PREFACE

Common sense, personal observation-and even limited exposure to child development literature- make plain to the layperson that parental contact is absolutely critical to infants' psycho-social well-being. Healthcare providers, of course, know from their education and clinical experience how crucial touch is to a baby's emotional health; in the past two decades, standards of neonatal care have thus placed renewed emphasis on maternal-infant contact in the first hours and days after birth.

What many healthcare professionals do not yet fully appreciate, however, are the physical and physiological benefits of touch in perinatal, neonatal and infant care. An impressive and growing body of scientific evidence indicates that certain types of tactile stimulation can improve-and even prevent-some problematic health outcomes in childbirth and infancy. Key studies have demonstrated that:

• simple, systematic massage of premature infants can increase their weight by as much as 50 percent;
• term infants receiving regular massage gain more weight and develop better sleep patterns; and
• uninterrupted support during women's labor- in which a caregiver uses both touch and emotional encouragement-results in dramatic decreases in cesarean sections and epidural rates.

Furthermore, studies at both the animal and human levels have revealed significant physiological effects of touch, suggesting that touch deprivation or stimulation can compromise or bolster the immune system, respectively.

In an era when healthcare protocols and costs are heavily scrutinized and preventive care is more strongly emphasized, the implications of low-intervention "touch therapies" should not be ignored. This monograph introduces healthcare professionals to the compelling, well-documented and sometimes surprising scientific data that are uncovering the true power of touch.