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Is oil massage unavoidable for infants?

Discussion in 'Infants' started by nishatw, Mar 6, 2011.

  1. nishatw

    nishatw Senior IL'ite

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    Hi friends,
    I became the mother of a baby girl on 22nd january. It was a vaginal delivery and baby's weight was 2.9kg at the time of birth.
    First few days i didn't have enough lactation and within a week the baby had yellow discolouration of the skin and was kept in the nursery for 2 days. While discharging the baby doctor told not to apply oil on the baby's body till she's one month old. But my mom and the maid who bathes her was nagging me telling without applying oil her body will not be healthy and her hairs will become brown from black etc.But i resisted somehow. On the other side my husband who is from Madhyapradesh, started nagging me telling baby should be massaged with atta and oil to remove the hairs on her body and face and to make her bones stronger. I told him the same thing what doctor told but he's too much worried abt the soft hairs all over the baby's body. He tells since she's a girl she should not have unwanted hair growth. I am from kerala and people here dont massage babies, they just apply oil and turmeric or egg white and bathe the baby. they say that those hairs will fall by itself within a few months. But my in-laws are telling the hairs will grow thick and become ugly after few months. Anyways since the doctor restricted from applying oil i resisted these arguments too. But again in the 4th week baby had lymph node swelling on the right side of the neck and was admitted for 5 days for antibiotic injections. this time it was the pediatric surgeon who treated her and he and the nurses told no oil while bathing her for another 1 or 2 months, I asked him abt this oil massage and he told there's no proof that oil massage is a must for babies. Infection is not gone fully just reduced so it may get worse with applying oil on the baby's body.
    Now again my mother is nagging me saying doctor is telling just like that, there's no problem in applying oil.She tells if we dont apply oil and massage the head her forehead will be protruded. I am fed up due to these kind of arguments daily. she is telling doctor tells this to make the baby again ill so that he'll get patient again! i am really frustrated by these kind of heated arguments. One side my husband is worried abt the hair growth if we cant massage her body with atta and oil other side my mother telling baby;s head will be in bad shape without oil massage. Please someone tell me whether it's actually required since doctor tells that infection might get worse will applying oil. I am worried only about baby's health nothing else. but i dnt want her head to be in bad shape too, Doctor tells massage is not actually required at all. Please put forward ur opinions soon.
     
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  2. Spiderman1

    Spiderman1 Gold IL'ite

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    Follow the suggestion of a qualified doctor. Even if IL-ites or your family give advice, consult doctor and follow their suggestion. They are professionally trained for a reason! Consult one or two doctors if you need extra doctor opinion.

    And I think the IL-ites who are careful will refrain from giving medical advice to you - for the simple reason that you need to consult a well qualified medical person who can examine the baby and tell you the right thing.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2011
  3. rosary

    rosary Gold IL'ite

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    if doctors recommend you not to apply oil ... dont do it .
    she seems to be so small for a massage .
    did you ask the doctors , till when she should not be given oil bath .

    i too dont apply oil or give regular oil massage for a simple reason that its very cold in this part of the world and would not want my baby to catch cold or infection due to cold .

    massaging babies with oil would give them sound sleep .... but if its not advised , dont do it .

    regarding the hair that your baby has .... it will all fall out
    dont use anything like aata or besan , atleast when she is so small .... you would be doing more harm .
     
  4. nishatw

    nishatw Senior IL'ite

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    thanks spiderman and rosary. I too follow the doctor's advice only and not applying oil or massaging her. But my mom believes that the baby's head won't take proper shape unless we apply oil on her head and massage well. And my husband and in-laws believe that unless they massage her with atta and oil her hands and legs won't grow properly. Also, my mother-in-law gave a statement last time when she called "if u were here, we would have done good massage to her and took care of her well". I have resisted all these instructions for the past one month, Now she's 44 days old, but doc told not to apply oil until she completes 3 months. I dont know how long i can resist pressure. The sad part is that my mom was present when doc told not to apply oil on the baby since it will aggrevate the infection she had! Anyways thanks to u both for advice, even my friends tell me the same. But the elders are thinking doctors are giving stupid advices
     
  5. tashidelek2002

    tashidelek2002 IL Hall of Fame

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    If the question is about massage, just do the massage while you are bathing your baby in one of those baby bath tubs. Maybe you can get them off your back and still follow the doctors advice.
     
  6. nishatw

    nishatw Senior IL'ite

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    Yes tashi,i thought of asking the maid who bathes her to give massage without oil but she is telling without oil we cant massage. i was thinking we could do it while applying moisturizer
     
  7. tashidelek2002

    tashidelek2002 IL Hall of Fame

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    The bonding that occurs during breast/bottle feeding and bathing is very important for the future relationship of mother and child. I would strongly recommend you to bathe your baby yourself. Just my two cents from what I know of human development. I would not want my baby to bond with the maid and not myself.
     
  8. nishatw

    nishatw Senior IL'ite

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    yes tashid, i know i have to bathe the baby. i breastfeed her,not giving any other food now. but bathing the baby is very scary for me. since i am always with the baby, to wash her clothes and mine and to bathe her we have a maid.i thought i will start bathing her from 3rd month
     
  9. Brinda1

    Brinda1 Bronze IL'ite

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    Massage is not at all necessary for babies. In western countries, very few babies get a massage done, yet, they dont have any hair/head/ muscle problems. Massage is just a nice way for you to bond with the baby, and sometimes, babies experience pain in the legs or arms (growth pains) that the massage will help with, but it is definitely not necessary.

    So listen to the doctor, and ignore everyone else.

    And if you are scared of bathing the baby, ask doctor if you can give the baby a sponge bath. In fact, until babies start crawling, they need to bathe only once a week. Before that, just qiping is enough.

    Regards the body hair, it will all go away by 3-6 months on its own. Irrespective of oil/massage/bath.
     
  10. shobna

    shobna Bronze IL'ite

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    Hi,
    my doc too advised not to give oil massage for a month or so, and I followed it. My son too had lots of hair all over his body when born, but all of them fell off after a month or so. As all others day, its better to go by the doctor's advice..
     

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