The benefits of breast massage

Knowing how to give oneself a breast massage is something every woman should learn.

Gentle breast massage is of great benefit and lessens the risk of breast cancer, by draining the lymphatic nodes of toxins.

Gentle to moderate kneading, rubbing and squeezing strokes with the hands are sufficient to induce increased lymph and blood flow to the breast.

First, use your fingers and gently smooth away from the nipple. These movements should travel from the nipple and directly away using no more pressure than what you would apply to your eyelid.

Any more pressure would flatten the lymphatic vessel and stop the flow of toxins and fluids. Also, make this stroke slow, not fast, for it to be effective.

Secondly, gently massage the breast with a kneading-like motion, using lifting and pressing movements.

Thirdly, slowly and carefully use your hands to twist the breast in a clock-wise and anticlockwise direction, being careful not to put too much tension on the breast.

This procedure should be done at least twice a week. It can be done on bare skin, but you may find that using some vegetable oil may be more comfortable. Do not use mineral-based or scented oils.

The spoken work makes the difference

Did you know that talking to your baby using gestures or other sounds does little to boost their brain power?

Instead, talking to babies using real words plays an important role in their brain development.

According to the study, even as early as three months, words have a bigger impact on their minds than other sounds, including music.

The report claims that babies who heard words were better able to ‘categorise’ pictures than those who simply heard tones.

The study published in Journal Child Development concludes that over time, this general intentional effect will become more refined as infants begin to cull individual words from fluent speech to distinguish among individual words and kinds of words, and to map those words to meaning.

The remarkable ability of the baby’s brain doesn’t end there. Previous research has concluded that babies can communicate remarkably complex thoughts at the age of 12 months.