I've always been interested in the Obstetric world and knew from age 18 that I wanted to work in an area of healthcare helping mothers and babies.
After graduating in 2005 from St. Joseph's College of Nursing in frigid Syracuse, NY, I immediately moved south upon getting a job at a busy Maryland Hospital, a hospital that delivered a whopping 9,000 babies each year. I worked in the High Risk Perinatal Center for over four years as a Registered Nurse. During my work I observed countless interactions between patients, families, and new infants. I also worked in a clinic for women with High Risk Pregnancies teaching women and their partners about how to eat when diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I found that when a complication in pregnancy occurs, this complication can distract the family from bonding with a new baby as an individual. Even in a healthy pregnancy parents can be distracted from bonding with their new baby.
Infant Massage can help strengthen bonds between mother, father, caregiver and baby. There are so many other benefits to infant massage as well.
Of course I didn't learn about the benefits until after studying Infant Massage.
While studying for my certificate to teach Infant Massage I became interested in the studies of the science of love and affection done by Dr. Henry Harlow in the late 1950's. These studies were performed using monkeys to determine if the baby monkey loved the mother for reasons of comfort and reassurance or for reasons of alimentation and her food supply. The scientists found that the baby monkeys would cling to a soft cloth surrogate mother rather than spend time with a wire surrogate mother with a milk nipple. This showed that babies love their mother or caregiver not for reasons of food supply, but for reasons of comfort and love.
Other scientists around the same time found that orphaned children who were not held by a caregiver in the facility would sometimes die for unexplained reasons. They discovered that these orphans who were not shown love became sick more often and for a longer duration. The "unloved orphans" would also die more frequently from diseases that other children recovered from.
Touch and contact comfort is vital to babies and children. It is my new mission to teach as many people as possible about Infant Massage and the benefits associated with it.
Interestingly, Infant Massage has benefits for both baby and caregiver. The benefits to the infant or child includes increased bonding and attachment with parent or caregiver, enhanced sense of love, enhanced communication, relaxation, improved circulation, improved muscle tone, better digestion,reduction of colic symptoms, and a calmed nervous system leading to more restful sleep.
The benefits to the adult performing the massage on the infant or child are numerous as well. These include relaxation and reduction of stress, reduction of blood pressure, and potential reduction in the number of symptoms associated with postpartum depression. A surprising benefit to practicing infant massage also includes an increase in the hormone prolactin in breastfeeding mothers. If an infant is having trouble getting enough breast milk or if a mother is struggling with producing sufficient milk supply for her baby, she could try performing infant massage as a natural way to increase her milk supply. Infant Massage can also be useful in children who had some sort of separation from their parents early in infancy. Some examples of these situations could be a baby who has spent a period of time in the NICU away from his or her parents. Another example could be an adopted child. Infant Massage can help new parents learn cues from their child during their interaction that will help them better understand their child's needs in the future.
I've taken the knowledge I've gained from learning about Infant Massage and am working to spread the word to as many mothers, fathers, caregivers, and potential parents as possible. I currently teach small groups around the DC area and volunteer at a DC birthing center. I teach classes in Upstate NY as well, as this is where I grew up and I feel it is necessary to give back to my community in a positive way. In an effort to keep the public aware of my upcoming classes and events I've started a Facebook page, Hands For Hope Infant Massage Instruction. The word Hope is used because it's my middle name, and I feel that parents can have "Hope" in that there are natural ways to help their babies and children through massage!
In addition to the Facebook page, I've also created a blog for non-Facebook members of the online community. The web address is as follows:
www.dcbabymassage.blogspot.com/. This blog shares information about where to find more information on Infant Massage as well as where and when they can sign up to learn the practice of Infant Massage.
I'm hopeful that more parents, grandparents, and caretakers will have the opportunity to learn the benefits of Infant Massage because of my mission to share the information with as many people as possible.
PS: Look for Infant Massage classes to be held through local DC area Baby Boutiques in the near future as well!
