Keep in Touch: Enhancing Development Through Infant Massage

By Sally Sade - Graduate Student | Department of Neuroscience 
 
The power of touch is undeniably strong, we can see this each time we pick up a crying baby and hold them close to our body. We are telling the child that they are safe, loved, and nurtured. If simply holding your baby can be so comforting, imagine the impact of touch or, even better, a full-body massage.   
 
Neuroscience Behind This 
Touch is the first sense babies develop in the womb; it is one of the first ways they learn about their environment.1 Through infant massage, a form of nurturing touch, we can re-establish the touch received in the womb after birth.2 Touch, or more specifically massage, stimulates pressure receptors beneath the surface of the skin, increasing vagal activity.3 The vagus nerve, one of 12 cranial nerves, connects the brain to many important organs throughout the body. With an increase in vagal activity, we get a decrease in cortisol, the stress hormone, an increase in serotonin, the body’s natural antidepressant, and an increase in oxytocin, the calming hormone.1-4 A lack of touch can lead to pruning, where connections in the brain that would have otherwise developed from nurturing touch are lost. These are only a few reasons why holding a crying baby close to our body calms them down. As a result, it is associated with infant growth and social-emotional development which is the ability to form and sustain positive relationships and express emotions.2,3

What does this mean empirically?
A study examined touch-deprived children in an understaffed Romanian orphanage. They found that although the children were receiving adequate nutrition, they were half their expected height and weight for their age.5 Another study compared two groups of preschoolers. The preschoolers who experienced more nurturing touch were less aggressive, both physically and verbally, than the preschoolers who lacked nurturing touch from their parents.6 Irrespective of how well-nourished or mentally stimulated a child is, a lack of human touch can stunt their psychological and physical growth, continuing to affect them even in adulthood.5,7 We can apply the great benefits of touch through infant massage. The practice of infant massage encourages parents to engage with their children through talking, singing, skin-to-skin, and prolonged steady eye contact.2 All of which are elements that strengthen the bond between a baby and its parent.  
 
What are the benefits of infant massage? 
Benefits for the baby:  

Relief   

Infant massage may assist in alleviating:  

• Pain from issues like teething and constipation. A study showed that infant massage was superior in the treatment of functional constipation, a type of constipation that has no physical/hormonal cause, in comparison to drug therapy alone.8

• Sensitivity to touch. Infants who are hospitalized to receive uncomfortable treatments, such as preemies, may develop a stress response to touch.2 We can help the infant positively associate touch by gradually exposing them to massage.

• Excessive crying/colic. In a study comparing the effects of rocking a baby versus infant massage to treat colic, they found that the massage group experienced a significant reduction in the total number of cries, length and severity of crying.9

Relaxation  
Infant massage may promote relaxation by: 

• Self-soothing. Approximately 30-40% of infants fail to learn self-soothing techniques.10 Infant massage has been shown to help infants develop the ability to go back to sleep without assistance.  

• Improving sleep patterns. It is no doubt that sleep disturbance poses a significant challenge for parents and infants, especially during the 1st month. Fortunately, a study showed that infants who experienced massage had increased melatonin, a hormone that helps the body prepare for sleep, and were getting more deep/restorative sleep.11  

  Benefits for the parent-child relationship: 
Interaction  

Infant massage can facilitate: 

• Bonding and secure attachment. A secure attachment develops from a parent’s ability to understand their babies' emotional needs and cues. In a study where infants received a 15-minute massage for 38 days, the mothers’ ability to identify their babies' cues improved, and they showed increased mother-infant attachment.3  

• Early involvement for the father. Often, fathers play a secondary role in the upbringing of their babies. Research has shown that fathers who performed infant massage developed higher levels of confidence as a parent and decreased feelings of isolation.2

• Babbling. Parents are encouraged to sing and/or talk to their babies while performing infant massage. During such a vital period in the child’s language development, this interaction can promote imitation and verbal/non-verbal communication.2  

• A decrease in postnatal depression. During infant massage, both the parent and child decrease stress hormones and increase relaxing hormones. The outcome of these hormonal changes can be seen in a study that showed mothers who implemented massage experienced less anxiety and depressive symptoms.3  

Benefits for society: 
Many issues in society, such as abuse and violence, can be attributed to the quality of parent-child interaction in early life.2 Infant massage is a tool we can use to promote a secure attachment subsequently strengthening our child's self-awareness, empathy and trust. Children who feel loved and understood grow to be nurturing and secure adults creating a more compassionate and healthier society. 

Knowing this is particularly important in this age of technology. When American Psychologist Tiffany Fields, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, was recently in an airport, she noticed many parents and children were more occupied with technology and less with one-on-one interaction. She states, “I certainly think kids today are much more touch-deprived than they were before smartphones.” It has become apparent that we and/or our children are spending more time on devices taking away valuable one-on-one time. Technology cannot provide children with the same developmental benefits they receive from one-on-one interaction. By easily incorporating nurturing touch and massage into our daily routine, we can promote optimal development for our children and enhance our role as a parent. Even simple massage strokes can make a long-term difference in you are your babies relationship. 

To learn more about the benefits of infant massage and how to apply this easy-to-learn technique click the link below:   
Building Brains Together: Infant Massage Training
 
Thanks, as always, for reading.   

 Sally Sade

Graduate Student | Department of Neuroscience 

Email:  sally.sade@uleth.ca 

The University of Lethbridge | SA8114

References:

1. Bremner, A. J., & Spence, C. (2017). The development of tactile perception. Advances in child development and behavior, 52, 227-268. 

2. McClure, V. (2017). Infant Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents. Bantam Books 

3. Field, T. (2018). Infant massage therapy research review. Clinical Research in Pediatrics, 1(2), 1-9. 

4. Field, T. M. (1998). Touch therapy effects on development. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 22(4), 779-797. 

5. Rutter, M. (1998). Developmental catch-up, and deficit, following adoption after severe global early privation. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 39(4), 465-476.

6.  Field, T. (1999). Preschoolers in America are touched less and are more aggressive than preschoolers in France. Early Child Development and Care, 151(1), 11-17.

7.  Field, T. (2002). Infants’ need for touch. Human Development, 45(2), 100-103.

8.  Liu, Z., Gang, L., Yunwei, M., & Lin, L. (2021). Clinical efficacy of infantile massage in the treatment of infant functional constipation: a Meta-analysis. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 663581.

9. Nahidi, F., Gazerani, N., Yousefi, P., & Abadi, A. R. (2017). The comparison of the effects of massaging and rocking on infantile colic. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 22(1), 67. 

10. Forbes, E. A. (2006). Behavioral and massage treatments for infant sleep problems. Rhode Island Medical Journal, 89(3), 97.

11. Ferber, S. G., Laudon, M., Kuint, J., Weller, A., & Zisapel, N. (2002). Massage therapy by mothers enhances the adjustment of circadian rhythms to the nocturnal period in full-term infants. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 23(6), 410-415.