After you’ve gone through all the hard work of pregnancy and delivery, one of the greatest joys is cuddling with your infant and feeling that special closeness between mother and child. That’s why we host our Baby Love classes every Tuesday at our South location and every Wednesday at our North location. Baby Love classes allow you to join other moms and their babies to learn new ways to bond with your child. We teach baby massage, focused breathing and support techniques to help develop attachment and closeness. You may not be familiar with these techniques, but they offer many benefits to both babies and their parents!

The Benefits of Infant Massage

Infant massage (or baby massage, as we usually call it) provides the same benefits to your baby that you get when you get a massage! Baby massage:

• Relaxes your baby
• Helps reduce stress by stimulating soothing hormones like oxytocin
• Reduces crying
• Aids digestion
• Improves circulation
• Puts your baby in a calm, restful state

Plus, physical touch between mother and child helps you bond with your newborn! At Baby Love classes, we’ll teach you safe and effective baby massage techniques that you can use at home when your little one is being fussy.

In addition to the physical and emotional benefits of baby massage, you’ll also make new friends and have access to Austin Area Birthing Center’s baby experts at our Baby Love classes. It’s one of the best ways to join a community of caring mothers during the pivotal formative years of your child’s life.

Our mission at Austin Area Birthing Center is to help mothers give birth in the most natural way possible, with the assistance of highly trained, highly experienced midwives. Our mission to support natural birth doesn’t end at delivery, we also encourage our parents to feed their children in the most natural way – breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has many proven benefits for mothers and their children. Here are four reasons why we believe that, given the option, mothers should choose to breastfeed.

Breastfeeding is Healthy for Your Baby

Breast milk is the best natural food for your baby. It contains the ideal blend of macronutrients (fat, protein and carbohydrates) to support the rapid growth that occurs during your child’s first two years. In addition to being nutritious, breast milk contains a variety of substances that help your infant fight disease and develop its immune system. Additionally, there is research that suggests that breastfeeding may help protect children from developing allergies. Formula may be able to mimic some of the healthy aspects of breast milk, but it can’t match such a perfect, natural food source.

Breastfeeding is Healthy for You

Moms who breastfeed have shown to be at a lower risk for breast and ovarian cancer, type II diabetes and postpartum depression. Producing breast milk burns hundreds of calories a day, helping you lose some of your pregnancy weight. Breastfeeding also helps naturally regulate your hormones and delay the return of fertility.

Breastfeeding Helps You and Your Baby Bond

Think about the breastfeeding experience. Most of the time, it’s you two alone together, with you cradling your infant close. Few activities match the intimacy of breastfeeding, and this intimacy is vital for mother-baby bonding. Skin to skin contact raises levels of oxytocin for both you and the baby, leaving both of you feeling comforted. It also releases hormones inside of you that fill you with maternal feelings.

Breastfeeding is Natural

In addition to all of the positive effects breastfeeding has on both you and your baby, we believe mothers should breastfeed because it’s natural. Breast milk is organic, and doesn’t contribute to environmental pollution or increase your carbon footprint the way that formula packaging does. It’s also totally convenient, breast milk is always the right temperature and you can feed your baby anywhere. Breast feeding allows you tap into a chain of nurturing mothers that stretches back beyond human history, and we believe that’s an incredible opportunity.

We understand that sometimes breastfeeding can be difficult, which is why our Newborn Care classes are taught by a certified breastfeeding educator. All Austin Area Birthing Center parents are eligible to attend our classes for two years after the baby is born, and our caring staff will work with you to ensure that you can share the joy of breastfeeding with your child.