As a rule, massage to newborn children is performed using the following techniques:
Stroking – sliding, smooth movements of the palm over the skin, in which the skin does not move into folds. It has a relaxing effect. For babies up to three months, only this technique is used.
Rubbing – movements are similar to strokes, but made with great effort and in different directions. It is recommended to perform it in a circular motion from the periphery to the center. Rubbing reduces excitability, promotes muscle relaxation.
Kneading – in this case, the muscle is massaged, which is captured and stretched with your fingers. For massage babies, this technique is used very rarely, and it is better to entrust it to a specialist.
Vibration is a movement in which different oscillatory movements are transmitted. For babies, they usually use light pats or blows with their fingertips.
How to massage the baby
All of the above techniques are recommended in a certain sequence. First stroking, then kneading, stroking again, then kneading, stroking, vibrating, and finally stroking again. Starting a massage is always recommended with light movements. Stroking is repeated, as a rule, about five times, all other techniques 9-12. At the same time, the pressure can be slightly increased only after the muscles of the baby relax.
It is necessary to begin massage with legs or handles, at the same time they have to be in slightly bent state. For feet and hands, kneading and rubbing are suitable. For the chest, back, legs, arms and buttocks, it is better to use strokes and light vibrations. Massage of the tummy is usually carried out in a circular motion, in accordance with the movement of the hour hand.
Massage technique for a newborn
- Lay the baby on your back and start the massage with a light stroking of the legs, starting from the bottom of the foot to the upper thighs. After that, you can use the vibration.
- Holding the lower leg of the baby with one hand, massage the foot with the other. First stroke it, then lightly rub it. Then you can on the foot with your thumb “draw” a kind of figure eight. To do this, place your finger in the center, then going up, bend around your fingers, get down and circle your heel.
- Now you can massage the pens. To do this, take the crumb by the brush and gently pull it towards you. Spend a light stroking, starting from the brush to the shoulder.
- Chest massage is recommended to do with strokes of the chest from the center of the chest to the sides and from the center of the chest to the shoulders, it is necessary to avoid contact with the breasts.
- Place the whole palm or only the fingers on the baby’s tummy and make several circular movements, this should only be done in a clockwise direction (by the way, this massage is very useful for colic). Then join the palms in the middle of the baby’s tummy and make several sliding movements, pushing one hand up and the other down.
- Lay the baby on the tummy and stroke his neck, but do it only when he will not try to turn or lift the head.
- Massage your back with strokes, first lightly with the back of your hands from the waist up to the shoulders, then with your palms in the opposite direction, then from the spine to the sides to the sides. Next, stroke the buttocks from the side areas of the hips to the coccyx.
It is very useful to combine massage with simple gymnastics – flexion and extension of the limbs, pressing them to the body, lifting the body, etc.
If you do not be lazy and begin to give daily massages and simple exercises, at least a quarter of an hour a day, your little one will grow up healthy and energetic.
What is a newborn massage for?
According to the assurances of many scientists, babies who receive massages regularly develop much better and faster, grow open and sociable. In newborns, visual and auditory receptors are not yet sufficiently developed; they perceive the world around them to a greater degree through touch.
The benefits of massage for the newborn is that it helps to develop the emotional state of the crumbs and the ability to perceive the surrounding space. In addition, such procedures are also a good way to prevent many childhood diseases, they help to coordinate the work of all systems and organs.
Massages in the best way affect the digestive system, help to cope with constipation and intestines colic, improve appetite. Massage for babies allows you to relieve tension and increased excitability, improves sleep quality, develops physical activity, improves posture and physical fitness. It is also an additional way for the crumbs to reach their parents.
But this is not all what massage treatments are capable of. Their special types help to cope with many children’s problems – flat-footedness, cerebral palsy, scoliosis, muscle hypertonia, diseases of the central nervous system, hip joint dysplasia, congenital dislocations, etc. However, therapeutic massages need to be trusted only to specialists. But simple preventive recommended for all babies, but only if there are no contraindications.
Contraindications massage for a newborn
Contraindications to conducting any type of massage to newborns are the following states:
- age up to 1 month;
- blood disorders;
- increased body temperature;
- any skin diseases;
- cystitis, pyelonephritis and other acute diseases;
- hepatitis;
- umbilical hernia in newborns, prone to pinching (in this case, the massage is carried out only under medical supervision, to avoid pinching of the hernia).
- severe rickets;
- bleeding;
- skin or limb injuries;
- heart disease (in this case, massage is acceptable, but it must be monitored by a cardiologist);
- bone tuberculosis;
- increased nervousness of the crumbs, as in this state, the muscles come in an increased tone.
Massage rules for newborns
- Children under the age of three months are prohibited from massaging the areas under the knees, fontanel, elbow bends, inner thighs, kneecaps, armpits.
- When massaging, do not use clapping, hammering and pressing movements.
- All movements should be gentle and soft.
- The temperature in the room in which the massage will be held should be about 20-23 degrees.
- Never massage immediately after feeding, it can only be done after an hour.
- The duration of the first massage session should be no more than 10 minutes, gradually its duration should be increased to 20 minutes.
- Massage with warm hands, while they should not be any jewelry.
- The procedure should be carried out only on a hard, flat surface.
- For massaging healthy babies it is not recommended to use creams and oils, hold them with dry hands, in addition they can be powdered with talcum powder.
