New trend in child-rearing: Baby massage - Andover Townsman

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Massaging an infant probably isn't the first thing new and expecting parents think of when they think about childcare.

Andover resident Catherine Berube, a certified educator of infant massage, opened her new business, Sensational Baby, in Andover earlier this month. Located at 6 Dundee Park, Suite 302, in the same building as Tiny Tunes music classes for toddlers and infants, Sensational Baby is a studio where parents, expecting parents, and caregivers can learn how to massage an infant.

"I do believe that if I had this course as a new parent I really would have looked at motherhood a little differently," Berube said. "I think it's easy to say I'm going to take everything on and do it all, but it's nice to have the support of a community of people going through the same thing and to have some practical solutions to things like colic or sleepless nights."

Berube has taught classes before on baby message, but Berube decided to open up her own business when a space opened up in the same building as Tiny Tunes.

Previously a Child Life Specialist at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Berube is also is the mother of four children and a member of the Association of Child Life Professionals, Infant Massage USA, and the International Association of Infant Massage.

Infant massages stimulate a baby's senses, helps normalize muscle tone, promotes intellectual and language development, supports healthy emotional development, can help relieve gas, can help alleviate colic, can reduce constipation, help a baby sleep better, and also offers parents a community of other new and expecting families, she said.

"Many new parents in my practice express concern and anxiety about their infants’ excessive crying, poor sleep patterns, and gas pain," said Dr. Elizabeth Doherty, a physician at Pediatricians Inc. in Winchester. "Being a new parent is stressful. Infant massage is a great way for parents to bond with their babies. Human touch is still the best tool for parents to connect with their babies and to promote social-emotional development.

"I thought the class was great," said Andover resident Maura Santiago, who attended Berube's first class with her five-month-old daughter, Audrey. "It was kind of nice having Audrey and Mommy time. I try really hard to split my time between my kids but it's nice to every once in a while spend one-on-one time with each child."

"Audrey is a queen cat-napper," added Santiago. "We thought if anything could help her sleep a little longer during the day we'd try it out."

According to Infant Massage USA, Berube is one of the first in the country to teach the Sensational Baby program created by Infant Massage USA. The mission of Infant Massage USA is "to promote nurturing touch and communication through training, education, and research so that parents, caregivers and children are loved, valued, and respected throughout the United States and the world community."

"My goal is to educate people," Berube said. "I think there's a bit of a misnomer that people are going to bring a baby in and I'm going to massage the baby, but with the mind shift lately with people implementing meditation in schools and quiet time happening I think it is good for people to be aware that this can happen from day one, from birth. Giving babies a way to relax, for moms and dads to relax, lowering stress hormones and increasing the relaxation response can be beneficial for years to come"

Follow Kelsey Bode on Twitter @Kelsey_Bode.


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Details

Classes started on Monday, Sept. 18. The infant massage course is a five-week course that meets once a week, Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. depending on the group. Between eight and 10 caregivers will be in each course. Each week students learn new strokes to massage an infant with. Berube uses a doll to teach her students how to properly massage an infant.

Some topics the course touches on are strokes for the tummy, a gas-relief routine, talk about bonding attachment, tummy-time routines, your growing baby, and how to continue using the benefits of infant massage.

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