Infant Massage Instructor from South Africa becomes a Certified HUG Teacher

Joanne Bradley, an Infant Massage Instructor, has been interacting with new parents for a very long time. She shares her HUG Your Baby experience.

I have found the HUG program a most wonderful and useful addition to what I have been doing. This program simplifies things for parents and shows them that they actually have the tools at hand. It gives them the confidence to read their babies cues and trust what they see without over thinking things. One of the techniques that really stood out for me was not arrive with a planned agenda of what I would share with the parents, but rather to sit and observe and watch and then to broadcast what I was seeing. 

I have found the crying and calming techniques extremely useful and they align well with my knowledge on baby's development. I have also seen the relief in parents faces when they have seen the HUG techniques put into action. 

With the onset of COVID, many new parents have missed the support of family and friends and the HUG information that I have been able to share with them when visiting has proved to be invaluable and a comfort to many. 

I am excited to add HUG information to our breastfeeding morning meetings next year. I look forward to a lasting relationship with HUG. I especially enjoy the constant sharing of information through the Facebook page and Blog. Thank you for sharing.

Infant Massage: Incorporating The HUG into another Service for Young Families

By Barbara Hotelling, WHNP, Certified HUG Teacher, IBCLC, (and a host of other credentials!)

"Once again I have discovered a new way to incorporate HUG Your Baby into my work with young families. Infant Massage: a gift for yourselves and the families you work with. 

Many of you already have combined knowledge of childbirth education, birth and/or postpartum doula support, adult learning theory, infant growth and development, and lactation support into your work with new parents and their babies. These parents are fortunate to get much more from you than the individual workshops you provide.  However, I was blessed this week to discover  another resource for families at Linda Storm’s Infant Massage workshop. This resource blends so beautifully with the HUG training I already offer parents.

Just as HUG training is so much more than a method, so is Infant Massage.  HUG teaches us how to approach parents in a way that empower them to discover the temperament,  talents and capabilities of their infants. Like The HUG,  Infant Massage encourages parents to look to their baby as the teacher, the parent as the expert, and the instructor as the guide.

We are teaching massage strokes, but that is not all we are teaching.  Parents learn to read their infants’ body language so that the infant can successfully engage and interact with the parent and also disengage when appropriate.  The infant massage instructor is the facilitator as parents share their experiences and grow in confidence and skills, “tricks of the trade” as new parents.  Both HUG and Infant Massage teach about brain development and how sensitive responding to an infant facilitates this growth.  Both HUG and Infant Massage give parents important tools for responding appropriately to their infants, toddlers, children, and teens.  

I heartily encourage you to explore Infant Massage, a gift for yourself and the families you empower. Both HUG and Infant Massage can make a small, but important contribution to helping develop a loving society where individuals and families will thrive and nourish one another."

For more information, contact:  Linda Storm  Linda.storm@infantmassageusa.org  Infant Massage, USA

Infant Massage USA now Recommends HUG Your Baby Training for ALL its Members!

Linda Storm, executive director of Infant Massage USA, has a lot to say about how The HUG will enhance the work of the professionals in her organization. (See video.) As she explains, "infant massage is NOT something we do TO THE BABY, but instead, something we do WITH THE BABY." Understanding and responding to a baby's SOSs (Signs of Over-Stimulation) and appreciating a baby's movement from one Zone to another is crucial for effective infant massage. Linda believes HUG Your Baby training will help their professionals increase a parent's sensitivity to their baby and facilitate the parent-child relationship.

Join me in welcoming these professionals who serve young families in a very special way in our communities!