The Babies Website

When we use expressions like: 'to have the feel of', 'to be in touch with', 'to be able to handle', we describe human relationships in terms of our sense of touch. At no other time of life is this more true than with your young baby. The way in which babies are touched and held, and the frequency with which this is done, has a marked effect. Cuddly toys and woolly blankets may have their uses, but they make poor substitutes for the warmth of human contact and companionship. To develop the language of touch is to improve upon the ease and confidence with which you handle your baby, and through every tactile expression provide your baby with tangible evidence of a loving caring presence.

For a good beginning, the sooner the better is the best time to start ¬skin to skin contact, and from birth, bathing together, lying together, lots of stroking and regularly oiling and cleansing your baby's skin using your hands, as shown, will slowly introduce massage to your newborn. This will prepare you and your baby before practicing the full Developmental Baby Massage routine recommended for babies of eight to ten weeks and over.

Your newborn baby sees, hears, tastes, smells and feels from the first moments of birth and will respond very clearly to the way in which he is handled and to the kind of stimulation received from his immediate environment. The trauma of birth, suffered to a greater or lesser degree by all babies, is soothed by the immediate physical contact that they share with their mother - the skin to skin contact, cradling, feeding, suckling and other forms of tactile sensation they receive.

This period of time immediately following the baby's birth is recognized as a significant interval for attachment in the mother and child relationship. For fathers given the opportunity to be present or take part in the birth, this kind of relationship can also be established, by holding, stroking and soothing their newborn.

As the oldest and the most natural of all the healing arts, massage has been practiced to ease childbirth, aid recovery, stimulate and soothe babies and remedy a variety of adult ailments in many cultures the world over. Throughout the East and the Orient midwives massage mothers and mothers massage their babies; and from the barbers who massage their clients' heads to the traditional reflexologists who massage their clients' feet, massage is used as a customary part of daily life to heal, invigorate, and relax men and women from all walks of life.