For Professionals

Many professionals who work with infants and children recognize that touch, movement, and the integration of primitive reflexes are crucial for healthy brain and body development. Early sensory and motor experiences shape lifelong learning, behavior, and emotional well-being.

The Best Beginnings Infant Massage and Movement Program gives parents research-based ways to support Baby’s brain development — helping professionals extend their care beyond the clinic.

How You Can Use Best Beginnings

Many practitioners share the Best Beginnings Program with parents as an extension of their own care plans. Others use it to educate staff or as part of prenatal or parenting classes.

Ways to collaborate

  • Refer families to the Best Beginnings course for at-home guidance

  • Integrate massage and movement education into parent workshops

  • Use the printable guides as teaching tools for postpartum visits

  • Connect with Dr. Melanie to discuss continuing-education or guest-speaking opportunities

health professional sharing the Best Beginnings Infant Massage and Movement Program with a new mom, demonstrating how parents can support Baby’s bonding and brain development through touch and play
Contact for Collaboration

About Dr. Melanie Beingessner

Dr. Melanie has spent over 25 years working with families in Airdrie (North Calgary), Alberta, integrating chiropractic care, infant massage instruction, and parent education at Blessingways Family Wellness, her multidisciplinary family clinic.

Dr. Melanie Beingessner gently adjusting a smiling baby during a chiropractic visit at Blessingways Family Wellness.

The Five Pillars of Healthy Brain Development

Illustration of the Five Pillars of Healthy Brain Development—Touch, Movement, Primitive Reflexes, Rhythm and Sound, and Sensory Play—showing how each pillar supports Baby’s growth, learning, and emotional connection

Best Beginnings is built on five interconnected pillars that reflect key areas of early neurological growth. Understanding these areas helps professionals explain to parents why touch and movement matter so deeply in Baby’s first year.

Icon of a hand symbolizing the power of touch in infant massage and bonding that supports Baby’s brain development

Touch – The Infant Massage Pillar

This is the infant-massage part of the program. Gentle, rhythmic touch provides many benefits for Baby and for the person giving the massage.

Infant massage helps to:

  • Improve bonding and secure attachment

  • Enhance sleep quality and relaxation

  • Support breathing and oxygen exchange

  • Decrease gassiness and fussiness

  • Improve digestion and bowel movements

  • Promote healthy weight gain

Each stroke and rhythm offers sensory input that strengthens Baby’s nervous system and supports early emotional regulation.

Icon of a baby in motion representing the importance of movement for strengthening Baby’s brain and body connections

Movement – Building the Brain Through the Body

Proper movement is key for brain development. This section explores how sensory input and movement work together to shape Baby’s coordination and learning.

Professionals and parents will learn about:

  • Proprioception – how Baby senses body position and movement

  • The Vestibular System – how balance and motion develop

  • The importance of tummy time and floor play

  • Specific movements that stimulate primitive reflex integration

  • Ideas for movement and play activities that enhance Baby’s development

These natural, playful movements help organize the brain for later milestones like rolling, crawling, and reading readiness.

Icon of a father lifting Baby in playful movement, symbolizing the Primitive Reflexes pillar and showing how early reflexes support coordination, strength, and brain development

Primitive Reflexes – The Foundation for Learning

Primitive reflexes are automatic movements that help Baby eat, breathe, and begin to move. Integrating these reflexes is essential for healthy brain development and body control.

This section explains how early reflexes shape Baby’s development. Professionals and parents will learn about:

  • What primitive reflexes are and why they are important

  • How reflexes integrate as Baby gains new motor skills

  • What happens when reflexes do not integrate fully

  • The eight key primitive reflexes and their roles in growth

  • Common behaviors and learning challenges linked to retained reflexes

Recognizing and supporting reflex integration helps Baby build the foundation for balance, focus, coordination, and emotional regulation.

Icon of a sound frequency wave representing the Rhythm and Sound pillar, showing how rhythm and gentle sounds calm and organize Baby’s developing brain.

Rhythm and Sound – Organizing the Brain Through Pattern

Rhythm helps Baby’s brain make sense of the world. Gentle, predictable patterns of touch, movement, and sound create a sense of safety and help organize the nervous system.

This section explores how rhythm supports communication, calm, and connection.

Professionals and parents will learn about:

  • Rhythmic touch and how it soothes Baby’s body and mind

  • Rhythmic movement that promotes balance and coordination

  • Rhythmic sounds that stimulate Baby’s auditory and language centers

  • The importance of sound for early speech and brain development

  • Simple rhythmic activities and songs to help Baby relax and fall asleep

These rhythmic experiences strengthen the bond between Baby and caregiver while laying the foundation for language, listening, and emotional regulation.

