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Baby Care Maternity Care

The benefits of baby massage

Here we will explain about the benefits of baby massage:

Soothing touch is one of the most important things a child needs to thrive, making baby massage a wonderful way to connect with your little one and boost their well-being. The practice dates back centuries, with techniques handed down from generation to generation. In recent years, more people are recognising the role massage plays in their baby’s health and development, and it’s increasingly used in neonatal intensive care wards to support growth in premature infants. Here are some of the main reasons to include regular massage as part of your routine:

Pain relief

Various studies show that massage provides relief from pain caused by problems such as teething, colic, constipation and wind. Massaging a baby’s abdomen helps trapped pockets of air move through the intestines; it can improve overall gastrointestinal function and even increase the appetite. Plus, massage releases endorphins to counteract pain.

Relaxation

When you massage a baby, it stimulates their central nervous system causing the body to produce the feel-good hormone oxytocin. As a result, their breathing deepens, the heart rate slows and the blood pressure lowers. As you care for them and respond to their needs, they produce less cortisol, meaning they’re less likely to react as strongly to stressful situations.

Stimulation and development

It has been suggested that baby massage creates better connections between the brain and body. As well as increasing alertness and improving cognitive performance in the moment, this heightened mental and physical connection can also help prevent colic and general fussiness brought on by over-stimulation. Massage helps the nervous system to mature faster and it becomes better able to cope with stimulus.

Bonding

Parents and babies are biologically designed to bond with each other after birth. This bond is crucial so that the mother accepts the baby and their needs are met. During the massage you’re are able to connect deeply, make eye-contact and enjoy an easy, relaxed way of bonding. And it’s not just the baby who benefits. Massaging your baby will help you relax during the early days and it has been found to reduce rates of postnatal depression among new mums. The physical interaction builds trust and provides you with a non-verbal way of communicating.

When to begin baby massage?

Baby massage can begin a few weeks after the birth, but you’ll need to watch your little one for cues. For example, wait until they’re alert and awake, and don’t start if they’re showing signs of distress. During the massage, if they cry or turn their head away stop and try again later. Choose a warm, peaceful spot and wait at least 45 minutes to an hour after feeding to avoid vomiting. Give your baby more enjoyment by talking to them softly, making soothing sounds or singing as you gently stroke their skin.
Get in touch to find out about our baby massage classes at Nightingale, available at home or in our health hub.

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Maternity Care

Home maternity care can give you immense care and relief if you are an expat and expecting mother in Dubai

 

Home maternity care
Home maternity care

Motherhood is a special journey, one that most women plan in advance and one that imbues their life with a new set of emotions and expectations. Cutting across geographical boundaries and linguistic divisions, motherhood is an emotion that has a universal appeal. And yet every mother is different and special in a different way. Every mother has their own unique set of needs and demands and that’s why professional maternity home care is most valuable in today’s world.

Apart from the constant love, support, and care of loved ones and the father of the child, most mothers require a sustained and daily dose of maternity care at home. This is especially true if the mother is an expat and living away from her immediate family in Dubai or UAE. Holistic maternal care at home in addition to booking a qualified obstetrician and gynaecologist is paramount.

Hence, a qualified midwife comes into the picture when it comes to pregnancy care at home.

An expecting mother goes through a series of physical and psychological changes including changes in appearance and body weight as well as a sudden increase in mood swings, sudden cravings, and sudden bouts of depression. All the hardships, the sleepless nights, the bouts of anxiety, the change in eating habits as well as the jittery nervousness that pregnant women have to often overcome and can be overwhelming under the lack of proper guidance. To be able to have someone qualified in the vicinity who is engaged in giving her proper care, attention, and counselling is a boon for pregnant women staying away from family or dealing with frequently travelling family members.

Similarly, after delivery most mothers require well-balanced, holistic newborn and postnatal care at home as the process of real motherhood only begins after being discharged from the hospital.

Here’s a list of maternity care and newborn care services that a good, certified midwife in Dubai must be able to provide:

  • Regular supervision of the nutrition and diet of the expecting mother and monitoring of bodily changes, day-to-day routine, and sleep cycle.
  • Assisting with moving around, day-to-day activities, physical exercise in consultation with the appointed doctor, and assisting with meals and daily hygiene and cleanliness at home.
  • Guiding through the process of prenatal pain, depression, nausea, sleeplessness, and assisting with the periodic schedule of medical check-ups and routine tests.
  • Maintaining healthy and positive communication with the expecting mother and giving valuable guidance.
  • Guiding the family through the process of preserving the umbilical cord once the baby is born.
  • Taking care of the baby’s hygiene and sterilization of feeding bottles.
  • Taking care of post-circumcision as part of home maternity care service.
  • Assisting with breastfeeding and monitoring the breastfeeding cycle is a vital part of home nursing care for mothers. Breastfeeding introduces a new set of emotions for the mother and facilitates a special bond between the mother and the child. A well-qualified maternity nurse should be able to make this process easy and smooth for the mother and impart accurate knowledge regarding the same.
  • Assisting with breast care of the breastfeeding mother.
  • Assisting the mother with measuring and formula feeding the baby the right amount and proportion.
  • Maintaining a proper diet chart of the baby once the baby starts consuming cooked food.
  • Maintaining a proper diet chart of the mother as the mother must get all the proper nutrients for a speedy recovery. A healthy mother will ensure a healthy child.
  • Assisting the mother in understanding and establishing the sleep cycle of the newborn such that she can develop her own sleep cycle around that and both get proper rest.
  • Assisting with maintaining proper postnatal cleanliness and dressing of the wound.
  • Recording the growth of the baby and monitoring the same.
  • Changing soiled nappies and keeping nappies clean.
  • Washing the baby’s clothes and giving the baby a bath is also part of a midwife’s role.
  • Assisting with 24/7 newborn care so that the new mother can get optimal rest to recover fully and resume daily chores. In fact, this 24/7 newborn care is the most important duty of a maternity nurse.
  • Encouraging and motivating the mother post childbirth in order to deal with postnatal depression, body weight perception issues, and resuming a normal relationship with the spouse is also part of a well-trained midwife.

And at Nightingale Dubai, we provide professionally certified maternity nurses and midwives who are equipped to deal with the concerns and challenges of modern-day pregnancy and postnatal care. They are not only medically trained to deal with day-to-day monitoring of baby growth and sleep cycle but are also psychologically equipped to guide a new mother through the process of recovering post childbirth.

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