What is Nurturing Touch?

At Infant Massage USA we talk a lot about the importance of nurturing touch. Here we’d like to explain a bit more about what nurturing touch is and how it can impact development.

What is Nurturing Touch?

Nurturing touch can be defined as hugging, a reassuring hand placed on areas like a back, arm, or shoulder, or any type of nurturing holding. In infant massage, nurturing touch can be seen through actions like massage strokes, resting hands and cuddling.

Individuals will all have different relationships with and tolerance for touch which can be impacted by culture, education, experiences, disability and other factors. In an infant massage class taught by a Certified Educator of Infant Massage, parents and caregivers learn about how to observe, ask permission and recognize cues in order to guide them towards appropriate and safe touch.

Impact on Development

Touch is an important part of healthy development. It is integral part of human behavior from birth until death (1) and children in the US are the least touched in the world (2).

Various studies (3, 4) show the importance of touch in childhood through research conclusions such as:

  • A 1996 experiment by Martha Nogueras that showed “infants that received touch showed better social behavior when placed in front of experimenters. They showed more focus and attentiveness when having person encounters with the experimenters .”

  • A 1998 study by Fields and Scaldi concluded “the stimulated infants were also released [from the hospital] an average of six days before the non stimulated infants. The researchers also found that the infants that received stimulation spent more time awake and active, were behaviorally more mature, and were more oriented.“

  • A 2002 study with adolescents by Fields “supports the notion that less physical affection (or more physical neglect) can contribute to greater aggression. Massage therapy has been effective with violent adolescents, perhaps because the physical stimulation reduced their dopamine levels and increased their serotonin levels. Their aggressive behavior decreased and their empathetic behavior increased. “

How Can I Provide Nurturing Touch?

We always recommend that you attend a class with a Certified Educator (or CEIM), you can find a CEIM near you in our Directory here. Online classes may be available as well. (CEIMs demonstrate with a doll during these classes.)

In addition to learning infant massage, you can provide nurturing touch by:

  • Skin to skin contact (kangaroo care)

  • Holding your children on your lap during a bedtime story

  • Frequent hugs or snuggling

  • Holding your baby during feeding

  • Holding hands with your toddler

  • A back massage for older kids

Further Reading On Our Blog

  1. Routasalo, P., & Isola, A. (1996). The right to touch and be touched. Nursing Ethics, 3, 165-176

  2. Heller, S. (1997). The vital touch. New York, NY: Holt and Company

  3. Bell, C. (2011). The Healing Properties of Touch Associated with Premature Infants and Childhood Development: A Literature Review. Pages 6-7.

  4. Field, Tiffany. (2002). Violence and touch deprivation in adolescents. Adolescence. 37. 735-49.

Parents&Caregivers, ResearchInfant Massage USA