The Effect of Touch Care for Baby by Mother
Yoko Hirohashi
1
, Chieko Kato
2
, Mayumi Oyama-Higa
3
, Sang-jae Lee
4
, Tomoe Sano
5
and Masato Ichikawa
6
1,2
Department of Nursing , NayoroCity University, W4-N8-1, Nayoro, Japan
3
Chaos Technology Research Laboratory, Seta5-26-5, Otsu, Japan
4
Department of Social Care, Nankai Vocational School, Chiyoda6-12-53, Takaishi, Japan
5
Department of Education, Mukogawa Women’s University, Ikebiraki-cho6-46, Nishinomiya, Japan
6
Department of Nursing, Hokkaido University of Science, Teine-ku Maeda7, Sapporo, Japan
Keywords: Touch Care, Effect, Baby, Mother, Fingertip Pulse Wave.
Abstract: As the subject of child-rearing support has become more a part of society in modern times, in order to
stimulate the spread of mother/child attachment formation through baby touch-care, the effectiveness of
touch-care was verified by physical data collected by non-linear analysis, obtained from hospitalized
mothers shortly after childbirth, as well as with mothers at home. Comparison of values of LLE and
Autonomic Nerve Balance by means of fingertip pulse readings were taken before and after touch-care. As a
result, the touch-care for baby with mother was effective to both baby and mother. The research suggests
that: 1)the touch-care was effective to both baby and mother, 2) avoidance of using touch-care during
hospitalization, 3) both mother and father acquiring skill in touch-care prior to childbirth, 4) after hospital
discharge, implementation of touch-care in the home at play times and after bath times, are factors that
contribute to emotional well-being.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Issue of Support in Child-rearing
In the year 2005, along with the decline in total
population, Japan recorded its lowest birthrate in the
nation’s history. If the birthrate decline continued at
the same rate, by the year 2055 the total population
would decrease to 90,000,000, the average number
of children born would be 1.26 children per woman,
the elderly population would be 40%, and the annual
birthrate would be 500,000. Such a reduction in
birthrate and the resulting decrease in overall
population would create a far-reaching negative
influence on Japan’s economy due to a reduced
labor force, impacting the pension system, medical
services, healthcare, national insurance, etc. Such a
threat to Japan’s future existence is a cause for deep
concern.
In the background of this rapid decline in
birthrate, there is a great disparity between the desire
of communities regarding a healthy rate of
marriages, births/child-rearing, and the actual reality
of the current situation. To eliminate this problem, it
is important to create increased societal awareness
from all viewpoints to effectively reconstruct
solutions in institutions, government, etc., so that
communities themselves can have hope in building a
society where the citizens have peace of mind about
marriage, bearing and raising children.
With the prevalence of the small family, a
decrease in birthrate, a general breakdown of
community, and a condition of parents feeling
isolated and unable to properly raise children,
parents need adequate knowledge, a positive
attitude, and the support of an environment that
assists them in the raising of children. However, this
support must not come only from professionals in
the infant-care and pre-school education sectors. In a
broad sense, the care and support of parents and
children is needed in all areas of society. For this
reason, it is insufficient to delegate this task to
“child-rearing support centers”, but rather society as
a whole must seek to provide support on a broad
front. Therefore, the issue at hand is how to create
an extensive network of individuals and locations
261
Hirohashi Y., Kato C., Oyama-Higa M., Lee S., Sano T. and Ichikawa M.
The Effect of Touch Care for Baby by Mother.
DOI: 10.5220/0005426902610270
In Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Business Modeling and Software Design (BMSD 2014), pages 261-270
ISBN: 978-989-758-032-1
Copyright
c
 2014 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

throughout the country that will provide support for
parents and children.
The goal is to aim for a society in which
individuals in the community mutually benefit by
sticking close in support of parents and their
children. The desired goal is for society as a whole
to do away with the solitary mindset where
individuals think “I will raise my own child myself”,
and to have citizens in each community mutually
give support to parents, bringing about the trend of a
child-rearing culture where “we will all work
together to raise our children”.
1.2 Formation of a Parent/Child
“Attachment” Relationship
During the time of a child’s infancy and preschool
years, the development and acquisition of a “basic
feeling of trust” is very important. This involves
creation of an “attachment” between a young child
and a specific adult in whom the child learns to trust
and go to for answers. This trusting relationship
becomes the basis through which the child gains a
sense of ease and trust toward others throughout life.
