The child spends nine long months in the cramped space of his mother's womb. There he (especially in late pregnancy) has no way to straighten his limbs, stretch, straighten. That is why all babies from birth have physiological problems with muscle tone. Massage is designed to help parents cope with it faster, as well as promote a more harmonious physical development of the baby. We will tell you how to do it for babies on their own in this article.
Benefit
Some people think that massage is only prescribed for babies who have certain health problems. This is certainly true. But general massage is indicated for all children, even those who are completely healthy. Considering that sessions performed by a professional massage therapist are quite expensive, the question of how to do the massage on your own does not lose relevance.
During the first year of its life, an infant is developing by leaps and bounds. It took humanity several millennia to get to its feet and walk with support on two limbs. For a child, nature takes no more than a year for this. From a helpless lump, he quickly turns into a homo erectus. Each of the stages of this "evolution" needs adult support. Learning to hold your head, roll over on your side, sit, crawl and walk are the primary tasks of the baby. Parents can help him in this.
At the earliest stage of development, massage helps to eliminate the physiological tone, the baby is able to grow and develop more freely. Starting from 3 months, the procedure is designed to strengthen the muscle frame so that the baby's first turns and attempts to crawl are as good as possible. At any age, massage improves blood circulation, and also has a beneficial effect on the baby's nervous system: it allows you to "cheer up" an inactive child and has a calming effect on a hyperactive baby.
A massage session is also a great way of communication between mother and child. Have you ever wondered why babies cry so often when touched by a stranger with a massage degree? The answer is obvious: the child needs tactile contact, but not with just anyone, namely with his mother, whom he learned to feel during his existence in the womb.
Only a mother can turn an ordinary medical and preventive procedure into a fun and exciting game that will bring not only benefits for the body, but also joy. Only a mother knows how to feel her baby, the slightest nuances and shades of his mood, and therefore only she can choose the most suitable time for a massage session.
Professional massage is indispensable, but only if the child has congenital pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, birth injuries, paralysis and paresis, and other diseases that require specialized procedures aimed at certain muscle groups. A healthy baby needs a general, classical massage, which any mother can master without much difficulty. A properly conducted session improves sleep, increases appetite, favorably affects the mood and well-being of an infant, and also helps to strengthen his immunity along with swimming, walking, hardening, vitamin therapy. It is the strengthening of the baby's immunity that is the most important task of every mother.
Contraindications
With all the obvious benefits, massage can harm the baby, therefore, for some conditions and diseases, it is not recommended.
- Fever. If the child has fever (caught a cold, teething, etc.), then increased blood circulation during a massage session can lead to an even greater rise in temperature.
- Infectious diseases. Any ailments that are associated with the appearance of blisters, pustules, a rash of fungal, viral or bacterial origin on the skin are a strict and direct contraindication. The movements of the masseur can disrupt the integrity of the rash, and infection of adjacent skin areas can occur.
- Non-communicable skin diseases. The development of prickly heat, skin allergies, diaper rash, as well as scratches and abrasions, burns are also a contraindication for massage, so the procedure can be performed only after the skin naturally regains its integrity.
- Heart defects. Circulatory disorders in a child born with heart defects can occur even in complete rest. Massage is a certain load on the body, and how a small heart will perceive it, no one can predict. For children with heart defects, massage procedures are performed exclusively by specialists under the vigilant supervision of a cardiologist.
- Diseases of the blood and blood vessels. Certain blood disorders and fragility of blood vessels put you at risk of internal bleeding during massage. This procedure is prohibited for hemophilia, hemorrhage, and for some congenital diseases associated with hemostasis disorders.
- Tendency to seizures, epilepsy. Massage is contraindicated for such infants because of the risk of provoking a new convulsive attack.
- Large hernias. It is a common umbilical and inguinal hernia at an early age. If it is quite large and parts of organs, veins come out into the hernial sac, massaging can lead to muscle contraction, which can, in turn, lead to infringement of the hernia.
In addition, the issue of massage for a premature baby should be considered with great care. Such sessions are not contraindicated for him, but the procedure can be postponed for a while (until the child reaches a certain body weight). For such children, the question of when to start massage is decided exclusively by the pediatrician.
