Jill Vyse Quotations

It can stimulate insulin, which makes babies grow. Research in the late '80s showed that premature babies given a massage three times a day grew 47% more than those that were not.

Massage gives parents a special tool. You can really calm a cranky baby with this; babies sleep deeper and longer after massage, and it can also give relief from colic, gas, teething pain, and chest congestion.

We need to ask the baby for permission with our eyes before massaging them -- we massage with a baby, not to a baby. You start to know what things your baby does to show you she's ready to interact with you -- for each parent it's different -- a sound, a gesture. Then once you start massaging you need to watch for cues that the baby likes what you're doing.

Baby massage provides relaxation, relief and stimulation. The program that I teach for the city comes from four main foundations of massage: Swedish, East Indian, Yoga and a series of gentle movements.

Baby massage is about learning to communicate your love for your baby through touch. You do a particular stroke ... and she smiles at you -- and you keep that forever. A great benefit of baby massage is the bonding.

If you massage a baby when asleep or physically ill with a fever, the benefits are not the same. As long as your healthcare practitioner says yes, go for it.