According to John Bowlby (1907 - 1990), this
“attachment” begins to form between a child and
their caregiver (primarily the child’s mother) within
the first 2 to 3 months after birth. In this
relationship, the child begins to show a selective
desire to be with the person caring for them, and the
caregiver also experiences a greater awareness of
affection for, and an intensified desire to nurture the
child. Through the repetition of this mutual
relationship, a bond of attachment is created and
strengthened between the caregiver and the child.
Because of this, in the development of the young
child, for the sake of the child’s expression and
vocalization of their own feelings, it is extremely
important that the caregiver show an abundant
measure of responsive affection through smiles,
physical contact, etc.
1.3 Regarding Effectiveness of
Touch-Care upon Newborns
During the early stage of a newborn’s life, it is said
that a large number of necessary nerves in the brain
develop through a remaining process (“Nerve
Darwinism”). Therefore it is believed that through
positive implementation of touch-care from the time
shortly after birth, a heightened sensitivity and
formation of a strong parent/child attachment is
encouraged.
Research of touch-care for newborns was begun
in the 1960’s, but these days is not limited to care of
newborns only, but the practice of “Tactile Care ®”
has also developed to involve people of every age,
including the elderly, and is used as an effective
means of aiding peace of mind as well as pain
reduction. Also, touch-care is used to aid newborns
(including premature newborns) in reduction of
surplus levels of stress, and to stimulate proper child
development. “Developmental Care” has been
widely recognized as a means toward this goal, and
through the specific means of “NIDCAP ® ” (
Neonatal Individualized Developmental Care
Program), the usefulness of touch-care has been
demonstrated in promoting child development and
formation of parent/child attachment.
1.4 Objective of Main Research
In sections I - III, the need in society for support of
childcare, formation of parent/child attachment, and
effectiveness of touch-care begun shortly after birth,
were reported. In so doing, our research team
verified the usefulness of childcare support in each
locality, and the effectiveness of touch-care for
infants as one means of attachment formation. From
prior research regarding the fluctuation of fingertip
pulse wave readings, in living creatures fingertip
pulse wave readings showing “chaos” data from the
brain were examined by means of non-linear
analysis, and the effects of touch-care were
investigated.
When a numerical value of mental activity can
be derived by means of Largest Lyupanov Exponent
(LLE) readings obtained through non-linear analysis
of fluctuations in fingertip pulse wave data,
verification is already obtained. It is our
consideration that the practice of touch-care in some
way or another affects the mental activity in mothers
and infants, and that this can be known by fingertip
pulse wave readings.
Also, from fingertip pulse wave fluctuation data,
autonomic nerve balance (ANB) between
sympathetic nerve priority vs. parasympathetic nerve
priority can be understood. The autonomic nervous
system is an accurate indicator of brain activity, and
how autonomic nerve activity changes through
touch-care can be obtained.
The aim of the main research is to verify,
through this data, the effectiveness of touch-care for
infants, and the means of application.
Fourth International Symposium on Business Modeling and Software Design
262

2 METHOD
2.1 Research Subject
The subjects for this research consisted of mothers
hospitalized for childbirth, during the first 3-4 days
after delivery, as well as mothers participating in
childcare classes in various cities/towns, as well as
mothers and young children during the childcare
process in their locality. The target age for children
in this study was under 1 year.
2.2 Research Period
December 2013 - February 2014
2.3 Research Location
“City A” General Hospital, childcare classes in
“Town B” and, and the home of a participant in
“City A”.
2.4 Research Method
First, explanation of the research was given to the
participants, and a form with each participant’s
consent for research was obtained. Next, pulse rates
of the mother and child were measured for the first
session. The mother’s pulse wave was monitored
measuring the pulse at the tip of the second finger on
the left hand using a finger cuff, and the pulse wave
was measured for 3 minutes. The child’s pulse wave
was obtained using a pediatric monitor attached to
the child’s earlobe for 1 minute. Because of the
challenge in getting a small child to sit still for long
periods, measurement was set for a shorter time.
A birthing assistant (midwife) that helped with
the research demonstrated the baby massage
technique for the mother, using an infant size doll.
Then the mother was asked to perform the same
massage technique on her child. At the end of the
massage period, the 2nd pulse wave reading was
taken.