Age restrictions
As for the age at which you can start doing massage, pediatricians have no consensus. Some doctors recommend that healthy children begin to conduct such sessions from one and a half months, others say that you can start doing massage immediately after the umbilical wound heals.
Modern pediatricians are more inclined towards the second option: a child who does not have the above contraindications can and should start doing a general classical massage literally from 2-3 weeks of life, provided that the umbilical wound is completely healed. For a two-month and three-month-old baby, massage should be an important and integral part of daily exercise, along with washing, bathing, walking, and feeding. You should not give up massage and a seven-month-old or eight-month-old child, because at this age the child acquires new motor skills, which require a strong and developed muscular system.
In any case, before starting a massage, a child of any age up to one year should definitely ask the doctor's opinion on this matter. So it will be calmer for both mom and doctor.
Massage types
Massage for babies can be fortifying, relaxing, relaxing, and also tonic. All these types of massage belong to the group of classical massage. It can be done in the clinic if you are ready to visit it every day with your child, since it is undesirable to interrupt the course. It is much more convenient to do massage at home. A specialist who comes to your house for a fee is quite expensive. If a very specific type of therapeutic massage is not prescribed, then such expenses are not necessary.
The classical massage techniques are based on the impact in three consecutive stages. At the first stage, strokes are performed, which adapt the child's skin and his nervous system to subsequent manipulations. At the second stage, rubbing occurs, then kneading takes place. Finish the session again with gentle and delicate strokes.
There are also quite simple to perform and very useful highly specialized types of massage: vibration (children's percussion) - massage that facilitates the removal of phlegm in bronchitis and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract; there is dacryomassage, which helps infants suffering from dactriocystitis (inflammation of the lacrimal sac).
Technique
It is not difficult to master the technique of massage for babies. This can be done even during pregnancy in special courses for expectant mothers, which work in every antenatal clinic. After the birth of a child, you can seek advice from a pediatrician or nurse in the nursery, who will show you the basic techniques and techniques. After all, in the 21st century it is quite possible to take advantage of video tutorials, which are abundant on the Internet. Let's describe in more detail the basic technique of some types of massage at home.
General strengthening
Massage should be started in the supine position. After gently stroking the tummy, you should proceed to massage the limbs. First, the hands are massaged, for this the mother fixes one handle in her own, and with the other hand she gently rubs the baby's handle from all sides. Then the second handle is massaged in the same way. One leg is lifted and fixed by hand by the ankle, stroking movements are carried out with the other hand, and then gentle rubbing, after which the same is repeated with the second leg.
The tummy is massaged with light movements in a circle. The second part of the session is performed in a prone position. The muscles of the back are massaged, but the spinal column is not affected, then stroking and light rubbing of the lateral muscles are performed.
Tonic
A distinctive feature of tonic firming massage is the use of congenital children's reflexes. In the lateral position, fingers are drawn along the spine so that the baby unbends the back, and in the prone position on the tummy, the legs are brought up and support under the feet with the palm of the hand. After a slight forward movement with the palm, the baby will reflexively make a crawling movement.
If the baby is more than four months old, you can add a light massage of the neck area and shoulder girdle. It should be done very carefully and limited to stroking and light rubbing.
It is prohibited to knead the area adjacent to the vertebrae at home.
Relaxing
The relaxing massage is based on soothing and gentle strokes, without intensive kneading of the muscles. The procedure for massaging is the same as the above: limbs, abdomen and chest, back, lateral muscles. You can complete the massage with circular strokes of the scalp and feet. Relaxation massage is carried out before bathing, while it is important to ensure that the child is not overexcited while performing the complex. You should never combine a relaxing massage with gymnastic exercises or exercise therapy exercises, as the effect will be the opposite.
With bronchitis
Vibration (percussion) massage helps the child to quickly cope with a wet cough, accompanied by the formation and discharge of phlegm. The child should be placed on its stomach over the adult's knee. With the fingertips, the ribcage and costal part are tapped from both the back and the sides. After that, the baby is turned into an upright position and lightly tapped on the back to make him cough.
