About Baby Massage
The known benefits of baby massage for both mother and baby are unquestionable, with baby massage being widely supported by medical practitioners across the world.
Baby massage has been a longstanding parenting tradition in many cultures, such as India and Africa. It was introduced to the western world around 30 years ago and has continued to gain in popularity. Through the course that we offer we aim to bring together the ancient wisdom with modern knowledge. The IAIM baby massage course draws from both Indian and Swedish massage techniques, as well as incorporating principles from yoga and reflexology. Our course teaches parents a sequence of rhythmic strokes and soothing holds which have been developed and refined over many years.
The four main areas of benefit are:

Interaction and bonding - promoting bonding and secure attachment by providing parents with the opportunity to bond with their babies through loving touch, special one-to-one time, eye contact and affection. The interaction as well as use of song and rhyme help with the development of language skills.
Relaxation - baby massage is wonderfully soothing in itself, and we also teach babies how to relax through techniques such as 'touch relaxation'. Baby massage has been shown to help babies and parents relax and become less stressed, with increased periods of calm for both. Many parents believe baby massage has helped their baby's sleep patterns.
Relief - baby massage can help with many common baby ailments that can cause distress for both the baby and their parents. These include; gas and colic, constipation and elimination, gastrointestinal cramps, muscular tension, excess mucous, nasal congestion and teething discomfort.
Stimulation - Baby massage positively stimulates all of your baby's physical and neurological systems as well as demonstrating love through skin to skin contact. This causes the release of hormones that create loving behaviour. Regular massage can also stimulate muscle tone and development, helping balance and improve your baby's mind and body awareness.