Impact of infantile massage on brain development

While during intrauterine life the fetus is protected by noxius external stimuli and benefits from positive physiological stimulations such as the continuous and gentle tactile stimulation deriving from the movements inside the womb, birth exposes the fetus to a completely new and potentially stressful environment. To minimize the consequences of preterm birth it is of utmost importance to take the highest advantage of enhanced early brain plasticity by devising evidence-based intervention programs centered on the optimization of the infant's environment. Massage therapy was introduced in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) primarily with the aim of improving weight gain, in particular in low birth-weight subjects during their hospital admission and, as a consequence, to obtain an earlier hospital discharge. The relatively low spectral power in preterm infants at term has been interpreted as the effect of a functional alteration in brain development related to the untimely exposure to the extra-uterine environment.