There are a seemingly endless number benefits of human touch and the research on massage supports what we already know. From a simple hug to a gentle foot massage, touch can bring about powerful feelings but even more powerful is the way it chemically affects your body. A study done by Duke University found that after massage therapy, the human body secretes lower levels of the stress hormones cortisol, norepinephrine, and dopamine. These hormones not only make you feel anxious but they can actually bring about stress-related diseases - including heart attack. Reducing their presence through massage lowers stress hormones' negative effects and treats a whole spectrum of senses.
Effleurage
Effleurage is the use of light touch over a wide area of the body. In childbirth, Doulas and birth partners use efflurage on the laboring woman which promotes relaxation, alleviates pain and encourages sleep. We know that relaxed muscles break the FEAR-TENSION-PAIN cycle which can allow the mother to labor with less pain. The use of deeper effleurage can improve circulation, while stretching and relaxing tense muscles.
Touch during childbirth seems only natural but what about massaging your baby? Have you ever noticed how a gentle stroking down your baby's back can soothe her? Your nurturing touch enriches physiological, emotional, and mind/body/spirit connections for your baby as well as for you. Being touched and caressed is like food for your baby and is as beneficial to her as minerals, vitamins and proteins.
Make it a daily ritual
I like to massage my little one at the end of the day, after a warm bath and in her room with music and some soothing lavender scented baby lotion. She didn't take to it right away so I began with just her feet for 1 minute and now she will let me give her a gentle massage for about 10 minutes. We talk and sing and enjoy intense amounts of connecting. It promotes secure attachment, furthering our bond and providing her with a "secure base" from which to grow and flourish.
For more information on Infant Massage or massage in Childbirth feel free to contact me at birthinbloom@gmail.com.
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