Premature infants often struggle in the early stages of life as their small, fragile bodies attempt to develop and grow. There are aids available for this, but some of the very best benefits come from natural remedies and treatments, including massage therapy. Massage therapy is an exceptional method for treating the sore, tense and stressed body of an adult, and while it does help calm a child, there are other perks a premature infant gains through the gentle, soothing strokes from an adult’s hands. These benefits offer long term benefits and help ensure the child grows up strong.
One of the most important benefits for premature infants is the improvement of weight gain. After a massage, a child’s vagal tone increases significantly. The vagal tone is an internal, biological process in which the vagus nerve controls and regulates homeostasis. This helps the baby develop tissue and gain weight at a faster rate. As the vagal tone increases, it also helped develop motor skills and the child’s state of being awake and active. In a premature baby, it is important for the child to develop these skills, as often times the first several weeks, if not months, the baby must deal with the medical issues of being born undersized and underweight. For any child undersized, this is exceptionally important and helps lead to a healthy weight. However, this is not the only advantage of massage therapy on premature infants.
Massage is capable of relieving common discomforts babies often deal with, including constipation, gas and colic. It is even able to improve sleep and reduce the level of stress a child endures, not to mention improving the baby’s reparatory system and digestive system, plus it also stimulates both the circulatory and nervous systems. All of these benefits make massage therapy not only important for a premature child, but any and all babies, as it goes to develop their body and increase motor skills.
Premature babies need all the medical assistance available to them, in order to ensure they develop into healthy, strong children and continue to grow from there. While there are other methods for improving the health of the baby, massage therapy has its ow place in ensuring the child develops properly. From improving weight gain to increasing motor skills and soothing common discomforts, such as gas and constipation, there are many perks and few drawback to massage therapy on babies.
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