Such massage is very useful at the final stage of viral and other diseases, when the cough becomes wet and you need to quickly remove the remnants of bronchial secretions. The procedure takes about 10 minutes.
With colic
If the baby is suffering from colic, you need to massage the stomach. Place the child on the back, with the adult's thumb making light circular movements around the navel in a clockwise direction. Then the child is laid out on the tummy for 10-15 minutes. Such a session helps to remove intestinal gases, which are the cause of colic, and relieves the child's condition. For greater effectiveness, combine massage with other methods: applying a warm diaper, ironed, or heating pad, as well as taking simethicone-based products.
With dacryocystitis
Children with dacryocystitis are given a massage to free the nasolacrimal canals of pus and fluid. To do this, with clean thumbs, the mother moves from the edge of the baby's eyes towards the bridge of the nose 8-10 times with a slight pressure. This allows you to restore the patency of the nasolacrimal passages and facilitate the removal of tear fluid. Massage products are not used for the procedure.
General rules
In order for the massage procedure to be beneficial, follow the general rules for its implementation:
- it is best to massage the child in the morning, as massage before bedtime can cause excitation of the nervous system and sleep disturbances;
- do not massage in a too hot room, the air temperature should not exceed 22 degrees;
- also pay attention to air humidity - 50-70% humidity is considered normal;
- all massage products that the mother is going to use for massage must be hypoallergenic and approved for use in infants, while avoiding products with a strong aroma or pronounced color - perfume fragrances and dyes will not benefit the child;
- do the procedure on a firm and level surface, a changing table or a regular table is best suited for this purpose;
- prepare and arrange in advance everything that you need during the massage, at arm's length, so as not to turn away from the child even for a second and not leave him alone on the table (otherwise, a soothing or tonic massage may result in a fall and receive a serious injury);
- massage with clean and warm hands, as the touch of cold hands is unpleasant for children;
- try to massage 45 minutes after feeding or an hour before the upcoming feeding (so you can avoid regurgitation during a session or a hungry cry);
- increase the procedure time gradually and sequentially (start with 3-4 minutes, gradually increase the time and bring the session to 15 minutes);
- do not waste precious time, use it effectively and with maximum benefit - turn on the music for the child during manipulations, sing a song to him, read rhymes or counting rhymes; in parallel with the muscles, the baby will develop hearing, vision and speech perception;
- if the child cries during the session, is capricious, there is no point in continuing the effect, since there will be no benefit from such a massage (you should stop manipulating and hold the session at another time when the child is healthy, cheerful, cheerful and happy with everything).
The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
The well-known pediatrician Yevgeny Olegovich Komarovsky strongly recommends that mothers learn a strengthening and soothing massage on their own and only in extreme cases seek help from professional masseurs. Such situations include medical manipulations, especially if it is not possible to carry them out at home (for example, massage in combination with electrophoresis is prescribed). To achieve maximum benefit, Evgeny Olegovich advises not to be limited to one massage, but to comprehensively strengthen children's immunity: combine massage with hardening, cool baths and obligatory walks in the fresh air in any weather.
Exercising, gymnastics, exercises on fitball (from 6 months) are useful.But in everything you need to know when to stop, so you need to take breaks between massage courses - for 1-2 weeks.
Reviews
Self-massage is easy for most moms. Already from the second or third procedure, an accurate understanding of what is being done and why comes. Some mothers in their reviews complain that the child's temperature rises after the massage. If this happens, it is possible that the manipulations were too intense, blood circulation increased and led to an increase in temperature. It is necessary to reduce the load on the child's body, to do a soothing massage, which is more delicate.
Some mothers claim that home massage helped their babies not only quickly get rid of hypertonicity, but also, in general, noticeably improved their condition with low hemoglobin, with delayed speech or psychophysical development.
Most mothers agree that finding a good baby massage specialist at home is not easy. Now it is very easy to run into amateurs - people who do not have a medical education at all, which does not prevent them from advertising their services and finding clients. Such people can harm your child without incurring any responsibility. For this reason alone, it is worth learning simple massage techniques on your own.
About what types of massage are, how often and why to do it, Dr. Komarovsky will tell in the next video.
