HEALTHY TOUCH AND INFANT MASSAGE: TWO MAIN FACTORS IN INFANTS DAILY CARE AND HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT

Alexandra Nousia

Abstract


Infant massage is a scientifically proven practice that promotes the physical and mental health of the infant. The term infant massage refers to the application of touch to the infant by the parent or caregiver during the first year of life with specific massages. Through the following literature review, the benefits of infant massage for the infant, the family and the wider society are noted and commented on. The benefits of its application to the infant are recorded in four different areas. These refer to the concept of the infant's interaction with the parent/caregiver, stimulation, relief and relaxation respectively, of the premature and full-term infant. As far as parents are concerned, infant massage seems to enhance their own parenting practices, as well as their self-confidence and sense of security, while reducing symptoms of postnatal depression. In addition, through healthy touch and massage, benefits are documented in reliable adaptive changes in the community. These include a reduction in abuse, violence, and crime, as well as a reduction in the expenditure of government health care funds. Research evidence supports that the implementation of infant massage can show a reduction in the cost of spending in Infant Health Units of premature and non-premature infants. Healthy touch and physical contact through massage during infant massage by trained mothers or trained staff when the mother is unavailable can significantly enhance the faster development and psychosomatic health of infants.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


infant massage, healthy touch, parental hug, parents, society, family, basic care

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alhusen, J. L. (2008). A Literature Update on Maternal-Fetal Attachment. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 37(3): 315–328. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.2008.00241.x

Barnett, L. (2005). Keep in touch: The importance of touch in infant development. Infant Observation: International Journal of Infant Observation and Its Applications, 8(2): 115-123. doi:10. 1080/13698030500171530

Cheng, C. D., Volk, A. A., & Marini, Z. A. (2011). Supporting Fathering Through Infant Massage. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 20(4): 200–209. doi:10.1891/1058-1243.20.4.200

Field, T., Diego, M., & Hernandez-Reif, M., (2011). Potential underlying mechanisms for greater weight gain in massaged preterm infants, Infant Behavior and Development, 34(3): 383-389. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2010.12.001

Gürol,, A., Polat, S., (2012). The effects of baby massage on attachment between mother and their infants, Asian Nursing Research, 6(1): 35-41. doi:10.1016/j.anr.2012.02.006

Hadjivalsama, P. (2021). The short- and long-term experience of preterm birth for mothers and the importance of infant massage intervention after discharge from the NICU. Ph.D. thesis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (in Greek)

O′Higgins, M., St. James Roberts, I., & Glover, V. (2008). Postnatal depression and mother and infant outcomes after infant massage. Journal of Affective Disorders, 109(1-2): 189–192. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2007.10.027

McClure, V. (2000). Infant Massage: A handbook for loving parents. New York: Bantam Books.

McClure, V. & the IAIM Circle of Trainers. (2005). Μanual for Infant Massage Instructors. International Association of Infant Massage.

Moyer, et al., (2013). Massage Improves Growth Quality by Decreasing Body Fat Deposition in Male Preterm Infants. Journal of Rediatrics, 162: 490-495. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.08.033

Papadaki-Michailidis, E., (2006). The bond of love. Athens, Greek letters (in Greek)

Pados, B. F., & McGlothen-Bell, K. (2019). Benefits of Infant Massage for Infants and Parents in the NICU. Nursing for Women’s Health. doi:10.1016/j.nwh.2019.03.004

Smith, S., Lux, R., Haley, S. et al. The effect of massage on heart rate variability in preterm infants. Journal of Perinatal 33: 59–64. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2012.47

Shen, Y., Chen, Z., & Jin, Y. (2013). Curative Effect observation on Tuina therapy for spleen-deficiency infantile diarrhea. Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science, 11(1): 26–30. doi:10.1007/s11726-013-0650-0

Uvnӓs-Moberg, K. (2011). The Oxytocin Factor. Tapping the Hormone of Calm, Printed & Martin Ltd (London).

Websites

• International Association of Infant Massage (www.iaim.net)




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v10i6.4854

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023 Alexandra Nousia

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2015-2023. European Journal of Education Studies (ISSN 2501 - 1111) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).