[Massages and premature child care]

Abstract

To give children massages has gained wide use as a supplementary therapy and this practice steadily gains larger support since it provides great benefits to children who receive massages and to the relationship between parents and their children. Our challenge is to apply this care method to premature children in order to provide these same benefits to them. Massages are developed in three phases: building a close relationship with a child by means of soft caress, establishing a relationship based on confidence with the family in order to help the family overcome the phases they are undergoing due to the seriousness of this procedure; initiating massages as part of the daily treatment program by the nursing staff; teaching this technique to parents so that they build the necessary affective ties with, and get to know, their children.