09:27 a.m. Nov 04, 1997 Eastern

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time, the nation's pediatricians received a comprehensive look at research showing the health benefits of touch therapy, or massage. Clinical studies presented this week at a plenary session of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) annual meeting found that touch therapy can help premature newborns gain weight faster, asthmatic children improve breathing function, diabetic children comply with treatment, and sleepless babies fall asleep with less trouble.

"Our research suggests that touch is as important to infants and children as eating and sleeping," said Tiffany Field, Ph.D., director and founder of the Touch Research Institutes at the University of Miami School of Medicine (UMSM) and Nova Southeastern University, and professor in the department of pediatrics, psychology and psychiatry at UMSM. "Touch therapy triggers many physiological changes that help infants and children grow and develop. For example, massage can stimulate nerves in the brain which facilitate food absorption, resulting in faster weight gain. It also lowers levels of stress hormones, resulting in improved immune function."

Touch therapy involves gentle stroking and kneading by a parent or caregiver on three regions of a child's body -- the face, neck, head and shoulders; the arms and hands; and the back, legs and feet. It also can incorporate flexing and extension of the arms and legs. Pediatricians, obstetricians and other healthcare professionals can teach parents the simple techniques of touch therapy.

"As pediatricians and parents, it's important that we recognize the advantages of touch therapy and use this basic, effective tool as part of pediatric care of diverse ailments," said Lawrence Schachner, M.D., professor, department of pediatrics and department of dermatology and cutaneous surgery, University of Miami School of Medicine. "Clinical research shows that touch therapy can benefit infants and children studied, including children with skin disorders such as eczema. It may furthermore improve parent-baby interaction."

The Benefits of Touch Therapy

Researchers at the Touch Research Institutes have completed controlled clinical studies on a number of special populations of infants and children.

Results include:

-- Weight gain: premature infants and cocaine-exposed infants gained more weight (47 percent and 28 percent more, respectively) than infants receiving similar volume and caloric intake in the non-massaged control groups. In the massaged premature infants, weight gain was associated with discharge from the hospital six days earlier than the non-massaged infants, resulting in a $10,000 (adjusted for inflation) cost savings per infant.

-- Reduced anxiety and improved behavior: asthmatic children, diabetic children, cocaine-exposed infants, premature newborns, and sleepless infants who were massaged had decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and were observed to have fewer temperamental outbursts and less stressful fidgeting.

-- Improved motor development: premature newborns and cocaine-exposed infants, when massaged, scored higher on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale -- specifically in the areas of habituation, orientation and motor and sensory development -- than did the non-massaged control group.

-- Improved pulmonary functions and peak air flow: massaged children with mild-to-severe asthma demonstrated an enhanced ability (in volume and flow rate) to exhale, compared with children who were not massaged.

-- Improved adherence to treatment regimens: youngsters with juvenile diabetes who received massage therapy showed an improved compliance with their insulin and food regulation, compared with children who were not massaged. Average blood glucose levels among the massaged children dropped from 159 on the first day of the study to 118 on the last day (normal range is 70 to 120).

Data from these recently completed studies offer a clear view of the observable and measurable outcomes of infant and child massage. Additional studies are underway to examine the effects of massage on a broad range of patients, and to further define the ways touch therapy contributes to the treatment of childhood anxiety, behavioral disorders and physical ailments.

The first of the Touch Research Institutes (TRI) was established in 1992 at the University of Miami School of Medicine, and in 1997 the second institute was founded at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The TRI are the only centers in the world devoted solely to the study of touch and its application in science and medicine. The TRI receive support from federal sources including the National Institutes of Health, companies such as Johnson & Johnson, and other organizations. Under the direction of Tiffany Field, Ph.D., the TRI work with a distinguished team of researchers representing Duke, Harvard, Princeton, McGill, University of Maryland and other universities to better define how touch promotes health and contributes to the treatment of disease. SOURCE Touch Research Institutes

Copyright 1997, PR Newswire

What are parent's options regarding daycare?