Icon of a toddler sitting at a table playing with toys, representing the Sensory Play pillar and encouraging Baby to explore textures, colors, and new experiences

Sensory Play – Learning Through the Senses

Sensory play helps Baby’s brain grow through exploration and discovery.

This section gives parents simple ways to engage Baby’s senses.

Professionals and parents will learn about:

  • The importance of sensory play for brain development

  • The five senses — touch, taste, smell, vision, and hearing

  • Why messy play and free play matter

  • How making a mess supports learning

  • Sensory experiences that can overwhelm Baby, such as loud noise or limited visual variety

Encouraging safe, varied sensory play helps Baby build curiosity, confidence, and focus.

Understanding the Link Between Early Development and Later Challenges

Professionals in many fields — medical doctors, chiropractors, optometrists, occupational therapists, teachers and early child development workers — are noticing rising numbers of children with learning and behavior challenges that often trace back to missed developmental milestones or retained primitive reflexes.

When the brain’s sensory and motor systems don’t fully mature, children may show signs such as:

Baby responding to a sudden sound with arms opening wide, demonstrating the Startle Reflex, also known as the Moro Reflex, which helps develop Baby’s sense of safety and early brain organization

Startle Reflex

  • mood changes

  • acts impulsively

  • afraid to try new things

  • trouble making friends

  • is often anxious, worried or nervous

Baby lying on their tummy and lifting their head, illustrating the Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR) that helps develop posture, head control, and body balance

Tonic Labrynthine Reflex - TLR

  • poor core strength

  • trouble with balance

  • difficulties focusing

  • clumsy or uncoordinated

  • difficulties playing ball sports

Close-up of Baby’s foot as their toes curl in response to touch, demonstrating the Plantar Reflex that helps develop Baby’s balance, walking readiness, and sensory awareness

Plantar Reflex

  • grips the floor with toes when standing

  • loose ankles that sprain easily

  • doesn’t know where is in space

  • falls often

  • sensitive feet - doesn’t like socks or shoes

Newborn turning their head toward a caregiver’s touch on the cheek, showing the Rooting Reflex that guides Baby to the breast or bottle for feeding and supports early bonding

Rooting Reflex

  • sensitivity around the mouth

  • picky eater

  • messy eater

  • ongoing thumb sucking

  • difficulties speaking

Baby lying on their back with head turned to one side and arm extended, showing the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR), which supports eye-hand coordination and early movement patterns

Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex - ATNR

  • did not crawl as a baby

  • robot-like gait

  • clumsy

  • holds a pencil too tight

  • mixes b’s and d’s when writing

Close-up of Baby’s hand grasping a caregiver’s finger, demonstrating the Palmar Grasp Reflex that builds hand strength and prepares for later fine motor skills

Palmar Grasp Reflex

  • messy handwriting

  • awkward pencil grip

  • right and left confusion

  • thumb sucking after 18 months

  • eats with hands instead of a fork or spoon

Baby on hands and knees lifting their head, showing the Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR) that prepares Baby for crawling and strengthens coordination between arms and legs

Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex - STNR

  • skipped crawling, or crawled commando-style

  • struggles with ball sports

  • slouches or leans when sitting, holds head up

  • difficulties focusing or paying attention

  • difficulty copying from the board

Caregiver gently stroking Baby’s lower back, demonstrating the Spinal Galant Reflex that helps Baby develop trunk control and supports crawling movements

Spinal Galant Reflex

  • fidgety, unable to sit still

  • trouble with focus

  • difficulties with reading

  • bedwetting past the age of 5

  • ticklish, low back is very sensitive, will squirm when back touches a chair

How many children with retained primitive reflexes
may be mistaken for having ADHD?

How Professionals Use Best Beginnings

  • For parent education: Recommend the program as a home resource to complement clinical care.

  • For workshops and classes: Integrate the movement program into prenatal or early childhood sessions.

Every component is evidence-based and easy for families to implement at home, providing continuity of care and reinforcing your clinical recommendations.

Collaborate and Learn More

Dr. Melanie works with chiropractors, health professionals, educators, and birth professionals who share her passion for early brain development.

If you would like to explore collaboration, or group access options for your clinic or organization, please contact us.

Together, we can help every baby get the Best Beginning possible.

Best Beginnings Infant Massage and Movement Program poster highlighting the benefits of touch, movement, and play for Baby’s brain development, with a QR code linking parents to the full online course