Skinship

In the womb

A fantastic documentary by National Geographic "In the Womb" shows the way from a single cell into a byby girl in just 38 weeks. By using 3D and 4D ultrasound scanning we can see the most dramatic period of human development inside the womb.

"From a single cell to a complex, self-sustaining organism. With ground-breaking photography, computer graphics, and 4-D imaging, "In the Womb" reveals this amazing process as the first heart cells begin to beat, the nerve cells flicker to life, and the senses develop."

I watched this movie when I was just couple of weeks pregnant and I kept watching it for the rest of the pregnancy...it really helps us understand the complexity of human life. I highly recommend it to all pregnant women.

You can watch a video preview here.

Recently two other videos were added: "In the womb: Multiples" and "In the womb: Animals".

Baby and infant massage

In one of the previous posts we were writing about baby massage in first hours and days after birth. When you and your baby get used to those gentle moves you can advance your technique and start with more efficient massage. We attended a baby massage class when Jun was 5 weeks old and since than we practice it almost every day. Before I was only reading about the benefits but now I can say it really works. It’s great for mothers (or fathers) and babies. 

Baby massage can bring much more than just quality time to you and your baby. The physical contact that develops through massage is great for building strong emotional bond with your baby. However there are many scientifically proven benefits of baby massage. The studies suggest that skinship improves baby’s breathing, circulation, digestion and growth. Research has shown that massage can calm colicky babies, improve sleeping patterns and even help babies who have trouble nursing to breastfeed successfully. Baby massage is very beneficial for mothers as it helps you relax, get used to handling with your baby and some studies prove that it even helps you fight postnatal depression. You can read more about baby massage in this article by BBC. The best way to learn the massage technique is from a certified instructor. However, many books and videos can also be ordered online.

To get some idea on how baby massage looks like I recommend this great video. It explains the importance of baby massage, when is the best time to do it, it shows some massage techniques, explains which oil is best and what we should know before getting started. And one important thing that I’ve learned from this video is to always ask you baby for permission :-)