Benefits of Infant Massage

As a Certified Newborn Massage Instructor, I have seen the benefits of massaging infants and newborns first hand. When mother and baby have a strongly developed skinship through daily massages, the infant will not only enjoy special, relaxing one on one time with you, but a wealth of other experiences as well. For example, did you know that infant massage improves circulation throughout the infant's body? The improved circulation can speed the healing of birth related trauma. We know the birth experience is laborious for the mother, and quite similarly, the infant is working hard to emerge into a new world which required hard work for him as well. Another benefit of the daily massage is stimulation of the immune system. The calming effect elicited by the massage will allow for deeper more restful sleep for both the parent and baby - these calming effects help with babies who have colic and digestive problems as well! Stimulation of the nervous system is another very important benefit of infant massage. Stimulating the nervous system through the skin assists with the development of muscle tone, coordination and brain functioning. For all babies, eating is one of their biggest tasks. Newborn and infant massage helps the baby to intake and digest food more easily. Having stimulated all of her primary internal body systems, the body is able to use calories more efficiently allowing the baby to grow, grow, grow! Won't you join me for an infant massage class? On the right of my blog, you'll see a button to register online. I'm looking forward to providing a one-on-one newborn infant massage class for you and your partner.

Benefits of Yoga - for You and Your Child

Doing yoga with your toddler and older children has many benefits beyond the surface of simply filling time and space with your bodies. With the yoga poses I’ve described in my book "Yoga with Children" you’ll find the benefits encompass the physical, social developmental areas and promotes mental/psychological health. Let’s talk about these individual areas in more detail.

Physical Development –

Yoga moves help with the development of strength, flexibility, stamina, agility, balance and coordination. The child becomes more aware of his own body and enhances understanding of his own body’s movements.

As the child works to perfect his moves, blood is pumped throughout the body improving cardiovascular fitness. When done properly, yoga poses emphasize proper body alignment and the development of muscles that will aid in posture and body mechanics. This also helps the child to avoid injury during other activities.   Stimulating the body’s muscles and cardiovascular system also helps promote the immune system and neuromuscular development.

Social Development –

Doing yoga with your child enhances your relationship and the bond between the two of you. When children do yoga together, their cooperative skills are enhanced as they learn to share space. They may even impress one another with their ability to perfect a move or to interpret the pose in a new and interesting way. Yoga also promotes positive communication, both verbal and non-verbal. The skills of listening and observing are enhanced as well. When we do yoga, we often talk about peace. This fosters self-respect, respect for animals and the environment and also compassion.

Mental/Psychological Health -

Yoga is for all ages and for all levels of fitness. Beginning slow offers a positive approach toward exercise and health which results in stronger mental and physical health. Poses challenge the child in positive ways. The child builds focus, concentration, self-discipline and inner strength in his efforts to perfect the poses. Breath control is an integral part of yoga. Breath control helps when we are upset, mad, or stressed. Learning this as a child can be tremendously helpful to the child who is still learning to regulate his emotions. Discovering new poses will foster a creative imagination and allow the child to express himself more freely, nurturing his confidence and self-esteem. Actively doing yoga helps relieve stress and frustration and provide an outlet for social interaction  

Benefits for Parents

Of course, parents have benefits too! Including your child in yoga will allow you one more way to bond and spend time with your child. You’ll build even more confidence in your parenting! Teaching your child yoga will help you discover their learning styles as a little personality emerges. You’ll also find ways of calming and soothing your child as she shows preferences for breathing techniques and relaxing poses. Enjoying all of these benefits from yoga will reduce your stress, anxiety. You’ll be calmer, enjoy more relaxing time with family – and you’ll sleep better too!

Yoga with Toddlers (and other children)

Doing yoga with children is so much fun! It's especially wonderful because you're able to fit in some very important mommy time while you're teaching your child to move their body, stretch, relax and  focus on the moves you're doing. This month at HBMH, I had a delightful time preparing for the Parent Education Night: Yoga with Toddlers. While I was preparing, I had a great idea on how to share the moves with families who were unable to attend the education night. By clicking on this link you'll find a book in PDF format with the description of 17 fun and easy poses. This will be a fun project for your family - take a picture of you or your child doing the pose based on the description I've provided in the book. Then, paste the pictures on each respective page. You can have the book laminated at Kinkos, or you could put it in a 3-ring binder with page protectors. But, no matter what - your child will ABSOLUTELY LOVE looking at his or her own yoga book and repeating the poses over and over again. If you have questions or feedback, just give me a call or send over an email - I'd love to know how wonderfully it's implemented in your home!

