The cue-based infant massage training provided by Baby in Mind, qualifies you to teach The First Touch Program to parents.
There are many opportunities for you to use this qualification, in a variety of ways, depending on your individual circumstances.
The First Touch baby massage program is designed to be used in universal and primary prevention contexts, and can also be easily adapted by suitably qualified practitioners to meet the needs of families in secondary and tertiary health care settings.
The First Touch Program is a relationship-based intervention that takes the form of a five-session parent-baby group program.
The program fills an important gap in the availability of attachment-based, health promotion interventions that address the specific security and interaction needs of infants, as distinct from older children.
The First Touch Program pulls together key elements from attachment, health promotion, strengths-based and relationship-based theories into a coherent, simple program model that can be applied in diverse clinical, community and social settings.
The First Touch Program utilises evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies with the aim of supporting and promoting the development of healthy, secure attachment relationships between parents and infants. Activities in the First Touch Program involve a mix of infant massage, use of sensitive/ responsive touch, voice, singing, pacing, eye-gazing, movement and other interactions. These activities are structured in such a way to help parents recognise and sensitively respond to their own baby’s cues and communication, and to support optimal serve-and-return interactions.
You can teach the First Touch Program to new parents
You can adapt the First Touch Program to teach infant massage in other settings
You can use the principles to enhance other interventions
A large number of our graduates go on to use their qualification by delivering the full, five session First Touch Program to families. Many deliver this program in private practice, working flexible hours for themselves and offering groups open to the public.
Other graduates go on to deliver the First Touch Program in their place of employment (such as hospitals, parent groups, and community centres).
An increasing number of graduates are being approached by health and community services to deliver the full First Touch Program on a contract basis.
Some of our students are employed in specialised settings providing complex care to families with significant needs – such as NICU, mother-baby units, and mental illness treatment services. Many of our students with professional backgrounds use this training to gain an overview and a grounding in the use of high-quality cue-based infant massage education. They then go on to adapt and modify the program to the specific and complex needs of the families they support.
For example, some of the Child Health Nurses who do this training, adapt and include elements of the First Touch Program as part of parents groups. Some of our infant mental health specialist students use some approaches from the First Touch Program to support early interactions in the perinatal mental health and neonatal intensive care settings, alongside other interventions.
Not all of our graduates teach infant massage directly, but instead incorporate some ideas and elements from the First Touch program into the range of interventions they already use to help families.
For example, some of our students who are NICU Nurses use the teaching, facilitation and observation methods from the First Touch Program as part of their NIDCAP approach to supporting families in neonatal intensive care. Some of our Occupational Therapist students use the First Touch Program principles for supporting sensory-based interaction to support older children with sensory-based developmental delays.
All of these are legitimate ways in which your training with us can be used.However, it is important to note that this training course focuses on providing you with the skills you need to deliver the full First Touch Program,in its entirety, to parents with young babies. Any way in which you adapt and modify the program will depend on your experience, existing qualifications,skills, work roles, scope of practice and restrictions…and of course the needs of the babies and parents you work with.
Can I work for myself?
Yes, you can use this qualification to move into private practice. In fact, approximately 65% of our graduates go on to set up their own practice, offering the First Touch Program to families in the community. It can be extremely rewarding to work for yourself, set your own hours, and to support parents in a positive and empowering way at the same time.
Is it hard to run your own practice?
If you decide to set up your own practice, there are many rewards: including being able to work flexible hours and being able to focus on work that inspires you…and the parents you support. However, it is important to be realistic that to set up your practice, you will also need to dedicate a lot of time, attention and effort: particularly as you are starting out. Generally speaking you should allow 12 – 24 months to build up your practice, profile and reputation. You may also need to undertake activities such as learning how to manage your website, setting up your business processes, and building your networks.
How much can I charge?
If you are working in private practice, you will need to charge a fee that covers the costs of running your practice and that includes a fair living wage for yourself. We recommend that the Health Educators Award is a good guide for how much you should “take home” from your classes after all your expenses: approximately $35 – $50 per hour.
Based on this figure, most of our educators in private practice charge between $185 – $235 per family to attend the five-session First Touch Program.
Does Baby in Mind offer employment?
No. We are primarily a training organisation, and only occasionally deliver the First Touch Program within ourselves – usually as part of research or other funded projects. We rarely employ graduates except on these types of special projects.
How will I find parents?
Whether you are intending to work for yourself, or deliver the First Touch Program in your place of employment, you will need to give some consideration to how to best engage parents in your program. This will depend on many factors, including the needs of the parents you support as well as the style and type of services you offer.
During your training, we introduce you to some methods you can use to begin develop your parent engagement approaches, in a way that is relevant to your individual circumstances.
Following your training, Baby in Mind also provides additional supports such as linking parents with educators in their local area. However, our experience is that educators who invest their own time and effort into their promotional activities, have the best success in engaging parents.
Is there much demand for parent educators to teach infant massage?
If you are looking for employment to teach the First Touch Program, rather than working in private practice, the opportunities available to you will depend on many different circumstances. While many organisations are now recognising the importance of having educators who have obtained a nationally recognised qualification, most organisations that deliver infant massage programs prefer to employ parent educators with other skills as well and who can provide a range of services (infant massage, play groups, etc).
If the opportunities for employment in your area are limited, you may like to consider providing the First Touch Program on a contract/ consultancy basis to local organisations. Baby in Mind is able to provide advice and information for graduates who are interested in this option.
