The video is short, but it’s been watched millions of times and struck a chord with many viewers. One said “This is the purest thing on the internet”, and another commented “Wow it’s so amazing to see this. I start to smile while watching”.
A poignant short video showing twin babies being given the Thalasso bathing method. The first impression (and misled by the title of the video) is that the two babies have just been delivered and are still being kept in some simulation of the womb to maintain the feeling of not being born yet. The truth is less dramatic but still amazing on the impact it has on a recently born child.
French nurse Sonia Rochel developed a technique to “welcome” babies into the world, that tries to simulate the environment in the womb from which they’ve just been forcefully removed. As she puts it herself “I developed this special bathing technique which is there to welcome the baby in all softness … it is like a welcome gift, my gift to them to welcome them into this world.”
Sonia has been working with babies and young children for over 30 years, during which time she had experienced many different approaches to childbirth and post-natal care. “In particular, I met one midwife who showed me a lot of beautiful things. The most important thing she taught me that with babies we need to take our time, that is really crucial.”
However, for Sonia, it’s not just about taking time too. She spent a long time observing new-born babies and listening to what they were trying to tell us. “We hear many sounds as background sounds. We hear it – but we don’t really hear it. So after going through this process, I told myself that I needed to do something for these babies.”
And from these observations, Sonia progressively developed the technique now known as the Thalasso baby bath method. The premise for this as Sonia says herself is “Most of all it’s about changing the whole idea of a bath so that it becomes less strict, more about fun than about hygiene. I really want to change the definition of the word bath for a baby: it’s not about cleaning everywhere, under the arms, the feet, the ears, … a bath is first of all about taking the time, relaxing, feeling good, … and to me, that would be amazing if we could use that as the new definition for a bath.”
Be warned, there is no problem with your speakers, there is no sound but I challenge you not to be as immersed in this as the two babies are. (There’s lovely surprise for you at the end of the video, watch all the way to the end.)