Baby Massage: Choosing an Oil, Timing It Right and Simple Technique

Plain, food-grade oils without added fragrance are the usual choice. Coconut oil is widely used across India and absorbs reasonably well; light sesame and mustard oil have long regional traditions.

Whatever you choose, patch-test on a small area first and wait a day. Babies with eczema or sensitive skin react to more things than you would expect, so check with your paediatrician if your baby has a skin condition.

A relaxed, awake, not-hungry baby is the whole game. Somewhere between feeds, in a warm draught-free room, tends to work. Straight after a feed invites bringing-up, and an already-overtired baby will not enjoy it.

Many families fold it into the pre-bath routine so the oil comes off in the water.

Use slow, light strokes — legs and arms from the body outwards, gentle circles on the tummy in a clockwise direction, and long strokes down the back. Your hands should glide, not press.

Watch your baby rather than the clock. Turning the head away, stiffening or grizzling means stop. Five contented minutes beats twenty endured ones.

Skip the face, avoid the umbilical stump until it has healed, and never leave an oiled baby unattended on a raised surface — they are slippery, and it takes a second.

Oil in the ears or nostrils is not a good idea, whatever tradition you may have been told.

The measurable benefits people claim vary and the research is mixed. What is not in dispute is that unhurried skin-to-skin time is calming for both of you, and it is a good moment to notice rashes or dry patches early.