Baby massage relieved her postnatal depression. Now she teaches it - South China Morning Post

[Sam Evans]

Baby movement classes were a lifesaver for Hong Kong mum Jen Cooper. Literally.



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A teacher with 10 years’ experience in the UK and mainland China, Cooper was living in rural Scotland in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns when she gave birth to her daughter.

“Everything was shut. There were no cafes, there was no support, there was no way of leaving the house for several months. So it was kind of a recipe for mental health issues,” she says.

Taking up baby massage helped Jen Cooper overcome severe postnatal depression. Photo: Edmond So

“My daughter was very much a wanted baby and I felt a huge wave of emotion, but then nothing. The doctors wanted to hospitalise me but my husband begged them not to, so they offered an alternative.”



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That alternative was baby massage, a tradition practised by cultures around the world for millennia. It involves stimulating different parts of a baby’s body to promote healthy joints, better sleep, parent-baby bonding and more.