The Warabe-uta Baby Massage is a traditional Japanese Baby Massage treatment modality, also called the Japanese Traditional Nursery Rhyme and Baby Massage.
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It’s a full body Baby Massage that includes the use of oil, strokes, stretches, gymnastics, and manipulation of acupressure points while — during the baby’s massage session — mothers sing specific traditional Japanese nursery songs.
The idea behind this treatment is to promote the baby’s physical and mental health and increase the connection (i.e. bonding) with the parent(s). It’s also thought to be beneficial for babies that cry a lot, experience frequent constipation, or sleep badly.
The mother-to-be will typically start with singing nursery rhymes when the baby is still in the womb in order to support a smooth transition into the afterbirth period. The newborn child will remember the songs and feel relaxed when again hearing them.
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Mothers who don’t know the rhymes or the massage techniques can be taught those by midwives or by taking Baby Massage courses. Actually massaging the baby starts only when it is two weeks old, but as said, the nursery rhymes are already sung in the pregnancy period.
The nursery rhymes have a lot of “la” sounds in it, with many repetitions, they’re easy to remember, and singing them is also used to accompany and better remember the massage procedure i.e. sequence. In fact, the parts of the baby’s body appear in the lyrics of the nursery song, thus linking the song and the massage techniques applied.
The massage is given to newborn babies up to the age of going to elementary school, and sometimes even after that.
