Baby Annika enjoys grandma’s traditional Indian massage and Soothing music…

Baby massage, a traditional Indian practice, is an integral part of infant care in many Indian families. Most doctors or caregivers recommend baby massage, especially for a newborn. But there are different opinions about the methods or best practices for performing baby massage. For example, who should massage your baby? Or what oil is best for baby massage? Or how to give a massage to a child? In this post, I will share my knowledge and experience of massaging my baby. Baby massage is just gentle stroking of the child’s body with hands, slow, repetitive movements.

Caregivers or doctors recommend massaging the baby with your hands, with or without the use of emollients such as oil or cream. Baby massage is an Ayurvedic therapy and a very popular postpartum practice in India. Doctors also recommend that parents massage their child, but primarily to establish a closer bond with the child. Regular massage is traditionally believed to aid physical development, improve weight gain, and promote growth in a child. Almost all my mothers I know did a massage to a newborn (on the advice of a pediatrician or elders in the family).