Why is a Positive touch for the Baby so important?

In this day and age, when there are so many gizmo’s and gadgets to help parents to care for their babies (particularly those that help transport babies around), babies are often manoeuvred from their cot to carry-cot to pushchair and then their car seat and it is not uncommon for a baby to be barely touched at all. This is rather unfortunate for a baby who has, until only a short while before, spent nine months inside the confines of the womb in constant touch with their mum. Once born, there are no more cosy walls and gone is the continual massage received while mum moved around.

Touch is often not sufficiently considered until we can see the profound effects that little or no touch has on a child. Reports in the last century of babies and children who were deprived of touch in orphanages around the world, show us how important positive touch is to the human race.

Throughout life, no matter what the age, being held and comforted are the most healing acts that humans can share. Without realizing, parents instinctively use touch to heal and comfort their children. ‘Rub it better’ is a phrase very often used to reassure a wounded child to stroke the area of the skin that has been affected is an instinctive reaction, which encourages our body to start the natural repair process.

Touch is therefore a fundamental need for everybody, but ‘skin-to-skin’ contact is essential for a newborn baby. It can help with temperature control, stabilizing breathing and heart rate, and increases the well-being of the baby. The inclination to ignore the need for skin-to-skin contact between the mother and baby, which is so common in western societies, may affect the ability of the mother to recognize the non-verbal cues or signs through which the baby is trying to communicate.

A parent’s ability to understand their baby’s cues can be greatly enhanced through baby massage and yoga, allowing the parent to comfort and reassure their baby through positive touch.