Baby massage ameliorates neonatal jaundice in full-term newborn infants.
That massage which feels so good to you can actually help tame high bilirubin levels in newborn breastfed infants. A massaged group of term breastfed infants demonstrated higher stool frequency and lower bilirubin levels over the first few days of life compared to a control group that received no baby massage. Massage over various parts of the body stimulates the vagus nerve and heightens the production of food-absorbing hormones while increasing the secretion of gastric and pancreatic fluid. This increases the amount of milk the infant suckles and enhances milk digestion.
As an infant massage educator, I suggest new parents to take infant massage classes from the beginning. The more we touch our babies, the more likely they are to thrive and not just survive.