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SPAS' NEW MESSAGE: BRING THE BABY, TOO

When Seval Oz Ozveren and her husband decided they needed some long-overdue pampering a year ago, they checked into Las Ventanas al Paraiso, a resort and spa in Los Cabos, Mexico, and spent the week indulging in hot-stone massages and a desert purification treatment -- with their six-month-old in tow.

"We wanted to take the child to a place where we could have spa treatments and five-star meals and not feel guilty about having our baby," said Oz Ozveren, 42, a technology financier.

It used to be that spas shunned children, believing that relaxation and the sound of a squalling infant in the cabana next door were pretty much mutually exclusive. But these days, a handful of spas are going to great lengths to become baby- and new-mother friendly, adding amenities like expensive strollers and organic baby shampoos, as well as services ranging from postnatal massages to child care.

"What's new is that there are any baby programs at all," said Susie Ellis, president of Spa Finder Inc., a New York-based spa travel and marketing company, "because we did not see any of that five years ago." Ms. Ellis said her company has noticed that the number of spas that welcome babies has increased in the last three years. In response to repeated requests, Spa Finder recently added a new Mommy and Baby category to its online spa guide, which allows visitors to search for a spa based on personal interests like Pilates or mineral springs.

Of course, there are reasons that infants and new mothers aren't as ubiquitous as say, steamed fish, at most spas.

From food that is too low-calorie for a breast-feeding mother to trying to squeeze treatments around a baby's demands, spas are not really intended for youngsters. And the task of trying to juggle the wants of both the baby brigade and those who have come to escape their own children, isn't always easy. Becoming Mom, a spa in Mason, Ohio, specializes in new mothers, but they are discouraged from bringing infants along. "It would change the spa environment," said Dawn Bierschwal, the owner. "A new mom needs time to herself, too."
Still, more parents are showing up at spas with baby in arms. Stacey Hine, 35, recently took her baby, then 18 months old, to Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, an Arizona spa. In her room, she found baby-care products and what she described as "the kind of crib you would want to buy for your home." Ms. Hine, who lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., said that she and her husband took turns getting massages and dined at an early hour, "not at 8 o'clock when all the chic honeymooners are out."

Most spa managers think the trend has to do with the rising ages of new parents. The National Center for Health Statistics, a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the number of births to women in their early 40s nearly doubled between 1990 and 2002, jumping from 48,607 to 95,788. Older parents tend to be further along in their careers, which means they have more money to spend on luxury retreats, and tend to look at vacations as a time to bond with their infants. "There just seems to be a lot of mature adults who are having and bringing babies to high-end properties," said Kathy Massarand, director for sales and marketing of Sanctuary.

Then there's the ever-increasing competition in the spa industry. Although revenues have more than doubled since 1999 to US$11.2-billion in 2003, the International Spa Association said, there has also been a similar increase in the number of spas in the United States, with about 12,000 open at last count. With more spas for travellers to choose from, some have been driven to carve out a niche.

Many spa-industry watchers say that the baby-friendly trend started in the United States two years ago, when the Greenhouse Spa in Texas began offering its now twice-a-year Baby and Me week. For US$3,850, new mothers can take their infants to a post-natal yoga class, get a daily 50-minute Swedish massage and three European facials and listen to lectures about children's health and development. All the while, a nanny service looks after the baby.

Now other spas are taking their own baby steps: Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain recently invested in three US$730 Bugaboo Frog Strollers, along with Frette linen crib sheets, Kashwere blankets and caps and Mustela baby skincare products for parents who want to bring their children along. The Vail Cascade Resort & Spa, which has seen a 15% increase in its nursery and child-care revenue this year, has a mother-and-baby yoga class.

Of course, one mother's treat can be another guest's wrecked vacation. In an effort to keep clients without children happy, spas work hard to segregate the two groups. At the Greenhouse, babies are welcome only during the two special weeks each year, and Sanctuary encourages guests with small children to book the more private mountain casitas instead of the suites that wrap around the resort's spa facilities. At Las Ventanas, three of the five pools are off limits to babies and children. "We try to graciously separate the experience," Carole Sullivan, spa director at Las Ventanas, said.