D

espite progress in parenting, mothers these days still trust traditional massages to keep their babies healthy and happy.

Martini “Ninin” Banjarnahor, 31, who lives in Central Jakarta, is the mother of a 1-year-old boy. She used to massage her baby after his afternoon bath.

“I bathe Yehuda, my son, using warm water and after bathing his body is usually still stiff.

“So I massage him with telon oil or baby oil to make his body relax,” said Ninin.

She said she learned baby massaging from friends and the internet, adding that she was not afraid of doing it wrong because she had the resources to avoid any missteps.

Ninin started to regularly massage her baby from when he was one month old.

“I didn’t know that baby massaging is good for newborns. All I thought was how little and fragile he was. I was afraid to massage him at first,” she said.

Maria Kusumaningtami, 28, the mother of 18-month-old Jelena, said she started to routinely massage the baby girl a month after giving birth.

“I do not really know the medical effects of baby massaging, but I see from online articles that baby massaging can tighten the baby-parent bond and make the baby feel more comfortable.

“So I started massaging my baby when she was one month old,” said Maria, who lives in Bekasi.

She added that she did not see any significant effect on the baby’s appetite, but if she massaged Jelena, she would sleep more soundly and become more cheerful.

Other than baby-parent bonding, Maria said she alone massaged Jelena because she did not really trust anyone else to do it.

“I once went to a baby spa with my daughter and I heard heart-breaking crying inside.

“So I canceled the session because I thought that baby massages should make the baby feel more relaxed and comfortable,” said Maria.

Fitri Hartanto, a pediatrician from the Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI), said massaging babies was important to improve their fine motoric and gross motoric capabilities.

“Baby massage has practical benefits. It is proven that the correct baby massage helps the baby become more relaxed and sleep soundly.

“The massage motions also help improve the baby’s digestive system and may increase the baby’s appetite,” said Fitri, who works in Dr. Kariadi Hospital in Semarang, Central Java.

The doctor added that baby massage, which is done once a day after bathing, can also tighten the bond between the baby and the parent.

“As a pediatrician, I do believe that frequent skin-touch through massaging creates a tight bond, because it is good to stimulate the baby’s sensory response,” said Fitri.

Responding to the lack of information about newborn baby massages, Ina Rosalina, the traditional health services director at the Health Ministry, said it was a good idea to train midwives because society traditionally used them instead of doctors.

“Usually families have their own trusted midwives. Doctors, such as obstetricians and pediatricians, are trusted to do things based on their specialization. Meanwhile, midwives can handle baby care from pregnancy until the baby grows up,” said Ina.

Mariana, a midwife working at Grand Family Hospital in North Jakarta, said she used to massage the babies under her care.

“It is part of our service to massage newborn babies. But it is only allowed if the baby is awake, calm and not crying,” she said.

Mariana said she was herself a mother of two little girls.

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.