Massaging your baby
Massage is a lovely way for you to express your love and care for your baby. Massage can soothe your baby and help her to sleep.
Massage has many added benefits for your baby, including improving weight gain, aiding digestion, improving circulation, and easing teething pain. Massage is a great way for you and your partner to bond with your baby, and you may find it relaxing, too!
What is baby massage?
Baby massage is gentle, rhythmic stroking of your baby's body with your hands. You can use oils or a moisturiser to help your hands to glide smoothly over your baby's skin. As part of your massage routine, you can gently manipulate your baby's ankles, wrists and fingers. You can talk softly, hum or sing to your baby while you are massaging, which may make it more reassuring for your baby.
The soothing strokes of your hands stimulate the production of the feel-good hormone oxytocin in you, your baby and even your partner, if he's watching. Oxytocin is the hormone that gives you that warm, loving feeling when you hold your baby close or breastfeed her.
What are the benefits of baby massage?
There are lots of ways baby massage can benefit not just your baby, but you and your partner as well. Massage may help your baby to:
- develop mentally, socially and physically
- stay relaxed and not get upset
- cry and fuss less
- sleep better
One study found that massage in the early days could help newborns to recover from jaundice more quickly.
You may find that giving your baby a massage lifts your mood and helps you to feel more empowered as a parent. The time you set aside for a massage can be your special time together. As you massage your baby, it comes naturally to chat to her and have plenty of eye contact with her.
This is one reason why massage can help mums with postnatal depression, or who are at risk of depression, to interact with their babies. Find out about the other benefits of baby massage for mums with depression and their babies.
Baby massage can be great for dads, too. Some dads may miss out on a lot of the hands-on care of their babies, especially if they are at work and their baby is breastfed.
A regular massage with dad can become a routine, perhaps at bedtime, that helps to bring your baby and partner closer together. It can also help your partner if he is feeling stressed.
Massage may be particularly good for premature babies in special care, resulting in:
- Improved weight gain, particularly if oils are used. Massage stimulates a key nerve, called the vagus nerve, which connects the brain with important parts of the body, including the stomach. Stimulating this nerve can improve digestion and bowel movement, helping your baby to gain weight.
- A more stable heart rate. Massage improves the parts of the nervous system that regulate our organs. So massage can help to keep your premature baby's heart rate steady.
- Calmer response to stress and pain.
- More stable brain activity. Premature babies who are massaged tend to have brain activity that develops at a normal level. Premature babies who are not massaged have shown a decrease in brain activity development.
These benefits may contribute to the finding that massaged premature babies tend to be well enough to go home with their families sooner than babies who aren't massaged.
When is the best time to massage my baby?
Try to pick a time when your baby is between feeds. Then she won't be too hungry or too full. It's also best not to start just before her nap. A good time to massage your baby is when she is awake, but settled. If your baby is quietly alert and interested in her environment, it means she'll be ready to interact with you.
If your baby is sleeping and feeding often, you may wonder when this golden time for massage is going to come around! You'll get to know when your baby is most content to have a massage. You may like to make it part of your baby's bedtime routine, perhaps after a bath and before a bedtime feed.
A massage before bedtime will help your baby to wind down after the stimulation of the day and become calm, ready for sleep.
What do I need before I start a massage?
It is important to find a good room for baby massage in your home where you and your baby will be comfortable and undisturbed. Make sure the room is warm (around 24 degrees C) with no draughts. Lay your baby down on a towel or folded sheet, perhaps with a changing mat underneath. You may prefer to keep your baby's vest on if it is a little cool. Or let her enjoy being completely naked for a change.
As this is a special time for you and your baby, make sure there aren't any distractions in the room. If you have a pet, put it in another room, and turn off your mobile phone. You may even like to play some relaxing music, turned low enough so that your baby can hear your voice.
Have everything that you'll need to hand, including:
- massage oil or an emollient cream
- towels or muslin squares to mop up any accidents
- clothes to dress your baby in afterwards
- your usual nappy-changing kit
Using oil or cream will make it easier for your hands to glide over your baby's skin and may be more relaxing for your baby. It's up to you whether you use a baby moisturiser or, if your baby has dry skin or eczema, a medical emollient, vegetable oil, or baby mineral oil for massage.
Vegetable oils that are high in linoleic acid, such as safflower oil, are kinder to your baby's skin than oils high in oleic acid, such as olive oil. Read our expert question on oils for baby massage to find out more on which oils are kindest.
Whichever oil or cream you use, it's best to dab a little on your baby's skin first, just in case she has a reaction. Do this patch test the day before you intend to start massaging your baby.
However, there are some oils or creams that it's definitely best not to use. These are:
- Mustard oil, because it has a toxic effect on the skin barrier, causing irritation and potential damage to delicate baby skin.
- Unrefined peanut oil, because the proteins it contains may sensitise your baby to an allergic reaction to peanuts, or cause a reaction on your baby's skin. It's safest to avoid refined peanut oil, too. Although there's no evidence that it's likely to cause a problem, there is always the risk that it's been contaminated with unrefined peanut oil.
- Aqueous cream, because it contains a harsh detergent called sodium lauryl sulfate, which may irritate your baby's skin and damage the skin barrier.
If your baby has eczema, it is best to use her prescribed cream or emollient during the massage.
How should I massage my baby?
For the first few times, you may just want to massage your baby's legs until she gets used to the sensation. It's a good place to begin because your baby is used to having her legs touched during nappy changes.
Then try to follow a routine pattern, perhaps massaging your baby's legs before her arms, hands and body. Your baby will appreciate a routine. She'll find it comforting to know what's coming next.
To learn a massage routine, you could ask your health visitor whether there is a clinic or children's centre near you that runs a baby massage course.
If you want to get started sooner, look at our step-by-step guide, or follow this routine:
- Warm a tiny squirt of oil or cream in your hands by rubbing it between your palms.
- Very gently rub it into your baby's skin, starting with her legs.
- Work your way up her legs, lightly squeezing her calves and thighs.
- For your baby's chest and tummy, gently place both hands flat against the centre of her body. Spread your hands to the sides, as if flattening the pages of a book.
- With your hands still flat, use your fingertips to stroke outward in small circles.
- Keep going for as long as your baby seems to be enjoying it.
Reading your baby's cues is the most important aspect of massage. Your baby will tell you when the massage needs to end and which strokes she's likes or dislikes. If your baby starts to cry during the massage, she is telling you that she has had enough.