Baby Massage: C-Section Babies.
Was your baby born via c-section?
Baby massage is brilliant for all babies but baby massage for c-section babies can be of huge benefit, particularly when receiving regular baby massage in their day to day life.
In today’s blog I am going to focus exclusively on baby massage for babies born by caesarean section and how it can help them after making their entrance into the world.
Babies who have been born by caesarean section with a total absence of labour miss the protracted contractions that often accompany a normal delivery’. (Walker.P, 2009)
Contractions (or surges) get babies ready to adapt to life outside of the womb by stimulating the important systems and organs in their little bodies. When a baby is delivered by c-section with a total absence of labour they do not get this natural stimulation from the contractions which essentially massages and squeezes them down the birthing canal to bring them into the world.
This natural squeezing process also helps to squeeze any fluid off of their lungs, preparing them to be able to breathe more effectively once delivery has occurred.
Michael Shea, PhD states “Without that squeezing process, you see a lot of issues like colic and even breathing problems and asthma later on.”
Some of the benefits for babies born vaginally include gentle stimulation of their internal organs and other vital systems in their body such as their respiratory system, digestive system, the circulatory system and nervous system.
Stimulating the babys respiratory system through contractions can potentially help to remove mucus and fluid from their lungs and airways which may be causing congestion and regulate their breathing, often something that many caesarean babies struggle with.
Baby Massage is an amazing way to bond with your baby. Quite often, c-section babies can miss out on skin to skin contact with their mother straight after birth if they need a little help once born. Baby Massage uses gentle, nurturing touch to help increase the hormones essential in bonding, feeding and nurturing your baby, enabling you to develop and strengthen the lifelong bond you share through quality skin to skin time and nurturing touch. Once you are feeling more mobile and comfortable in yourself, start to introduce baby massage into your daily routine.
By spending time gently massaging your baby you are able to build and strengthen the all important attachment bond and get to know your precious new arrival. If your baby was born breech, a regular massage to their legs and feet can also help to gently relax their leg muscles back down into their natural alignment and aid muscular conditions such as positional talipes.
As many c-section babies experience digestive discomfort and colicky symptoms gentle tummy massage can help to stimulate the digestive system and reduce common ailments and discomforts such as colic, wind and constipation. To learn how to use specialist massage techniques for colic check out my online course BABY MASSAGE FOR COLIC & WIND.
I personally found that regular baby massage on my both of my boys worked wonders. Thomas was born breech at 37 weeks as I had been suffering with pre-eclampsia and was very poorly, we missed out on initial skin to skin contact as he needed a little help to get going outside of the womb. After undertaking regular massage with him focusing largely on his tummy, chest and legs to help with tummy troubles, feeding issues, posture and general unsettled/colicky symptoms he began to improve enormously. To accompany his baby massage treatments we also took him to cranial-sacral treatments to check over their head and spine due to being born via emergency caesarean (and for Thomas) with a total absence of labour. After a few cranial osteopath sessions and regular daily massage Thomas was feeding brilliantly, perfectly settled, having regular bowel movements and all in all was like a completely different baby!
If you have a had a recent caesarean section and are interested in learning about baby massage to support your newborn (or older) baby in a gentle, natural and holistic way check out my comprehensive online baby massage course: BABY MASSAGE ONLINE. This self paced online course will guide you through a full body massage routine broken down into 5 manageable sections for you to follow along with instructions or to relaxing music. As well as the full body massage routine (which I normally teach in person over 5 sessions) there are added bonus routines to further support your little one with common ailments such as colds, teething and improving relaxation to support sleep.
Alternatively if you would like to book a 1:1 session to discuss your babies needs in greater detail and learn a massage routine specifically tailored to your little ones own specific needs click HERE to book your 1:1 session.
References:
• Developmental Baby Massage, Peter Walker, 2009, Fair Winds Press.
• http://www.massagetoday.com/mpacms/mt/article.php?id=14504, Special Considerations for the C-Section Baby, Sharon Desjarlai, 2011.
