Get 'in touch' with your newborn

Spa treatment? That's the latest trend for babies — a post-massage soak in warm water.

Touch of love

Promoted as a means of nurturing contact between caregiver and baby, infant massages have been popular in the US since the 1970s.

Infants as young as several hours old, even preemies, can benefit, according to massage therapist Carole Osborne.

However, most people recommend babies be at least a day old before they are given a massage.

Not only can a massage be performed on healthy babies, it can also help alleviate breathing problems and gastrointestinal difficulties and improve nerve functioning, Osborne says.

According to Osborne, one should be “firm but gentle'' and especially careful around the head and the spine.

Awareness is key

“It's important for parents to be aware of non-verbal and sound-dialogue interactions.

It's a very rich interaction that's not a mechanical kind of thing that the babies thrive on,'' Osborne says.