Also, a questionnaire for the participating
mothers was utilized, which asked the mother two
kinds of questions regarding 1) her impressions after
having given the baby massage, and 2) how it
affected her feeling of “attachment”. Questions
regarding the mother’s impressions were as follows:
“Did you experience any new realization of ‘touch-
care’?” “Do you feel that you would like to continue
this with your child? If so, what kind of ‘setting’
(location) would you prefer to use?” “What kind of
feelings did you experience while doing the baby
massage?” “Did you notice any place on your child
where they seemed to enjoy the massage?” There
were 26 questions regarding “attachment”, and
response to these questions was divided into 4
categories: (nearly always, often, sometimes, and
rarely).
2.5 Method of Analysis
For analysis of the mother’s responses, “Lyspect”
measurement analysis computer software was used.
For the analysis of the child’s responses, “BACS”
measurement analysis software was used.
Data that was gathered comparing fluctuations in
pulse wave rates before and after the experiment was
examined by non-linear analysis using the computer
software. The numerical values of the Largest
Lyapunov Exponent (LLE) and Autonomic Nerve
Balance (ANB) were examined for comparative
study. It was judged that participants whose final
readings, when compared to initial readings, showed
a rise in LLE values indicated a rise in their mind’s
sense of well-being. Also, it was judged that
participants whose final readings showed a
comparative decrease in ANB due to higher
parasympathetic nerve activity indicated a mental
reaction of relaxation.
Answers to questions regarding “attachment”
were assigned a point value ranging from 4 to 1 for
analysis purposes.
3 RESULT
3.1 Attributes of the Participants
In all, 25 mothers took part in the research. Among
these, 15 were women tested during hospitalization,
and the remaining 10 were women who were tested
either at childcare classes or in their homes. The
average age of the mothers was 28.8 ± 4.5 years. 7
mothers were tested 3 days after childbirth, 8
mothers were tested 4 days after childbirth, and 1
mother was tested 5 days after giving birth. 15
women were first-time mothers (primipara), and 10
women had previous births (multipara). All of the
mothers had normal pregnancies lasting from 37 - 41
weeks, and none of the babies tested were
underweight. Of the babies who were tested at
home, ages were from 2 – 8 months old. In all, 10
babies were boys, and 15 were girls.
The Effect of Touch Care for Baby by Mother
263

3.2 Regarding Results of Touch Care
Results in measurement of the mothers’ fingertip
pulse wave can be seen in the table 1.
After completion of the touch-care procedure, 16
of the 25 mothers showed a rise in Largest
Lyapunov Exponent (LLE) and a drop in Autonomic
Nerve Balance (hereafter referred to as ANB). In
contrast, 9 mothers showed a drop in LLE and a rise
in ANB. Within the model of increased LLE
readings indicating a mental sense of well-being,
and decreased ANB readings indicating a relaxed
state, 64% of the mothers showed results suggesting
that touch-care is effective.
Figure 1: Case3’s LLE. Figure 2: Case23’s LLE.
Figure 3: Case6’s ANB. Figure 4: Case20’s ANB.
Figure 1, 2, 3, 4: Cases where touch-care was
effective.
Figure 5: Case7’s LLE and ANB.
Figure 6: Case21’s LLE and ANB.
Figure 5, 6: Cases effectiveness of touch-care
could not be recognized.
Among mothers tested during hospitalization, 7
out of 15 women (46.7%) had results showing
touch-care as “effective”, and among mothers at
home, 9 out of 10 women (90%) showed the same
“effective” results.
Table 1: Data of all case (LLE and ANB).