In- home options are baby-sitters, nannies (or professional childcare provider) and AuPairs. Out- of- home options are daycare centers, family care, or corporate care. There is also after school camp, mostly for older kids who come before mom or dad finish work.

How do you know which is best for you? What are the pros and cons of each kind?

Parents should do a needs assessment asking themselves a series of questions. It should be obvious if you want someone in the home but the key to it all is the two different kinds of relationships: institutional care vs. a nanny. If you hire someone to work in your home, you must be a boss. Many parents find it really difficult to play that role once they walk through the doorway of their home but it is the role you must play. If you don't have the time, desire or expertise, then in- home care shouldn't be an option.

What are the advantages of in- home care?

You tend to have a lot more flexibility. It works best for parents with odd hours and there are lots of areas around the country where you find a scarcity of daycare centers or at least ones with openings.

If I decide that in-home daycare is an option for me, what are the issues to consider and iron out before I begin the interview?

The basic requirements are: Asking yourself,

•Is it full or part time? •Will they live in the house or out? •What kind of insurance will they have and who will pay for it?

•What are their duties and qualifications? •What will be their salary, holiday and sick day policy? •What accommodations should I provide? •What will be their work hours and scheduling?

If I choose organized daycare, what should I consider and look for?

Its really all about being a good consumer. Corporate child care is really exactly like daycare but its more expensive. Both corporate child care and daycare usually offer more structure and more supervision/oversight that family daycare. Organized daycare simply means a family home, usually someone down the street who watches neighborhood kids. No matter what kind of child care you get involved with, you must have a contract with every entity that you deal with, especially in the family daycare realm. Parents tend to try to keep it cozy and friendly but that's a terrible idea.

Are there credentials or licensing requirements for these "family daycare providers"?

They vary from state to state. In some states, it's licensing but in some states, it's merely a registration process with the requirements and supervision being minimal.

What is a needs assessment?

Before you can figure out what you want, you have to figure out what you need. The fundamental premise of the book is that the reason we have problems is that most of us were never in child care and that puts us in a very vulnerable consumer position. It brings up issues of guilt and paranoia. Since most parents shopping for childcare were never in childcare, we are out there without that personal experience and we are some how handicapped. This isn't just any other consumer information. This is now very emotional, because this is your kids, probably a new kid. In the needs assessment, you must explore everything from time frame to transportation for the children, qualifications and duties. If you are hiring someone to be in your home, this is now an employee and you are now a manager. That means you'll have to take your management skills home with you. Sometimes, the needs assessment will allow you to see that your goals are unrealistic. For example, one of the parents that did his/her own needs assessment came up with the need for a triple Ph.D., a clown, and an ER specialist all rolled into one. Now where will you find that person? Needs assessment forces you to look at the realities and helps you to calibrate your needs so you can find someone to fill them.

What are the common mistakes made regarding daycare?

In the in-home, parents don't understand that they have to become employers and managers. Moms often want nannies who read their minds. They don't want to debrief the nanny. The nanny becomes an expedient kind of management mishap. There are tons of little mistakes that make the relationship tenuous. From the beginning, you must establish a legal employer/employee relationship. You need to pay someone legally and pay taxes on a legal employee. You can't have your kids being watched by someone with whom you have an illegal relationship with. You're at their mercy. You don't really have any leverage with someone you are agreeing to the break the law with. The truth is that it's about power. We are not telling parents to take the power and abuse it. For a very nominal fee, you can get bookkeepers to pay these people and file these papers. The misnomer is that nanny placements do this. It's not true. The other problem, the availability of daycare, is so competitive you have to hire an agency just to find one. Remember that there is no licensing required for nanny placement agencies. Also, don't think that just because a daycare center has a long waiting list it must be good. A list doesn't mean anything about quality. That's just about scarcity.