The concept of infant massage sounds like another new age way to separate rich people from their money.
But in the 30 years since Vimala McClure developed the techniques to ease the symptoms of colicky babies, infant massage has grown into a legitimate subfield of massage therapy, with both international and national certification associations and hundreds of trainers and thousands of practitioners worldwide. And, there's research to back it up.
Now, the Roaring Fork Valley has its own certified infant massage trainer on hand to teach parents the techniques McClure created in 1978, as well as the medical and sociological benefits than accompany the inexpensive and potentially life-altering process.
Irma Sanic relocated to the valley just four months ago from South Africa, and the Infant Massage USA-certified therapist has been on a mission since to spread the benefits of infant massage to all moms - and dads - to be. She's the only infant massage therapist in the valley, and her presence might just signify another boom in a field that has experienced near-constant expansion over the past three decades.
Formerly an aromatherapist and pharmacy technician, Sanic got involved with infant massage five years ago when her newborn daughter suffered from terrible colic. After trying more traditional methods to relieve her daughter's pain, she turned to massage.
"It just worked for my daughter so well, and did such wonderful things for our relationship that I immediately went and had my training done. And I've been teaching ever since," she says.
She contacted the Sweden-based International Association of Infant Massage, and they flew out trainers from both Sweden and the United States to train her as well as several other South Africans interested in the field. When her family relocated to the valley in June, she was reevaluated and recertified by the U.S. arm of the IAIM, Infant Massage USA. So far in the valley she's only trained a handful of moms in the three- to four-week course that includes several 45-minute to one-hour sessions.
"The digestive systems of small babies are so immature that gentle massage helps them pass food and gas much easier and without as much pain," Sanic says. "And the bonding that occurs between baby and parent is invaluable."
The main research that supports the field - which now has major branches in 48 countries throughout Europe, Africa and the Americas - focuses on the work of Dr. Tiffany Field of the University of Miami Medical Center and Dr. Vonda Jump whose study, "Impact of Massage Therapy on Health Outcomes Among Orphaned Infants," was published in the Journal of Family Community Health.
In Dr. Field's study, she found that premature babies go home six days sooner and gain weight 47 percent faster than infants that aren't massaged regularly. Dr. Jump's study showed that infants that were massaged regularly had a risk of diarrhea that was 50 percent less than the control group, and that overall infants in the control group were 11 percent more likely to experience illness of any kind that infants that were massaged.
Both studies also showed that infant massage increases circulation, which increases the oxygenation of the blood stream; assists in the regulation of the digestive tract; and regulates sleep patterns.
"Their research has really validated our work on a global level," says 27-year veteran infant massage trainer and Crestone, Colo., resident DeAnna Elliott. "And in the time since I've been an infant massage therapist, the growth rate of the field has just been staggering. No one had any idea it would grow this fast. And now hospitals are really catching on and having trainers in the U.S. bring the program to parents right after they give birth."
Infant Massage USA hosted its annual convention in Boulder last weekend, and several hundred trainers and practioners from across the country were in attendance. But Sanic is still the only trainer within a hundred miles of Aspen. The closest trainers are in Colorado Springs and Denver.
For more information on infant massage in the valley, contact Sanic at 456-3617.
damien@aspendailynews.com
