For both physical and emotional well-being, touch is vital for babies. In many countries it is believed that baby massages help babies grow stronger. This has been proved in some research because premature babies who are massaged regularly have showed much more improvement in health than babies who have not been.
Beginning a massage on a baby you need to make sure of a couple things. You need to make sure that you are in a warm room, preferably by or near a fireplace to keep the baby warm. You should make sure that your hands are warm so that the baby can be as relaxed as possible. Along with a warm environment it is helpful if the baby is happy and is not tired or hungry.

The first step is to oil the front of the baby. Slowly and softly rub a little oil all over the baby's body, shoulders down to their feet while avoiding the baby's face. When spreading the oil, you should use your whole hand and/or forearm. After having oiled the baby, start massaging the baby's front so he/she is able to see you(This helps in keeping the baby calm and happy). You should start massaging the front by placing your palms on their hips, then gently but firmly pushing your hands up the baby's chest in a crossing motion (so that you arms end up crossed, hands end up on opposite side of the hips that they had originally started on). This technique is known as he "Hip to Shoulder Stroke."

After the hip to shoulder, you can move to the arms. The most common techniques in massaging a baby's arms are by "Squeezing and Wringing" the arms. You can start this massage by holding on of the baby's hands up in the air. Then put your other hand around the wrist that is being held up and squeeze all the way down the baby's arm to the shoulder, repeat this 3-4 times then change to a wringing motion. The trick to the wringing motion is that you should do it backwards, starting at the shoulder, and moving up to the wrist. You can then repeat the squeezing and wringing techniques on the baby's legs.

The hands are an easy and relaxing part of the body to massage, however it is the least common. With baby's you should move from the arms and wrists to the hands. The massage is simple, you just need to spread their fingers apart, and then use both your thumbs to squeeze the palm open to the sides. While doing this you should have their fingers rolled up, and after the palm massage, slowly move your palm out over their hand while slowly unfurling their fingers as you go. After the hands, while the baby is still on his back, gently rub the tummy. You can do this by placing your hands one on top of the other (one on the chest, and the other on the tummy), and alternate moving them back and forth.

Once moving to the back you should wring and stroke the back. After doing so you should move to working the back all the way down the back of the legs. In doing it can also help the baby stay calmer because now his legs are feeling touch or even warming up to the touch. The last massage you do is the baby’s face. You should start by massaging gently the forehead with your thumbs, moving the middle of the forehead about the nose, out to the temples. Then move down below the eyes, and massage out to the mid-jaw area. Then the last is to start below the nose, and around the baby’s mouth to his chin.