Consciousness of the Fetus & the Neonate

The Association of Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH) has advanced the research and awareness of the consciousness of the fetus and the neonate. They are most interested in how the fetus and the neonate view the world. From their research Wendy Anne McCarty, PhD, has evolved these seven principles based on APPPAH research and her clinical experience with babies:

1. We are sentient beings, conscious and aware from the beginning of life.
2. Our abilities to communicate and to be impacted by communication with us in the prenatal and perinatal time are greater than traditionally thought.
3. During our prenatal, birth and early infancy, we learn intensely and we are exquisitely sensitive to our environments and relationships. We form foundational blueprints for our life based on early experiences. This blueprint is the foundation for our growth physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally and spiritually.
4. Our early experiences become part of our implicit memories reflected in our subconscious and in our autonomic functioning. These impact us below the level of our conscious awareness and directly shape our perceptions and conceptions of reality.
5. Young babies already show us their established life patterns developed in-utero and during their births. The majority of babies born in the United States show signs of stress or traumatic imprinting.
6. Many of the needs we have considered essential for healthy development during infancy and childhood are needs we have from the beginning of life: to be wanted, welcomed, safe, nourished, seen, heard, included, and communicated with as the sentient beings we are.
7. Communicating with babies in the womb, during birth, during the newborn period and directly including them so they feel "we are doing this together", is one of the most powerful tools we have to help babies - especially when there are difficulties or medical interventions.

This article was written by Teresa Kirkpatrick Ramsey, BSN, LMT, CIMI

who referenced the following  material:
McCarty, W.A., (2004): "The call to reawaken and deepen our communication with babies: what babies are teaching us." International Doula, Vol.12, No.3, Sept., pp.8-13

Do you know someone "At Risk"?

During some reading time today, a question came to mind that just kept popping back up ... do you know someone "at risk". Thinking this through I considered how many women, children and families there are who have situations placing them at-risk, particularly in this poor economy. I thought I should put some of these scenarios out there, in hopes it will inspire at least one person to reach out to someone in need. 

At-Risk Situations for a Mother, Family or Newborn Baby Include:

* teen mother and teen father
* history of physical or sexual abuse

* poverty, poor prenatal care, poor nutrition, homelessness

* additions (past or present)

* mental illness or mental retardation (current or family history)

* preterm birth

* traumatic birth

* congenial problems or malformations

* genetic problems
* maternal depression postpartum
* lack of social support postpartum
* perfectionist and overly conscientious parents

For those families who have never had to deal with any of these circumstances, may you cherish your blessings and support others who may have to work through these difficult situations.

Prenatal & Postnatal Attachment, and Behavioral Outcomes

For most infants, the bond with his or her mother begins while the infant is still in the womb.  Prenatal attachment theory emphasizes that a mother's relationship with her unborn child is extraordinarily powerful and important to her future role as a parent. In most cases, the prenatal attachment is obvious just by talking to the woman - her body language, actions and excitement about the baby in utero communicate she is already forming an incredible bond.

Immediately after birth, the infant is united with his mother outside the womb. When the infant cries, the mother responds with attention, comfort, feeding and changing. Immediately, the baby learns to trust and expect that his mother will meet all of his needs. Infant-mother attachment forms largely within the first six months of life. Research has shown us that children who are adopted after six months of age are less likely to develop secure attachments and are at higher risk for behavior problems later in life.  

As the infant growns older he will begin to venture out on his own. Using his mother as a secure base, the child may crawl into another room or toward another child. However, when he is unsure or afraid, the infant will return to his mother, his safe haven, for comfort. No matter how far or how frequently the child ventures out, he will attempt to maintain a certain proximity to his mother. If this proximity is not maintained, the child will experience separation distress until he is reunited with his mother. Proximity maintenance is one of the most important characteristics of attachment, especially when considering the evolutionary advantages.

Mary Ainsworth's "Strange Situation" from the 1970's greatly expanded upon her own theory of attachment as briefly described above. Her research demonstrated profound effects of attachment on behavior. She theorized there are three major styles of attachment: secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. Since the 1970's, ongoing research has continued to support Ainsworth's attachment theory. You may be wondering now, what are these styles of attachment and how do they affect my child's behavior?  

Secure attachment can be seen when a child becomes moderately distressed by their parent's absence yet reassured upon their return. The child feels secure and trusts that his mother will return. When frightened, these children seek parental comfort and rely on them for support in meeting their needs. Securely attached children have higher self-esteem, develop strong relationships and the ability to self-disclose to others. These benefits last throughout the entire lifespan.

Ambivalent-Insecure Attachment can be seen when a child becomes very distressed by their parent's absence. These children are not secure nor trusting that their mother will return. She can be counted on for parental comfort or support in meeting needs. This is thought to affect 7-15% of children in the US.

Avoidant-Insecure Attachment can be seen when a child avoids parents or caregivers. He does not prefer the mother over a caregiver or stranger when offered a choice. Because this often results from abusive or neglectful parenting, the child internalizes the punishment he receives for relying on his parents and has learned to avoid seeking their help or support.  