place
LLE
①
ＬＬＥ
②
ＡＮ
Ｂ①
ＡＮ
Ｂ②
1 ＨＰ 1.47 1.64 ↑ 4.4 5.6 ↑ ○
2 ＨＰ 1.35 2.47 ↑ 5.73 6.4 ↑ ○
3 home 2.13 2.62 ↑ 7.21 7.4 ↑ ○
4 home 2.4 4.69 ↑ 7.9 7 ↑ ○
5 home 2.37 2.2 ↓ 5.25 3.33 ↓ ○
6 ＨＰ 1.28 1.25 → 6.04 8.1 ↑ ×
7 ＨＰ 1.86 1.92 ↑ 3.78 4.67 ↑ ○
8 ＨＰ 2.05 1.09 ↓ 5.95 6.64 ↑ ×
9 ＨＰ 3.8 3.63 ↓ 7.43 7.83 ↑ ×
10 ＨＰ 1.55 1.77 ↑ 2.54 8.91 ↑ ○
11 ＨＰ 2.98 2.48 ↓ 4.34 6.3 ↑ ×
12 ＨＰ 2.44 2.31 ↓ 9.49 9.39 → ×
13 ＨＰ 0.91 0.63 ↓ 4.01 5.7 ↑ ×
14 ＨＰ 1.85 1.76 ↓ 6.3 5.59 ↓ ○
15 ＨＰ 2.37 3.17 ↑ 2.71 6.65 ↑ ○
16 ＨＰ 3.84 2.46 ↓ 6.96 7.68 ↑ ×
17 home 4.85 2.36 ↓ 3.6 6.46 ↑ ×
18 home 4.55 1.49 ↓ 3.6 1.97 ↓ ○
19 home 2.34 3.36 ↑ 5.79 6.41 ↑ ○
20 ＨＰ 2.46 1.88 ↓ 7.7 4.04 ↓ ○
21 ＨＰ 1.84 1.69 ↓ 5.6 8.8 ↑ ×
22 home 2.55 1.82 ↓ 5.57 4.81 ↓ ○
23 home 2.65 3.3 ↑ 5.35 7.4 ↑ ○
24 home 2.1 2.79 ↑ 5.35 7.04 ↑ ○
25 home 2.42 3.74 ↑ 9.49 8.82 ↓ ○
3.3 Regarding LLE and ANB Levels
In the 50 times that levels were measured, the
average LLE level was a 2.38 reading. When
looking at data from only mothers during
hospitalization, the average LLE level was a 2.07
reading. Among mothers living at home, the average
LLE level was a 2.84 reading.
In our previous research, 17 female students
between the ages of 20 - 22 years old were tested,
and when measurements were taken before and after
food intake, the average LLE level was a 3.71
reading. Even when factoring in a decrease in levels
immediately following food intake, these individuals
had an LLE reading that was significantly higher
than the average 2.07 LLE reading of mothers
during hospitalization.
In all cases a trend was observed that
immediately following the baby massage, ANB
showed a gain in sympathetic nerve activity.
3.4 Attributes of Participants during
Hospitalization Vs. at Home
Compared to participants during hospitalization,
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264

participants at home showed a significantly higher
percentage of effectiveness regarding touch-care. (p
= 0.045)
Figure 7: Comparisons between hospitalized mothers vs.
mothers at home, regarding effectiveness of touch-care.
Compared to hospitalized participants, mothers
at home showed a significantly higher percentage of
awareness to where on the body their child enjoyed
the baby massage. (p = 0.027).
Figure 8: Comparisons between hospitalized mothers vs.
mothers at home, regarding the response: “I could tell
where on its body my baby enjoyed the massage”.
Compared to hospitalized participants, mothers
at home showed a much higher percentage of
response that “I could understand the personality of
my child”, when answering the questionnaire. (p =
0.042).
Figure 9: Comparisons between hospitalized mothers vs.
mothers at home, regarding the response: “I understand
the personality of my child”.
3.5 Differences between First-time
Mothers (Primipara) and Those
with Prior Births (Multipara)
Primipara mothers, compared to multipara mothers,
showed a much higher percentage of awareness that
“I could tell where on its body my baby enjoyed the
massage.” (p = 0.014).
Figure 10: Differences between primipara mothers vs.
multipara mothers regarding detection of where on the
body the baby enjoyed massage.
Primipara mothers, compared to multipara
mothers, showed a much higher percentage of
response of “almost always”, when asked how much
time they would like to spend with just their baby. (p
= 0.043).
Figure 11: Comparisons between primipara mothers vs.
multipara mothers regarding the response: “I want to
spend time alone with my baby.
Primipara mothers, compared to multipara
mothers, showed a much higher percentage of
response saying, “I like to look into my child’s eyes”,
when answering the questionnaire. (p = 0.027).
Figure 12: Comparisons between primipara mothers vs.
multipara mothers regarding the response: “I enjoy
looking into my baby’s eyes.”
3.6 Characteristics of the
“Attachment” Measurement
The “Attachment” measurement had an average
The Effect of Touch Care for Baby by Mother
265

reading of 96.6 ± 5.8 points. We calculated all
answer of each case to the points as “nearly
always”=4 points, “often”=3 points, “sometimes”=2
points, “rarely”=1 point.
3.7 Impressions following Touch Care
Approximately 70% of the participants responded
that they “mostly understood” regarding touch-care.
