Formed by nature!

"I am a mother of a newborn. Some of our relatives mention to us about massaging the head, face and particularly nose, so as to get in shape as she grows. Is there any rationale behind this? As a Developmentalist, can you tell us more about the normal shape of head in babies?"

I received this question forwarded to me by Shalini, a colleague in the department where I work.

This question arrived at a time when I was considering an important issue of the early days of birds. Once they are ready to leave the nest, they develop on their own. The exquisite features of each of the birds in this blog are inherited and and not imposed upon them.

I wonder therefore if there is any role for 'external manipulation' of the head, face or nose in a new born. Baby forms his or her face as determined in the chromosome imprints received from the parents. It is a formative process which takes its normal path during the first two years of life.  Let me highlight five thoughts:

1. Bony sutures in the  face and skull ares so structured that they keep the face and skull bones in position to allow the face and head to grow to accommodate the growth taking place in the  Brain, eyes, ears, etc. The sutures over the skull meet in the crown of the head to form the anterior fontanelle which normally fuses by 18 to 24 months, This is connected to other sutures in the skull. These sutures do not fuse till 18 or 21 years of age to give the skull expansion to accommodate the growing brain.

2. The face and head acquire the shape and size over the first five years of life of a child.  The physiology of skeletal growth and bone formation would be the primary factors to decide the way the size and shape are determined. The extrinsic influences such as massage might have an intangible effect, when it is the bony growth that influences the shape and size, which are not subject to the extrinsic factors. 

3. However the positioning of the head during the first two years of a child would have some influence in the final evolution of the shape of the face and head. It is for this reason, we normally request parents to allow the baby to lie on the back, on the tummy and on either sides in turn, when a baby is asleep. If a baby is given a firm mattress and allowed a soft pillow, then placing the head in different positions, as referred to above, would allow the normal moulding of the head, according to the pattern designed by the sutures in the skull and face. 

4. Any external pressure by massaging alters this normal process of moulding by the forces that regulate the bone formation and moulding to accommodate the structures inside the skull, nose, ear, etc. Let me state that the growth of the internal structures form the contours and shape of the skull and face. The external structures of the face and head are for the formation and protection of the internal organs. 

5. There are  instances when the skull, face or jaw acquire unusual shapes, which is due to organic cause, which if identified, the abnormal shaping can be prevented. The levels of vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, proteins,  etc  in the body  influence the formation of the bones. 

Having stated the above, that the formation of shape and size of skull and face are physiological in nature and external inputs are not desirable, I feel that the existing practices of oil massage is so common in many cultures, that I am afraid to confront those practices. Most of these practices have their origin in Ayurveda, Naturopathy and other traditional health practices.  I do know much about the scientific rationale of such practices.

I come cross a crying child, who remains exposed to the atmosphere when an hour long massage is practiced. A child cries because he or she is uncomfortable. The adults with their forceful movements over the body of a child with their strong hands do not necessarily give a tender and soothing feeling to a baby. I have often though that a child cries and gets exhausted at the end of the massage, that he or she might be dreading that every time this is done. 

Allow the body to its formative process. The Chromosomal structure and the multiple physiological influences predetermine the shape and size of the head and all the organs located in them!

Let parents feel comforted that it is enough to nurture and not interfere with the physiological functions in the body. 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)