July 8, 2022

By Courtney Collen, for SiouxFalls.Business

A wellness spa for infants will be the first of its kind in the Sioux Falls area.

Sioux Falls natives Laura Hanson and daughter Liz started Your Nurtured Baby in April as the first South Dakota-based infant wellness company serving babies and parents in the state and beyond.

The pair are both Certified Educators of Infant Massage, trained in CPR, first aid and newborn care.

Laura Hanson, a mom of four, said it was her 19 month-old daughter Mara — born with Down syndrome and a heart defect — who ignited her passion and inspired their venture.

At 3 months old, Mara entered heart failure, requiring a feeding tube and open-heart surgery.

“One night before surgery, I was massaging her feet while scrolling social media and found some posts on the benefits of infant massage as it related to muscle tone and feeding,” Hanson said. “I sent the information to my husband, who is a Sioux Falls firefighter, and we started looking into it.”

While at Mayo Clinic for Mara’s surgery, the Hansons met with an infant massage educator and learned about hand placement for their intubated baby, which she said immediately led to improved vitals, among other positive results.

“From there, I knew we had to get this out there,” she said. “There isn’t anything like this in South Dakota.”

In addition to their education, working with clients virtually and in the home, they’re taking it one step further with a brick-and-mortar infant wellness studio they plan to open in early September along 85th Street west of Western Avenue.

The ‘baby spa’ or infant wellness studio concept is a rarity across the country with only two nationwide, Hanson said.

The owner of Float Baby in Houston was featured on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in 2017. Metta Baby in Chicago opened in 2019.

Your Nurtured Baby clients can expect to learn hands-on techniques to support their infant’s development, water movement, massage education and newborn care training, including CPR and baby basics for dads, couples and more.

The company has an existing online market with a small selection of retail products available and will expand into the south Sioux Falls storefront, continuing to offer in-person and virtual education.

If you’re wondering more about the benefits of infant massage, the website says it can help with any physical discomforts and promotes bonding, relaxation and stimulation.

“It’s a niche market, but we want it to be available to families who want to learn more,” she said. “We’re really excited to bring this to South Dakota.”