Sarah Ockwell Smith mentions the power and importance of skin to skin contact and baby massage in her new book “Baby Calm”. She writes how she went to baby massage classes;
“The power of simply touching my baby made me feel so connected to him.. reminded me so much of when he was born….I really believe it helped build the strong connection we have today….”
It is wonderful that massage is being mentioned. I am so glad that more books like this are coming out rather than the Gina Ford, “get your baby into a routine” approach. Sarah’s journey began with her own experience of mothering. This is how my journey began over 22 years ago with my lovely daughter Rosa. Sarah’s book encourages mums to listen to their bodies and their babies. This is what Well Mother www.wellmother.uk is all about; supporting the wisdom of parents and babies.
I would go even further and say that the first baby massage begins in the womb. This is what I emphasise during my pregnancy massage and shiatsu courses. For me this is an important aspect of receiving massage and shiatsu in pregnancy. Of course not all mothers want the therapist working directly on their abdomen: but I must admit I find that rare. It is usually a highlight of their session. And there are lots of ways we can then encourage mums to keep building that connection and to involve the dads and other family members too.
If you want to know more about the Well Mother approach to baby massage I am currently contributing to a Blog on one of my student’s Blogs. http://kadriaskincare.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/infant-massage-series.html Next instalment due soon!
And there is also my German colleague Karin Kalbanter Wernicke’s wonderful new book on Baby Shiatsu, which has just been translated into English! I invite her to teach in the UK to provide additional training for shiatsu practitionres. Her work is very complementary to my approach to Baby shiatsu and massage.
We are getting there.