Figure 13: Level of comprehension with touch-care.
Approximately 70% of the participants
responded that they “absolutely want to continue”
touch-care.
Figure 14: Desire to continue touch-care.
During the touch-care sessions, many mothers
expressed feelings like “cute”, and when touching
the baby made comments like “it’s a pleasant
feeling”, “the baby is soft”, “the baby is warm”, etc.
Negative comments such as “it’s scary”, “it makes
me nervous”, “it’s a bother”, or “it’s tiring” were not
expressed.
Figure 15: Impressions following touch-care.
3.8 Regarding Results Taken from
Baby Measurements
In 2 studies, baby fingertip pulse readings were
taken before, immediately after, and 10 minutes after
performing touch-care. Because nursing babies
fingers are thin and because babies move around
erratically, for pulse measurement a pediatric size
cuff was attached to the baby’s earlobe. From
previous research it was understood that the babies’
LLE readings were high. LLE readings just before
and 10 minutes after touch-care were very high, but
LLE levels were very low immediately following
touch-care. In 2 studies, the obtained measurement
results closely resembled this pattern both times.
(Table2, Figure16, 17)
Because available time for set-up of equipment
was limited, measurement of autonomic nerve
balance (ANB) was not possible.
Table 2: Babies’ value of LLE.
Measurement time
Baby A
(boy, 5months)
Baby B
(girl, 2months)
before 9.256 7.978
immediately after 2.625 2.433
10 minutes after 8.295 8.849
Figure 16: Baby A’s LLE. Figure 17: Baby B’s LLE.
4 CONSIDERATION
4.1 A Difference in Effectiveness of
Touch Care during Hospitalization
Vs. at Home
From measurements with this research, results
showed that touch-care was effective in 64% of all
the participant mothers. The heart of the mothers,
who performed the massage, showed a lively
attitude toward their children, and this was verified
by fluctuations in the fingertip pulse wave
measurements, as indicated by the LLE numerical
values. However, a great discrepancy was noted
among mothers tested 3 - 5 days after giving birth
who showed an effectiveness of only 46.7% (less
Fourth International Symposium on Business Modeling and Software Design
266

than half) vs. mothers at home, who showed an
effectiveness of 90%.
When considering the cause of low effectiveness
of touch-care among hospitalized mothers, post-
partum depression that affects many women, also
known as “baby blues”, could possibly be a factor.
Due to drastic changes in hormone balance after
giving birth, crying easily, irritability, anxiety about
what childcare will involve, and other such
symptoms are common. But even though the mother
experiences the positive effect of giving baby
massage and has pleasant feelings (“my baby is
cute”) toward her child, the fact remains that the
condition of her mind and body goes through a great
deal of instability at this time. A mother usually
recovers from this within 1 - 2 weeks after giving
birth, but because our testing was done from the 3rd
to 5th day after childbirth, it appeared that there
were many mothers whose emotional state of mind
was at a low point. The average level of LLE among
these women was 2.07, an extremely low reading.
When considering these kinds of results, one
other potential cause was the problem of the
surroundings. The hospital rooms where mothers
stayed had 6 women in a room, which made for a
very tight space, and when baby bassinets were
placed next to the mothers’ beds to allow the
mothers and babies to be together in the same room,
this made for an extremely cramped environment. In
addition, due to the influence of an increasing
societal trend toward more personal privacy,
mothers completely closed the curtains around their
beds, creating a lifestyle of isolation during
hospitalization. Room lighting was rather dim, and
the cramped space became a “boxed-in”
environment. It is believed that these factors very
possibly exerted an influence on the LLE readings of
the mothers.
Also, it seems that the tendency of sympathetic
nerve priority following the massage session was
due to the mental concentration and nervousness of
mothers who were practicing the massage for the
first time. Since fatigue and hormonal changes after
childbirth put an increased load upon a mother’s
mind and body, it is thought that it would be better
to avoid situations where the degree of nervousness
is elevated.
With the passage of time after childbirth, the
mother/child attachment increases, and a bond of
trust is established. These factors likely explain the
reason for the high level of effectiveness of touch-
care with mothers at home. Another influence for
consideration is that included in this group were
mothers who had participated in childcare classes
numerous times, and had already used baby massage
repeatedly. Also, the mothers’ recognition of what
part of the body their babies enjoyed being
massaged, as well as comprehension of their babies’
personalities were linked to repeated usage of baby
massage and observation of their babies over an
extended period of time.