Attachment style can negatively impact future behavior. We see from research that children who do not form secure attachements are more frequently diagnosed with oppositional-defiant disorder, conduct disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Montessori At-Home Activities

For some great Montessori At-Home Activities, check out my post on "Montessori in the Home"

a quote about Infant Massage

"We know now that infant massage helps growth and development. Babies who are massaged gain more weight, they sleep better, they are less irritable, they are more responsive, they have better interactions with their parents and they show superior mental and motor development."
-Tiffany Field, PhD.
Director, Touch Research Institute

SIDS & Helmets - a complicated issue

I've been reading a lot about this complicated issue and thought I'd share my findings...
In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) proclaimed that infants should be placed on their backs to sleep to prevent SIDS deaths. This inspired the state of Texas Minimum Standards for Licensed Childcare Facilities to require training in this for all employees. (This is why we only allow infants to sleep on their tummy after they've developed enough strength and coordination to roll from tummy to back.) Since 1992, SIDS deaths have been reduced by 40%!
Also, since 1992, there has been a major increase in a condition called plagiocephaly (some medical studies report the increase going from 1 to 400 babies.) Positional plagiocephaly is the most common type which literally means asymmetrically shaped head. However, there is another type called craniosynostosis which is the premature fusion of the cranial bones. For the rest of this post, I'll only be focusing on the positional plagiocephaly.

Infant brains grow phenomenally in the first six months after birth and the cranium expands to accommodate it. But because babies spend most of their time sleeping, the head of a baby who sleeps mostly on his back can develop a depression. Twins and multiples are more likely to get plagiocephaly because of constraint in the womb and prematurity requiring the infant to be on a ventilator, lying flat during the first days after birth.

There are some thing which can be done to prevent positional plagiocephaly.

Prevention Do's

• Increase supervised tummy time
• While the infant sleeps on his back, you could gently rotate his head to face the right or left
• While nursing, consider different angles that would be comfortable for you and your baby and also vary the infant's head position in your arms
• When changing the baby, try approaching him from different angles to vary his gaze on you
• Move mobiles around so the infant is turning his gaze in varying directions
• Move light sources occasionally

Prevention DON'TS

• Never poke, push or apply pressure on the infant's head, no matter where on the head but especially near the top
• Never prop the infant's head, the infant's body or his crib. Propping the infant or the crib is dangerous and should never be attempted no matter how small of an incline.

If the prevention strategies are not enough you will most likely notice asymmetry between 3-6 months. There is treatment which includes a specially fitted helmet prescribed for the infant to wear for about 23.5 hours per day for up to 6 months. This helmet is used to shape the infant's growing skull. How it works - the doctor will first measure and make a plastic mold of the infant's head. These will be used in creating the individual helmet. Once the helmet is ready, the idea is that it will fit firmly on pronounced areas while leaving room for the other areas to grow, letting them "catch up" to those that are more pronounced.

Correcting plagiocephaly vs. not correcting plagiocephaly

The research is more clinically based which relies on individual trial & error cases rather than an experimental and control group.

Pros 

• No research has shown harm from correction with a helmet
• Reduction in future emotional stress or self-consciousness
• The practice is not new as it can be seen in Asian & ancient Egyptian cultures.

Cons 

• Not always paid for by health insurance as it can be considered cosmetic (For example, Aetna pays for the treatment only in moderate to severe cases)
• The infant can get used to the helmet and when it's removed it takes some time for him/her to get used to life without it

I hope this information finds someone in need. I have a very sweet story of a little boy who did have the helmet and I observed him the first morning he got it off ~ the link is here.

A story about Baby Helmets

Cosmetic helmets are sometimes used to move & mold the infant's cranial plates before they harden into their permanent shape. I've posted more detailed information about the why's and how's of helmets which can be found here, but for this post - I just have a sweet story. :) So, I recently had an opportunity to observe an infant who had been wearing one of these helmets for a few months - and today he got it off! While I was observing this little boy in the infant community, it was so beautiful to watch the discovery of his actual head (instead of feeling the helmet). He was sitting up looking at a cloth book when he raised his arms and put them on his head (actually on the sides of his head as infant arms are shorter and don't reach the top). Puzzled for a moment, he paused then started rubbing just above his ears. He rubbed in a couple small circles and realized there was something fuzzy - his hair! He rubbed, twirled and gave it a little tug. But with no success of pulling it down to eye level and see what it was, he moved his hands around a little more and found his left ear! Again, his little fingers explored the ear... pushed it, bent it and then of course pulled on it. He didn't seem to mind he couldn't pull the ear down to eye level in order to see it though - he just looked up and gave a huge grin before going back to looking at his cloth book. Reflecting on this, I continue to be amazed at the joy of discovery babies feel each and every moment.

Language & Sensorial Development - Prenatal through the First Year

To my readers, I found this wonderful article discussing language & sensorial development. The perspective covers the prenatal aspect through the first year of an infant's life. It's about five pages long and I've included the link for you here (Languae & Sensorial Development - Prenatal through 1st Year).
Please do enjoy ~ happy pregnancy & happy parenting!