Monday, January 17, 2011

The Top Five Benefits of Baby Massage

ntroduction:

Baby massage is becoming a growing trend, not only because it is a unique way to bond with your baby, but because it offers so many benefits to your child. Here are the top five benefits that massage offers babies.

Massage For Blood Flow:

Your baby was born with an underdeveloped circulatory system, as all babies are. Massage stimulates blood flow to your baby's extremities. It takes your baby's body a while to get acclimated to the world outside the womb, and by giving your baby regular massages, you can help strengthen their circulatory system. This helps your baby's blood flow.

Massage For Immune System:

As a result of the stimulation to your baby's body, and the increased blood flow to each part of their body, your baby's immune system may be improved. This means your baby's resistance to common illnesses will be built up, reducing their chances of infections.

Relaxation For Tense Muscles:

Just like when you exercise, your muscles can become tense. Your baby is also working their muscles, all day long, by learning how to hold up their head, discovering fingers on their hands, and toes on their feet. No matter what action you or your baby does, there is always some type of muscle contraction needed for that action. Massage is a great way to relieve the tension in muscles.

Massage As a Stress Reliever:

Baby's learn at a much faster rate than adults. When you try to learn something new, you become stressed. Your baby is learning many things all at once, and you can bet their stress level is often very high. The body's natural reaction when stress occurs is to release a hormone called cortisol. By giving your baby regular massages, you can reduce the base amount of cortisol in your little one's blood, so they will feel less stressed between massages. Your baby's body will also release a hormone called endorphins, just as any adults body would. Endorphins are released during exercise, which is why you feel better when you get up and move. Your baby is not able to get up and exercise. The good news is that these good hormones are also released when you are relaxing. By giving your baby a massage, you can help his/her body release more endorphins, thereby giving them that warm, tingly feeling of calm. With an increased level of endorphins, and decreased level of cortisol, your baby will have a sense of well-being during, and between, massage.

Massage As a Pain Reliever:

Because of the release of the endorphins, your baby can also be relieved of pains caused by trapped wind, constipation, teething, and sinus congestion, because endorphins also serve as your body's natural pain reliever.


http://www.listmyfive.com/a50fc222/The-Top-Five-Benefits-of-Baby-Massage

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