One of the hardest things in the world for a parent is to see your child in pain, wanting nothing more than to make them feel better.
There are many herbal remedies, among mainstream pharmaceuticals designed for pain management, but they are not always available when you need them.
To the surprise of many, you don’t have to watch your child cringe in discomfort as you sit idly by. Science has shown an age-old technique that can be used anytime, never running out.
Romper reported:
“A team of researchers in the United Kingdom found that infant massage could reduce braining activity that is associated with painful experiences, according to Science Daily. The study, published in the journal Current Biology, found that gently stroking a baby at the speed of 3 cm per second could help relieve pain prior to medical procedures.”
Mothers naturally cuddle their babies when they are in distress, rubbing their backs and cradling those fuzzy little heads.
Turns out that is an instinctual response designed to eliminate anything that causes our babies pain.
Rebeccah Slater, professor of pediatric science at the University of Oxford, confirmed to Science Daily that parents have the power to comfort their children’s pain through massage.
Slater states, “Parents intuitively stroke their babies at this optimal velocity,” combining research and what mothers already know to be true.
Cuddling brings such joy to a mother and her new infant, and the best way to do that is through kangaroo care, a term for holding your baby close to your bare body.
Skin to skin contact is highly recommended by experts after a baby is born, and it is not only because of all the endorphins you release feeling those chubby cheeks against your bosom.
Neurological processes take place within the baby when they are nestled next to bare skin. A method to measure such activity in the baby was designed by Slater and her team.
When the infant had to get a “medically necessary” blood test, the baby’s behavior was observed, all while viewing an electroencephalography (EEG).
If the baby had “light stroking” or “massage”, they had lower pain responses measured, according to Medical Xpress.
It was discovered that physical response to pain did not differ when the stroking occurred, but the brain activity associated with the pain did.
This means that giving your baby gentle strokes, and infant massages during times of distress, is giving them more reprieve than you even know.
Your baby may continue to kick and cry, but they are disassociating their movements with the brain responses, as Slater puts it.
The skin to skin contact that all moms use to bond with their baby was used for its medical advantages in 1979 in Bogota, Columbia, according to Parents.
A neonatal ward didn’t have enough incubators for babies with infections, so neonatologists Edgar Rey and Hector Martinez began searching for alternatives of care.
Looking at the behavior of animals with their young, specifically the kangaroo, the men told the mothers of the infected children to go home and hold their babies bare-chested “between their breasts in an upright position as often as possible, feeding them only breast milk”, according to Parents.
Amazingly, when the mothers followed this instruction the duration of hospital stays decreased, and less babies needed an incubator at all.
On top of the already impressive results, mortality rates then dropped from 70 percent to an astounding 30 percent.
It is now a common practice across the globe to embrace an infant skin to skin, giving babies physiological and cognitive benefits.
Dr. Nathalie Maitre of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, has found that through research that touch is vital to an infant’s development.
Reuters reported:
“Our findings add to our understanding that more exposure to these types of supportive touch can actually impact how the brain processes touch, a sense necessary for learning and social-emotional connections.”
Maitre also has found that cuddling is linked with “improved neurodevelopment, higher IQ, and lower rates of aggression,” according to Babble.
On the other hand, when babies are not given this crucial component of a mother and child relationship, stress pathways are created, reports Parents, possibly leading to ADD, colic, sleep disorders, and various other impairments.
There is nothing better than a good, long cuddle with your baby, and doing this not only takes the cares of the world away but takes away any pain they may be experiencing.
Before grabbing a pain reliever bottle every time an ailment befalls your bundle of joy, try some skin to skin contact first if the situation permits.
There are times when they need immediate relief that can’t be soothed by the calming effects of touch, but it can’t hurt to try.
Please let us know in the comments section if you have found certain baby massages or touches that have calmed your baby in times of pain.