No long term benefits of baby massage A gentle massage appears
to lower levels of stress hormones in unsettled babies, but
there's no evidence that infant massage has any benefit on
growth or development, a scientific analysis shows. Infant
massage has long been used in many Asian and African cultures to
ease colic and crying, help babies sleep, and even aid their
growth and development. There has also been growing interest in
infant massage among parents in Western countries. UK
researchers seeking to assess the science behind the practice
analysed 23 clinical trials. The trials involved infants aged
six months and under who were randomly assigned to receive
massage or not. The researchers found that across nine of the
studies, gentle massage appeared to improve infants' sleep
patterns, ease crying, and strengthen mother-child bonding. Some
studies found that massage reduced babies' levels of the stress
hormones norepinephrine and epinephrine and appeared to release
melatonin, which is associated with sleep