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In healthy, full-term infants, massage therapy can relieve common discomforts such as colic, gas and constipation. It also has been shown to improve sleep, reduce stress behaviors, and regulate and strengthen the baby's digestive and respiratory systems, as well as stimulate circulatory and nervous systems.

Vimala McClure, founder of the International Association of Infant Massage, is known as one of the pioneers who brought infant massage to the West. She has written books on the subject and developed techniques for teachers and parents all over the world. In her book Infant Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents, McClure expresses the need for newborns to experience massage. "For an infant, massage is much more than a luxurious, sensual experience or a type of physical therapy. It's a tool for maintaining a child's health and well-being on many levels."

If you're an expectant or new parent and are interested in infant massage, your doctor can provide you with more information. You also can visit the following Web sites: Touch Research Institute (www.miami.edu/touch-research), International Association of Infant Massage (www.iaim-us.com), American Massage Therapy Association (www.amtamassage.org) and the International Loving Touch Foundation (www.lovingtouch.com).

Bond With Your Baby and Improve Their Health

For new parents interested in infant massage, consider trying the following techniques after checking with your doctor and/or taking infant massage classes:

Face - With your thumbs, stroke across the upper lip and then across the lower lip and into the cheek as if drawing a smile. This helps soothe the muscles used for sucking.

Tummy - With both hands together at the center of the baby's chest, push out to the sides, following the rib cage as if smoothing out the pages of a book. Without lifting your hands from the baby's body, bring them around in a heart-shaped motion to the center again.

Legs - Support the baby's foot with one hand and grasp the top of the thigh with your other hand. Stroke from heel to buttock, squeezing the leg in a "milking" motion.

*Always take extra care when applying pressure to the infant, as too little pressure may tickle them or make them uncomfortable and too much pressure may be painful.