The body of a child in the first year of life is similar to plasticine - how carefully and skillfully you “sculpt” this plastic material, what efforts you make, will largely determine the future health of your baby.
The body of a child in the first year of life is similar to plasticine - how carefully and skillfully you “sculpt” this plastic material, what efforts you make, will largely determine the future health of your baby.
A lot has been said about the need for massage; no one now doubts that it is one of the most wonderful tools for “sculpting” a baby’s health.
The only condition is that the massage must be correct.
How is this beneficial for a newborn?
Massages for infants can be therapeutic and preventive, and if the first type should only be performed by a specialist, then the second is quite feasible for mothers. You can do daily exercises to strengthen your baby's muscles at home if your pediatrician allows it. Your pediatrician will show you the basic movements you will use to perform a relaxing massage for your newborn and infant up to one year old.
Preventive sessions will help your baby improve blood circulation in tissues and metabolism. During infant massage, receptors located on the surface of the skin are stimulated, this will have a positive effect on the functioning of the brain and the entire nervous system: the baby will behave calmer and sleep better.
Massages for infants have a positive effect on children’s immunity, strengthening it and reducing the risk of contracting colds. When the baby gets older and gymnastic elements are added to the stroking, daily sessions will have a beneficial effect on all the child’s systems. Massages for infants will strengthen the musculoskeletal system and cardiovascular system, eliminate colic and bowel problems in the baby.
In what cases is massage necessary for children?
It allows you to relieve your baby from insomnia, develops children’s motor skills, and copes with diseases such as:
- Congenital clubfoot
- SMD
- Dystonia
- Hip dysplasia
- Congenital torticollis
- Flat feet
- X-shaped leg deformity
- Umbilical hernia
The medical education of our specialists, confirmed by relevant documentation, allows us to achieve maximum results and every child feels much better after massage sessions. If, however, there is a doctor’s prescription, then massage sessions for children can always be repeated.
When should infants not be massaged?
You consulted with your local pediatrician, and he allowed you to do a relaxation course for the newborn, but do not rush to get down to business immediately. There are a number of temporary contraindications, in the presence of which it is better to postpone the procedure for a while:
- The procedure cannot be performed on children under 20 days old;
- if the baby has digestive disorders, for example, he vomited today or had repeated loose stools, it would be right to postpone infant massage;
- there is no need to massage infants if children are diagnosed with an infectious disease, since the child’s body will be busy fighting the disease;
- if there is a rash, diaper rash or sweat rash on the skin, it is better not to disturb children by giving infant massage;
- It is not recommended to massage infants if children have a high temperature due to a cold, overheating, reaction to vaccination or teething;
- If the baby is not in the mood today and is capricious, it would be right to postpone the relaxing infant massage.
Contraindications
In what cases is massage not advisable?:
- You should not start a massage if the child is in a bad mood and is capricious. You should distract the child, calm him down, and only then begin the procedure.
- Massage procedures are not performed at elevated body temperatures.
- In case of acute diathesis, massage is not recommended. If the skin rashes are minor, you can perform a light stroking massage.
- Massage movements should not touch the spine itself.
- When massaging the abdomen, you should not put strong pressure on the liver area; only light superficial stroking is allowed.
- Contraindications to massage are acute infectious diseases, umbilical hernia, congenital heart disease.
- If the child falls asleep during the massage, the procedure is stopped; sleeping children are not given a massage.
Massage, as a therapeutic and health-improving technique, is recommended for all children . Massage procedures for newborns according to Komarovsky are a good way to strengthen the baby’s muscle tone and improve blood circulation. Massage has a beneficial effect on the baby’s general condition, increases the child’s immunity and helps strengthen emotional contact with parents.
We massage babies
Your pediatrician may prescribe general restorative procedures for you by issuing a referral letter labeled “Massage No. 10.” This does not mean that you need a specialist who will conduct a professional and some special treatment session for your baby. This direction indicates that your baby needs a general simple massage lasting 10 days.
This infant massage does not require any special medical knowledge or professional skills from you. Many mothers need only one session with a specialist to understand how to act correctly. Having mastered the manner and algorithm of stroking, you will be able to do massages for infants at home yourself.
If you were prescribed not a general, but a therapeutic massage of infants, it would be right to contact a specialist . The benefits of your careless actions when professional help is needed may be questionable. The treatment course should be completely entrusted to a specialist.
The benefits of massage up to a year
A newborn child does not know how to control his body. During the first year he will actively master this skill. Despite the fact that even by the age of one year this skill will not be perfect, it is in the first 365 days that the baby develops most actively.
Massage helps babies get a full (age-appropriate) load on all muscles. They become stronger, making it easier for the child to roll over, sit down, crawl, and stand up. In addition, massage strengthens children and forces the brain to develop more actively, because in the first years of life it receives maximum information from touching the body.
