Why IAIM? I was eager and appreciative to be given the opportunity to complete my IAIM training. This is something I had always hoped to do, through my role as a Paediatric Occupational Therapist. I work with infants and young people in the community, who face daily challenges due to how they process touch, including fussy eating, daily care tasks, motor planning/coordination and regulation challenges. I am always looking for ways to nurture child and parent connections, through playful and loving interactions and massage seemed like the ideal tool. Finding myself in a new role working on my local neonatal unit, supporting the transition into the community, was my new muse. I have been looking for ways to support neonates and their parents with their often unexpected and overwhelming journey they now find themselves on. One often filled with trauma and the potential to impact on early attachments. As an OT, I was looking to facilitate parents to engage in some of the occupations, they should have been doing at home. The neonatal unit environment is very much needed for its essential life saving medical interventions. Unfortunately, this also brings separation and is an environment that underdeveloped sensory systems are not yet equipped for. It is filled with unpredictable noise, light, sound and movements very different to that of the warm, dark, supportive cocoon of the womb. As part of my role in supporting developmental care, encouraging positive touch and suitable early sensory experiences is fundamental in supporting a baby’s development across their lifespan.
Trialling a group for neonatal graduates; To complete my IAIM training, I needed to complete my 5 week block. I decided to invite a number of infants I had worked with on the neonatal unit to the group. As far as I was aware, there were very few opportunities for neonatal graduates and their parents to meet as a collective. We had a range of physical and medical needs attend the group. Each family voiced appreciation to be with others of a similar back story, and relief for not needing to explain or retell their story. An outcome of the group, aside from massage, was the unbelievable power of parent connection and support. In this scenario, all parents shared that they hadn’t attended other parent/baby groups, for fear of being around germs, having to compare their premature baby’s development needs and size to others of similar actual age. Discussion topics such as sleep, taking advice from others and crying were wonderful ways to nurture discussion and enabled parents to share strategies, advice and most importantly, support and connection.
Testimonial from Elise Boots, who attend with her son Miller: ‘Baby massage has given me a deeper understanding of the way Miller’s body works and how I can help relieve some discomfort when it comes to things such as teething, trapped wind and constipation. Miller has also had trouble baring weight on his feet which has delayed a few milestones but since attending the massage classes I have been able to massage his feet a few times a day to give positive touch and pressure, which I believe has helped him start baring a bit of weight. Due to his long NNU stay Miller had multiple heal pricks for gas/blood tests which involved many negative touch experiences with his feet so it’s nice to be able to slowly give positive touch at his own pace at home. I also believe it helped me bond with Miller and have some much needed one on one time with him after he spent many weeks in an incubator. We all had a great understanding of the journeys we had all been through and challenges we had faced and were facing as a family. We all understood that our babies may be smaller and possibly have some additional needs during a class, which was never judged or criticised. We were able to open up to each other at the end of each session and have deep in-depth discussions about the NNU and our experiences. I looked forward to meeting the other parents and their babies each week and felt extremely comfortable! Rachel has also been a huge part of our NNU journey and the support has continued after discharge so it was lovely to have an instructor who is well educated of the NNU and has the knowledge of how massage can benefit premature babies who have had extended NNU stays and multiple difficulties along the way but also understand they may have limitations due to previous negative touch and over stimulation’.
What’s next? ‘The 5 step dialogue’ is perfect for use on the neonatal unit. It is a wonderful tool for supporting parents to be able to read their baby’s readiness and engagement cues. This is a skill which is fundamental for building loving, well attached bonds and supporting parents to meet their baby’s needs. Starting the IAIM process early on, through the ‘5 step dialogue’, enables professionals to introduce massage at the right stage for the baby. On the unit, this often means a baby being closer to going home. However, massage can also be a wonderful non pharmaceutical way of managing pain on the unit, when a baby is showing the signals that they are ready, even if this purely means ‘still hands’. IAIM sets a baby and their parents up for the start of their massage journey, which can then continue to flourish on their arrival to their home outside of the unit; supporting both parents and baby with familiarity and comfort.
Thank you IAIM & Thank you Rachel Deighton