing massage. Baby likes more if her mother doing massage to her other than nurse or midwife. Your baby gets many benefits with massages like baby can sleep better, give relief in colic, enhance immune system, and intellectual development.

Keep everything ready before start massage to your baby

• Try to maintain regular time daily for massage your baby and then bathing. It is very essential to manage sleeping and feeding time of baby.
• Do not massage your baby soon after eating; keep some interval, minimum 30 minutes before massage.
• Do not keep room temperature very cool while massaging.
• Remove all clothes of baby before massage, for cold weather; you can cover the baby where you are not doing massage.
• You need to take baby for bathingafter massaging in the morning; therefore, you need to keep everything ready for her bath. Your baby may cry if she doesn’t like massaging or bathing.
• Keep everything ready such as massage oil, hair oil, napkin; for bathing warm water, towel, baby soap, and clothes.

• Lie down your baby on smooth surface so your baby can feel comfortable and safe.
• Start massages your baby from the head to the toes. You need to massage gently with soft touch on the head, face, shoulders, arms, chest, stomach and legs.
• Your baby will react soon if you do not massage her properly. Do not give pressure to any part of her body. Baby’s body organs are very delicate and if you give any pressure, it might harm your baby.
• Try to talk with your baby or singing song or poem as per your baby’s liking.
• Allow your baby to do any movement if she wants.
• You need to check massage oil by putting one drop on baby’s skin. Check on the next day that there are no reaction persists due to oil. Use good branded massage oil, hair oil, soap and shampoo for baby.

Regular Massage for Keep your baby healthy

Massage to Baby’s Head

• Support your baby’s head with your hand and massage the scalp softly like applying hair oil.
• You also need to apply hair oil after massage or during massage.
• Massage your baby’s forehead, the base of skull, cheeks, nose, eyelids, and eyebrows and near mouth and ears gently.

Massage to Neck

• Massage gently front part of the neck in down to up direction and on back side of the neck slowly massage down to the shoulders.

Massage on Arms

• Hold one hand and massage softly from shoulder to elbow up to wrist.
• Also, massage to baby’s armpit areas.
• Give massage to all fingers one-by-one. Also massage on palm softly.
• Massage gently on elbow in circular way.

Massage on stomach

• Massaging abdomen properly give relief to baby from many stomach problem such as pain in stomach due to gas or constipation.
• You can massage your baby’s stomach in clockwise direction in a circular way.

Massage on legs

• Massage leg with your whole hand from thigh to foot in down direction.
• Massage gently on thighs.
• Soft massage in circular way on knees.
• Massage softly on ankle and toes. Massage each toe separately.
• Give massage on bottom of foot from heel to toes, circular massage on heels.
• Massage on baby’s leg may help baby to walk confidently earlier.

Massage on back side

Softly change direction of your baby and turn her for massaging on back side. You can gently massage from back side of neck on downward direction. You should very careful while massaging on back due to spinal cord. Your baby’s spinal cord is very delicate part and you should not keep any pressure on that.

You can give massage your baby two to three times in a day. Massage help to increase baby’s blood circulation. It gives peaceful sleep to your baby. Many Infant sleepsoon after massage as gives relaxation to body. In the morning, you can massage your baby before bathing. In the night, half an hour before sleeping, you can massage your baby. Always massage gently, use good quality massage oil. If your baby has any medical complication, take advice of your pediatricianbefore start massaging otherwise massage is always beneficial for new born baby. You can massage your baby even up to one year. There is no disadvantage of massage for child of any age.