For your information. The benefits of this procedure are recognized by pediatricians, orthopedists, and physiotherapists.
If we talk about those babies who have developmental problems, then massage for them is not just a supportive, strengthening procedure. It becomes part of the therapy prescribed by the doctor.
Preparing for the infant massage procedure
Ventilate the room where you will conduct the session in advance. Cover the area where you plan to study with your child with a blanket, oilcloth and flannelette diaper. In order not to be distracted and not to leave your baby alone, prepare in advance everything you need that will be needed during and after the infant massage - oils, powder or cream, diaper and clothes.
To avoid injuring your baby when giving him a massage, you should cut your nails and remove jewelry from your hands.
Why do our children need massage?
Many parents are skeptical about baby massage; I believe that the child should develop as it should by nature, and there is no need to interfere again. They are not alone in their judgments; this position exists even in many European countries. But, unfortunately, we have to say that now the environment in which a child develops is very far from natural. The cause of many developmental disabilities is our comfortable lifestyle. A child's feet may not develop properly due to the fact that he does not walk barefoot on the ground, but on a flat floor and wearing shoes whose soles do not bend or absorb shock. Posture deteriorates because the child spends a long time at a desk or watches TV. With an urban lifestyle, the lack of physical activity affects all muscle groups. It’s good if a child goes to a sports section, but sports also have their drawbacks, due to the one-sided load on individual muscle groups. Massage for children at home and exercise therapy help children relieve stress from some muscles and strengthen others, as a result of which the necessary balance is restored. Prevention is the best way to avoid complications, but if there are already deviations, then you need to pay special attention to this and under no circumstances neglect it.
Massage for a newborn
Preventive procedures for newborns can be done only after they are 20 days old. Massage of a baby up to a month should be done with light, stroking movements, moving from the periphery to the center and from bottom to top.
- Smooth the baby's arms, starting with the fingers and gradually moving towards the shoulders.
- Use light massaging movements to stroke your baby's feet, legs and thighs.
- We stroke the baby's tummy clockwise.
- Avoiding the area of the mammary glands, we move our palms from the tummy to the shoulders, and from the shoulders to the sides. If the baby has a tummy ache, and the child is capricious from your touching him, it is better to move to another place. Massages for infants should bring pleasure, but not discomfort.
- We stroke the back from the lower back to the shoulders, and from the line of the spine to the sides.
- Laying the baby on his side, we carefully run our palm along the back from the lower back to the shoulders. Then we turn the baby over to the other side and repeat the movements.
This soothing and light massage for infants should be done to children up to the age of 4 months, until muscle tone weakens.
Prices for children's massage in Moscow within the Moscow Ring Road
A massage session at home includes massage itself and physical therapy (physical therapy), which your child will need.
| Child's age | Price, including massage therapist, RUR |
| Infants under 1 year | 2000 |
| Children from 1 to 4 years old | 2000 |
| Children from 4 years to 7 years | 2500 |
| Children from 7 years old | 3000 |
Massage for infants from 4 months
After muscle tone returns to normal in children under one year old, you can make the restorative preventive massage for infants a little more complex. Now, rubbing and passive gymnastics for the legs and arms are added to the stroking. It is not recommended to touch the inner thighs and spine when you perform a toning rubbing massage on your baby .
Each point of the massage algorithm for infants should be repeated 4 times at first, gradually increasing the number of repetitions of movements to 10. The duration of classes with the baby should gradually increase, and if previously 10 minutes for classes was enough, now gymnastics and massage of infants should be given about half an hour.
Hands
- When lifting your baby's arms, lightly stroke them from hand to shoulder.
- Begin to gently rub your upper limbs in the same direction, slightly moving the skin as you move. This increase in movements during massages for infants tones the necessary areas of the muscles and develops them.
- Place your thumbs in the baby's palms and, clasping his hands, bend the baby's arms at the elbows, crossing them on the chest, and then spread them to the sides.
Stomach
- Using circular motions, gently stroke your baby's belly in a clockwise direction as usual.
- Using gentle pressure, rub the baby's muscles vertically and horizontally.
Neck
You can strengthen the baby’s neck muscles based on the “hovering” reflex: lift the baby lying on his back, holding him under the buttocks and shoulder blades. The baby will instinctively tense his neck muscles and bend his torso. This exercise during massage for infants forces almost all the muscles of their body to work. To avoid overtiring children, it is recommended not to repeat them more than once per session.
Legs
- Continue the massage for infants by stroking the feet from heel to toes.
- Stroke and then gently rub the baby's feet in the direction from the little toes, moving under all the toes, on the back of the baby's legs, until you reach the ankle joint.
- Raising your foot a little, smooth and rub the outer and back sides of the lower leg and thigh in the direction from bottom to top.
