When you carry a newborn baby, he likes to cling to your body and snuggle up to you, that wonderful feeling can not be expressed in words, this is the sense of touch to bring parents and babies. Massage is one of those tactile contacts and a way for baby and parents to communicate and connect. Why massage a newborn baby? Touch is one of the earliest senses to develop in babies. The largest tactile organ in a newborn’s body is the skin, which has a sensitive sense of touch. It is an important way for infants to recognize the outside world and explore the mysteries of the world, and plays an important role in the process of establishing a close attachment relationship with their mothers. Newborns have tactile sensibility to different temperatures, humidity, texture of objects and pain, which means that he has the sensation of heat and cold, pain, and likes to touch objects with soft texture. Lips and hands are the most sensitive parts of the sense of touch, and newborns often get self-satisfaction by sucking on their hands. In short, the sense of touch is the main way for small infants to comfort themselves, recognize the world and interact with the outside world. Modern research has proved that tactile stimulation by massaging the skin has a significant role in promoting the physical and mental health of infants. U.S. experts found that the preterm infants born after continuous massage, 3 times a day, 15 minutes each time, the magnitude of weight gain is not receiving massage of infants 1.5 times; and receive massage of infants awakening, sleep rhythms are better, more responsive. After 8 to 12 months these infants had a significant advantage over control infants in weight gain, motor and mental development. In addition, massage can enhance the baby’s immunity and promote the digestion and absorption of food. I once met a pair of twin premature babies, one of whom was born with a birth weight of only two pounds and eight taels, which was smaller than that of his co-born, and he was born less fit and intelligent than the other. He could not sit or roll over at 8 months, at which time his parents began to give him full-body massages as directed by the doctor, four times a day for 15 minutes each time, and to do athletic gymnastics and the like. The love of the parents paid off. At the follow-up visit 2 weeks later, the child could roll over and sit alone, was in a good mood, and was more responsive than before. His milk intake increased from 120 ml to 150 ml, and he fell asleep faster and slept more soundly at night than before. More surprisingly, another child living in the same environment had frequent colds, fever and cough, while the child receiving massage only had some nasal discharge and no other symptoms. This shows that the weaker baby had better resistance than the stronger one, thanks to the massage. I am sure that if this premature baby had received massage since birth, his physical and mental development would have been better now. What should I pay attention to when giving massage to my baby? Massage for babies is not exactly the same in all countries, so there is no need to stick to certain stereotypical forms, but there is a basic massage program. Start with the head, followed by the face, arms and hands, chest, abdomen, legs and feet, and then the back. Each area needs to be massaged 2 to 3 times. Use the tips of your hands for smaller areas of the body, and use your fingers, palms, or the entire palm of your hand for larger areas. Start gently and then increase the pressure appropriately, which not only stimulates the skin sensory nerve endings, but also stimulates the deep receptors. The duration of the massage starts from a few minutes and gradually increases to 15-20 minutes. Massage is best carried out in the middle of two breastfeeding, or after the bath. Room temperature at 22 ℃ ~ 26 ℃ is appropriate, to the baby massage before the adults should wash their hands with hot water, can be poured a little emollient oil in the palm of the hand as a lubricant. The baby undressed, lying on a padded bed, table or mom’s legs. Mom can take the appropriate position for massage. Massage is the best way of parent-child emotional communication, can be free and easy to carry out, can be accompanied by soft music, massage and baby face-to-face communication and conversation. Mothers should pay close attention to the baby’s reaction in the process of receiving massage, according to the baby’s reaction to adjust the massage and strength. In the process of massage, the baby appeared the following reactions, such as crying, increased muscle tone, increased activity excitability, changes in skin color or vomiting, etc., should stop the part of the massage, such as lasted more than 1 minute, the massage should be completely stopped. How to massage all parts of the baby? 1, face, two hands on the arch of the eyebrow from the inside out to the temple massage, a total of 8 times two 8 beat; two hands on the sides of the nose from the root of the nose downward massage, a total of 8 times two 8 beat. 2, chest, two hands in turn from the center of the chest, avoiding the nipple, from the inside to the top, to the outside of the circular massage, a total of four times two 8 beat. 3, abdomen, clockwise direction of the abdomen massage, alternating hands a total of four times two 8 beats 4, back, middle finger against the crural vertebrae, starting from the tailbone, with appropriate strength along the crural vertebrae upward to the neck, and then, from top to bottom, with both hands, from the crural vertebrae outward massage, the two movements a total of 1 8 beats, repeat four times, a total of four 8 beats. 5, upper limbs, adults hold the baby’s wrist, from the wrist upward massage to the shoulder, left and right upper limbs each two 8 beats. 6, lower limbs, adults hold the baby’s ankles, from the ankles upward massage 4 to the root of the thighs, left and right lower limbs each two 8 beats. 7, hands and feet, rubbing each finger and toe, each finger and toe 4 times. BaoMa tips: preterm baby body temperature is not stable, massage should be carried out around the temperature of 30 ℃ ~ 34 ℃, or in the warm box, warm bed. Consider the individual differences of babies, massage should only be performed on those babies who can benefit from massage. Suspend massage when the baby is sick.