4.2 Differences between Primipara Vs.
Multipara Mothers
Among primipara (first-time) mothers, numerous
women responded by saying that they could
determine what part of the body their child enjoyed
being massaged, they enjoyed spending time alone
with their child, and enjoyed looking into the eyes of
their child. Results of this research showed that
primipara mothers, compared to multipara mothers,
took a longer amount of time in physical contact
with their child, and had an environment where they
focused a large amount of attention on their child.
4.3 Regarding Attachment
The emotional well-being of mothers during
hospitalization was rather poor, nevertheless their
response to questions regarding attachment averaged
an extremely high reading of 96.6 points on a scale
with a maximum 104 points possible. The following
responses were especially prevalent: “I can sense the
love of my child”, “I think my child is cute”, “I feel
that I want to have a close relationship with my
child”, “I like watching the gestures my child
makes”, etc. Even though this research immediately
followed childbirth, it was clear that there existed a
strong level of mother/child attachment.
However, although a deep and healthy
attachment of mothers toward their newborn babies
was clearly visible, there were instances where the
physical data taken from the fingertip pulse wave
fluctuations did not correspond. Researchers grasped
the fact that at times the actual participants
themselves had a conscious awareness of the effects
of touch-care, and at other times only had a mere
outward observance without understanding parts of
it. It was determined that by using fingertip pulse
wave data objectively, aid in the care of emotional
and physical health after childbirth is possible.
4.4 Impressions after Application of
Touch Care
70% of the participants felt they understood touch-
are well, and responded that they very much wanted
The Effect of Touch Care for Baby by Mother
267

to use it, experienced “cute”… “soft”… “feels
good”… “warm” and other such pleasant feelings
toward their child, and that they were conscious of
the positive effect touch-care had on them.
When asked in what setting they would like to
use touch-care, in addition to “play time”, many
women responded that they would use it after bath
time. Recently, it is reported that in many families
the father has assumed the role of caring for the
baby’s bath. Consequently, it is desirable that fathers
also acquire ability to practice touch-care and form a
bond with their child.
4.5 Effectiveness of Touch Care for
Baby
It is known that shortly after birth there are large
fluctuations in babies’ fingertip pulse wave readings.
It is said that this condition is a baby’s adaptation to
the outside world in the growth process. At 3 years
of age LLE levels drop precisely, and because of this
clear one-time drop the “3 year-old myth” is
corroborated. However, it is considered that because
the subjects of this research were children at the ages
of 5 months and 2 months after birth, this period
reflected very high LLE levels.
It is thought that the reason infant LLE levels
drop sharply immediately following touch-care is
due to the infant’s “internal concentration” focus
resulting from the touch-care session. This drop
could be due to the condition of the infant’s
concentration regarding the sensations it experiences
and the interaction with its mother, thus causing an
“internal concentration” leading to the sharp drop in
LLE levels.
10 minutes after touch-care, infant LLE levels
returned to the initial high reading, but this type of
fluctuation is thought to be a condition of the
infant’s growth development and enjoyment of the
touch-care stimuli.
Although the infants spoke nothing, the physical
data gave evidence that baby massage is effective.
But because the subjects were limited to only 2
studies, it is needful for further testing to be done in
order to more fully verify the findings.
It was determined that touch-care was effective
for both mothers and their babies.
5 CONCLUSIONS
It was verified that baby touch-care is effective in
aiding the mind/body health of mothers. Though
examples are few, when making an objective
observation from physical data taken from the
babies, it was clear that baby touch-care is effective.
Because of drastic hormonal changes after childbirth
and the cramped environment with inadequate space
in hospital settings, touch-care during hospitalization
is best avoided. Rather, childcare classes prior to
childbirth where both father and mother together
practice touch-care, as well as learning touch-care in
the home after childbirth when life has returned to
normal, is to be desired. However, the most effective
use of touch-care for newborns would be if both the
mother and her husband could take their time and
learn touch-care during the pregnancy, then after the
birth, while preparing for discharge from the
hospital, encourage a resumption of touch-care so
that all aspects of touch-care can be implemented as
the mother and child go home. The cooperation with
both midwives and local health care nurses is
important. In these days when the importance of
child-rearing support is being spoken of in
communities, it is the conclusion of our research that
in order for mothers and their babies to experience a
lifestyle where they enjoy health of mind and body
in the area where they live, it is needful for baby
touch-care to be more greatly popularized.
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