What is baby massage?
Baby massage involves the rhythmic, gentle stroking of different parts of your baby’s body; a professional can apply gentle pressure on certain points to relieve pain and discomfort, while manipulating a baby’s ankles, wrists, and fingers. You can choose between using organic and natural oils or perfume free moisturizers to help make movement over your baby’s skin smoother.

Soothing strokes of your hands can stimulate the production of the feel-good hormone oxytocin in your baby. Oxytocin is the hormone that gives you that heartfelt and tender feeling that one gets when being held by a loved one, or when you hold your baby for the first time and initiate skin-to-skin contact.

Traditional Chinese Massage for Infants and Babies
Nakato Tracy, a student of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, will graduate this summer with a Bachelors Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The aspiring acupuncturist and Pediatric Masseuse is currently offering parents traditional Chinese massage for babies and infants.

Tracy describes her baby massage sessions as the perfect combination of basic Chinese medicine theory in partnership with therapeutic principles and manipulation of certain parts of the body. The forearms, hands, and sometimes the chest, abdominal area, and head are the main areas of focus.

Tracy highlights that the needs a baby might have cannot always be communicated. It can sometimes be difficult to determine if your baby might be in discomfort or pain. Tracy always asks parents to give as much information as possible while she conducts a tongue and finger vein observation. A combination of these diagnostic techniques helps Tracy to find the root of the pain and discomfort if any so that she can use the appropriate massage to help your baby.

Below are the common infantile disorders that Chinese traditional massage can help with:

• Fever, coughs, and colds
• Poor appetite and malnutrition
• Diarrhea, vomit, and constipation
• Night crying
• Enuresis

To find out more information, message Nakato on WeChat: Nakato1. RMB 300 (for two sessions). Wednesdays 1.30pm-6pm and Saturdays 12pm-4pm (131 2118 8602).

One of Beijing’s many pleasures is the abundance of opportunities for a good massage. But while it’s normally a treat for parents after a long (or indulgent) day, now it’s the babies’ turn.

Throughout the month of March, the good folk at House of Knowledge International Kindergarten will be hosting sessions from fully-qualified baby massage instructor Annette Oevermann. Suitable for infants aged 3 weeks old to pre-crawling, the four-week program will teach parents the techniques required to give a complete infant massage.

The purported benefits are wide-ranging and include helping with congestion, teething, colic (excessive crying), difficulty sleeping, and constipation (all theirs, not yours). Course leader Oevermann, who has ten years experience in the field, also says that the process can help you to better understand your baby’s communication cues and deepen the bond between parent and child.

Taking place at House of Knowledge’s Chaoyang Park campus, the course runs from 9.45-10.45am over four consecutive Wednesdays, starting March 5. The block of sessions costs RMB 600 (including course materials) which must be paid at the first gathering.

For more information or to reserve a space, get in touch with Annette Oevermann directly by email aoevermann@oevermeyer.net.

Photo courtesy of Valentina Powers (Flickr)