It is not how much we do,
But how much love we put into doing it.
  Not how much we give
But how much love we put into giving.
(Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

This beautiful quotation was brought home to me in a very tangible way last October when I had the wonderful opportunity to train as a Baby Massage Therapist in Dublin. The course lasted a week and has been both invaluable for me as a Public Health Nurse and inspiring for me personally. As Public Health Nurses we are always desiring and searching for new ways to empower those we meet every day who are struggling to rear their children, very often in stressed family circumstances. This has been a “Godsend”, a way of helping young mothers bond and integrate more with their babies.

The International Association of Infant Massage was founded by a lady called by Vimala McClure and was the first such global organisation. It is a combination of Indian and Swedish massage. Much research conducted over the years has indicated that newborns benefit from being touched and that massage plays an important role in physical and emotional development. Touch is the first communication a baby receives and the first language of its development is through the skin. Human beings cannot survive without touch, it is a behavioural need. With healthy touch the human infant not only survives but thrives.

The birth of a baby is a major life event and necessitates the rapid development of a wide range of skills by new parents. My work as a Public Health Nurse is to facilitate those skills through clinical practice and to support parents. We are concerned with the development of the child in the context of its family and in promoting activities which will empower parents to form a positive attachment to their child.

The classes are run over five weeks. Teaching infant massage is mainly about empowering parents and promoting self confidence. By demonstrating the massage techniques clearly, the class members are enabled to replicate the strokes on their baby. At each session a different part of the body is massaged building up to a full body massage in week five. Participation is entirely voluntary and this is explained during the first session.

At each session parents are taught to ask permission of their babies before massaging them. This step serves different purposes. It lets the baby know that a new experience is about to begin. It also enables parents to begin reading their baby’s cues and to respect their baby’s choice. Babies use different cues or signals to communicate and in understanding this, the parents will get to know the best time to give their baby a massage. Understanding and responding to their babies needs is part of the course and the baby will often direct the flow of the class. Parents may walk, feed, cuddle or do anything else their baby needs during the class. A baby’s daily massage time offers parents the opportunity to relax and unwind from the busy pace of life. This is especially beneficial for parents working outside the home, who are separated from their baby during the day.

Throughout each session there are many opportunities to ask questions and health information/education can be processed,  such as safety, feeding patterns, relationships and parenting. On week five each parent and baby is awarded an attendance certificate as a way of formally recognising completion of the course and the achievement of this new skill. Experience has shown that group members have continued to keep in touch and join other groups such as postnatal support groups or baby gym classes.

This Advent and Christmas time, I was reminded over and over again of these infants and the wonder of our Saviour who took upon himself our humanity and all that it involves. He  came as a baby, was held and caressed by our Blessed Mother. How often do we meet him in those we journey with each day, our God with skin on!

 

Rena Ryan rsm
South Central Province