Skip to main content
FamilyEducation
FamilyEducation
Family Education

FE-Menu

  • Pregnancy
    • <blank>
      • Pregnancy Tracker
      • Trying to Conceive
      • Signs & Symptoms
      • Pregnancy Health
    • <blank>
      • Baby Names
      • High Risk Pregnancies
      • Preparing for Baby
    • <blank>
      • Concerns & Complications
      • Labor & Delivery
      • Postpartum
  • Baby Names
    • <blank>
      • Browse All Baby Names (A-Z)
      • Top Names for Boys
      • Top Names for Girls
      • Baby Name Generator
    • <blank>
      • Baby Name Lists & Ideas
      • First Names By Origin
      • Browse All Last Names (A-Z)
      • Last Names by Origin
  • Babies
    • <blank>
      • Caring For Your Baby
      • Baby's Health
      • Feeding Your Baby
    • <blank>
      • Your Baby and Sleep
      • Baby's Growth & Development
      • Baby Hygiene
    • <blank>
      • Baby Safety
      • Baby Products
    • <blank>
  • Toddlers
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Growth and Development
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Behavior and Discipline
    • <blank>
      • Your Toddler and Sleep
  • Kids
    • <blank>
      • Health
      • Childhood Development
      • Fitness & Nutrition
      • Childhood Safety
    • <blank>
      • Communicating with Your Kids
      • Childhood Behavior and Discipline
      • Fostering Responsibility
      • Instilling Values & Manners
    • <blank>
      • Childcare
      • Neurodiversity in Kids
      • Adopting Children
  • Teens
    • <blank>
      • Teen Health
      • Teen Puberty & Sex
    • <blank>
      • Behavior & Discipline
      • Teen Social Development
    • <blank>
      • Values & Responsibilities
  • Activities
    • <blank>
      • Printables
      • Indoor Activities
      • Learning Activities
      • Arts and Crafts
      • Performing Arts
      • Food Activities
      • Outdoor Activities
    • <blank>
      • Books
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Online
      • Quizzes
      • Games
      • Celebrities
    • <blank>
      • Parties
      • Travel
      • Toys
      • Holidays
      • Gifts
  • Learning
    • <blank>
      • By Grade
      • By Subject
      • College
      • Preschool
    • <blank>
      • Back to School
      • Study Skills
      • Learning Styles
    • <blank>
      • Homeschooling
      • Parental Involvement
      • Your Child's School
  • Family Life
    • <blank>
      • Mom Life
      • Dad Life
      • Family Relationships
      • Having a Healthy Marriage
      • Divorce
    • <blank>
      • Health & Fitness
      • COVID Resources
      • Managing Your Home
      • Moving Your Family
      • Pets
    • <blank>
      • Family Finances
      • Work
      • Families and Food
  • NewslettersNewsletters
    Newsletters

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Babies
  3. Caring for Your Baby
  4. Infant Massage

Infant Massage

Learn about the special benefits of infant massage, and how to do it.
  • facebook share icon
  • pin
  • twitter share icon
  • email share icon
  • Print page icon

Infant Massage

Massage has special benefits for infants:

  • It helps to establish a special degree of physical intimacy that shows your baby that you love her.
  • If you doubt your own gentleness, massage can help you get accustomed to handling your baby tenderly and lovingly.
  • It stimulates your baby's circulatory, digestive, and respiratory systems.
  • It can ease your baby's gas pains, calm her, and quiet her when she seems fussy.
  • Studies have shown that massage even improves the growth and development of babies born prematurely. (Whether it does the same for full-term babies is not yet known.)
Babyproofing

You don't need to use any special oils to massage your baby. A little moisturizer rubbed into your own hands allows you to rub her smoothly. If you decide you want to use oils anyway, rub a little on your baby's arm about 30 minutes before starting the massage. That way, if she has an allergic reaction, you won't have affected her whole body.

In short, massage can give great pleasure to both your baby and you. If you want to try infant massage yourself, here's how to do it:

  1. Choose a time when you will least likely be interrupted or distracted. Unplug the phone or let the answering machine take your calls.
  2. Find a warm, quiet, comfortable place. Lay your baby on her back on a warm towel. If she objects to being totally naked (as some babies do), then just take off her shirt to start and then cover up her torso and take off her pants when you start massaging her lower half.
  3. Work from the head down and from the center out. Start by gently massaging the top of your baby's head, her forehead, and the sides of her face. Then move down to her neck and shoulders. Use tender squeezes as you move down her arms. Then gently rub her chest and belly. Apply gentle squeezes down her legs, ankles, feet, and toes. Finish with long light strokes all the way down her body from head to toe.
  4. Use light, gentle, and even strokes throughout the massage. Some babies like a circular motion. Look into your baby's eyes often and smile as you massage her. Quiet talk (perhaps a narration of the massage) may help keep her calm, but your touch itself should also have a soothing effect.
  5. If your baby seemed to enjoy the massage, turn her on to her belly and massage her back, again working from the top down. But if she's getting restless, don't force the issue. Remember, one of the benefits of infant massage is building feelings of physical closeness-not physical struggle!

Remember to use very tender strokes. After all, she's just a baby. Chances are that she doesn't have sore or pulled muscles that require extensive physical therapy. So focus on gentle, loving touches that both you and your baby will enjoy.

What's hot

  • Introducing Cereal to Infants BabiesWhen Can Babies Eat Cereal? (…
  • two babies playing in the playroom Babies12 Simple Developmental…
  • Toddler Takes Sips of Wine and Beer BabiesIs It Okay for Toddlers to…
  • Printable Month-by-Month Developmental Milestone Chart BabiesPrintable Month-by-Month…
NewslettersNewsletters
Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.
Family Education
FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found here.

FE Footer

  • Newsletter Center
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Editorial Team
  • Expert Panel
  • Cookie Policy
  • Site Map
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info (for CA Residents)
sandbox learning logo
Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. 

factmonster logoinfoplease logoTeacherVision logo

sandbbox logo
©2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company.