- With your palms around your baby's shins, bend and unbend his legs one at a time, as if your baby is stomping. This massage develops the baby’s hip and knee joints, as well as the muscles involved in the movements of the legs.
- Grab your baby's legs just above the knees and bend and straighten only the hip joints.
"Rehearsal" for turning over
Place the baby on his back, hold his straightened legs with one hand, and grab the baby's left arm with the other. Gently pull the baby so that he begins to roll over to the right and onto his stomach. Change the baby's handle and turn him over onto his tummy over his left side. After some time, you will notice that when performing such an exercise in a massage for a baby, he tends to roll over on his own.
A restorative preventive massage for infants up to one year old with elements of turning over stimulates the development of children's skills and teaches them to move correctly.
Back and buttocks
- Lay the baby on his stomach and stroke the baby's back and butt, moving from bottom to top and from the line of the spine to the sides.
- Start rubbing your back and tummy, moving in the same directions.
- Using circular movements with your fingertips and gentle pressure, knead your baby's back, avoiding the kidney area.
Neck and back
Place your palms under your baby's belly and chest and lift him off the surface he was sitting on. The baby will reflexively arch and raise his head.
Breast
- Turn your baby back onto his back and smooth his chest with gentle movements, working from the center to the armpits.
- Bending the fingers of both hands gently, almost without pressure, massage the intercostal spaces with them.
- Grasping the baby's chest with both hands and placing your thumbs under the baby's nipples, use light pressure movements to slowly move the baby's skin upward. This exercise, when performing massages for infants, helps to increase the volume of the chest and deepens the breathing of children.
Sitting down
For a baby lying on his back, spread his arms to the sides, and then pull him slightly towards himself so that the baby rises slightly. It is not recommended to seat children under six months, so at first it is better not to carry such an exercise to its logical conclusion, so as not to harm the baby’s posture and not to change the location of its internal organs . Closer to six months, you can sit your baby down.
Crawling rehearsal
Lay the baby on his stomach and move his bent arms under his sides, and bend his legs at the knees. When a child is in this position, he will reflexively try to rise.
Stepping over
Take the baby under the arms and, holding him, let him feel the support under his feet. The child will instinctively begin to step with his legs. This exercise will stimulate an innate reflex, which will soon develop into conscious motor skills.
Adviсe
Tips for preparing a child for massage treatments:
- the baby should be well-rested and well-fed, in a cheerful mood and mood. If the baby is capricious or dissatisfied with something, then first it is necessary to eliminate the cause of concern and only then perform a massage, or even postpone it altogether. This advice also applies to mom - there is no need to massage out of a sense of duty if you are unwell or feel a loss of strength;
- the air temperature in the room is maintained comfortable, the baby should not get cold, much less freeze;
- The massage is carried out on any convenient surface. A changing table or a regular one, covered with a blanket or bedspread made of fabric that is pleasant to the touch, will do. If there is no table, you can even use a sofa;
- Prepare the fitball in advance if you decide to use it. Fitball classes are carried out from 2 months, this equipment perfectly develops a sense of balance;
- Mom's hands should be warm, with short nails. It is advisable to lubricate the skin of your hands with neutral oil or unscented baby cream. The baby's skin should not be treated;
- Before the session, the baby undresses completely;
- It is convenient to combine massage with preparation for bathing, provided that the child does not become overexcited before bedtime. The best option is to conduct the main massage session in the first half of the day, and in the evening before taking a bath - a shortened procedure.
You should not leave your child unattended, even for a second, on the table where the massage is being performed.
Recommendations
- Before giving a relaxing massage to an infant, consult your pediatrician and find out if your baby has any contraindications;
- follow the age recommendations for massage sessions for infants - it is advisable not to sit children under six months old, there is no need to put the baby on a full foot until he is ready for this;
- if during the procedure the child began to be capricious, for example, when you turned him over on his tummy, return him to the previous position or completely stop the relaxing massage for infants;
- During the massage, infants need to talk gently and casually with the baby so that he feels comfortable and calm, and the session itself evokes positive emotions in him.
https://youtu.be/N6mPSejSoM8
Our children's massage therapists
- Sergey Sychennikov
- Anna Trapeznikova
- Dmitry Nauschutz
- Natalia Tkachenko
- Oleg Kazachenko
- Kira Baranova
- Dmitry Fomin
- Natalia Kigas
- Vitaly Yakimov
- Marina Mishakina
By clicking on the photo you can see diplomas, certificates and reviews of the massage therapist
| Experienced massage therapists | At a convenient time | Quality massage |
| All massage therapists have medical education and more than 5 years of experience | The massage is carried out at your home, at an agreed time convenient for you. | Massage from 30 to 45 minutes depending on the age of the child, plus the necessary exercise therapy |
