FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- Although it has been around for some time, infant massage hasn't been widely accepted until recently.
Some local mothers have noticed it has paid off with their little ones.
"I do it to help relax the baby at night," Morgen Blankinchip said. "We do it right before bedtime...and it helps release fussiness."
"He knows it's bath time and he knows it's massage time after," Leslie Orellana said.
Certified infant massage instructor Cindy Phelan, of Babyflix in Fort Smith, said the more early contact with parents and their children, the better it is.
"The skin on skin bonding with the parents is always been such a wonderful thing," Phelan said.
She said there is no set time of day for a massage, and that the Mayo Clinic states that infant massage is a good way to help a baby relax and fall asleep at night.