Safety & Permission

Just a few health and safety bits first.

Please remember you are fully responsible for your baby throughout this course.

Please do not massage if your baby has:

• Fever

• Jaundice

• Vomiting and or diarrhoea

• Lumps/bumps

• Rashes

• Meningitis

• Childhood leukaemia

• Brittle bones

• Open cuts and sores

• Undiagnosed medical condition

• Immunisations within 72 hours

• Generally feeling unwell

Always remember to give your Dr a call to get consent to massage if your baby is under consultant/medical care.

Permission

• Rub your hands

• Lean into baby

• Eye contact and ask...

• "Would you like a massage?"

It may sound strange and uncomfortable to do but when using a permission sequence, your are asking your baby's permission to touch them. It's truly wonderful that you want to give a massage, but by rubbing your hands together and simultaneously asking permission in front of baby will determine whether or not your baby would like a massage.

This form of permission is teaching your baby to recognise and respond to cues and teaches you to understand and respond to them respectfully.

Have you ever seen a baby get excited when there is a feed being prepared be it breast/chest, bottle or a solid feed? In these situations babies demonstrate they can recognise a predictable sequence of events or cues.

The more you massage the more your baby recognises this cue and in no time at all, when you continue to use this cue your baby will learn that massage will begin.