The Power of Touch

Did you know that a baby begins developing all of his senses before he is even born! Some senses, such as sight, develop much slower because it is a sense that cannot be exercised as much while in utero. But there is one sense that develops faster than all the other senses and that is the sense of touch.

The sense of touch develops as early as 8 weeks of gestation! That means by the time your baby is born, your newborn will have a well-developed sense of touch which will be crucial for their development as well as their survival.

We all know about Harry Harlow’s research on touch and development. We are also familiar with the stories of the Romanian orphaned infants that were institutionalized in the 1900’s. Although these babies had a place to sleep and were fed, many of them died because they were rarely touched by nurses, rarely held, hugged or stroked. Incidences like these led researchers to study the effects of touch on development.

Studies show that infants born prematurely, gained 47% more weight, became more socially responsive and alert and had better sleep patterns when provided with tactile stimuli (Field. T. Schanberg (1986). Tactile/kinesthetic stimulation effects on preterm neonates. Pediatrics 77.). Evidence shows that the sense of touch is so powerful that we are impacting our baby on an emotional, cognitive, psychological as well as physiological level.

Massage is one of the earliest remedial practices that has been practiced for centuries in Africa, South America and in the Far East. It has been a part of Eastern medicine for thousands of years among Chinese and Hindu cultures. In the East, massage techniques have always been valued for medicinal purposes. In the West, the scientific revolution discredited ancient systems of healing or mind, body, spirit concepts because they were unscientific. Only following intensive research studies that proved how touch impacts development and survival did the West start accepting ancient practices such as massage.

Being that the skin is the largest organ of the human body, it consists of millions of cutaneous receptors which makes touch an incredibly sensitive sensory system. This means that when we touch our babies we are actually stimulating their neurological system to create more neuro-connections or wiring to the brain! As a result, we are developing our baby’s kinesthetic awareness which helps develop body scheme and muscle tone. We are also creating emotional connection, communication, safety and security because touch is strengthening the bond between parent and child. As we can see, the power of touch is so strong that parents can incorporate the ancient practice of massage as a method of engaging, bonding, communicating and playing with their infant.

With much experience working as an occupational therapist, I often see children between the ages 5-7 who are uncoordinated, trip and fall frequently, have difficulty using their hands to manipulate toys and have low self-esteem. I often wonder how many of these children were massaged as a baby. I often wonder how many children I see with learning disabilities could have overcome a lot of their challenges if they were massaged or given more sensory input as a baby. With our busy lifestyle and televisions or cell phones being used to entertain, we might be depriving our children of the sensory experiences they need for optimal development within the first 2 years of life.

As parents we don’t know what our child’s challenges may be as they get older. But what we do know is that by stimulating their sensory system as young as day one we can help develop more neuro-connections to the brain and, as a result, that will help them develop skills in areas of coordination, communication and cognition later on!

Often parents don’t know what to do with a baby at such a young age. So I am now revealing to you the secret that will impact your baby later on in life. The greatest gift you could give your baby in order to stimulate optimal development is the easiest and most priceless form of interaction and that is - massage.

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