Research on Prenatal Massage

I'd like to highlight some of the most recent and encouraging research coming out of Tiffany Field's Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami in Florida. In the September/October issue of Alternative Therapies, a peer-reviewed journal, her article "Pregnancy and Labor Alternative Therapy Research" details many studies that used massage therapy, yoga, and many other modalities to help preterm and laboring women.

Here are the summaries of her findings with preterm women:

Study 1) After receiving weekly massage women reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, leg pain and back pain than before they began receiving massage. Researchers measured lower cortisol levels (a key predictor of premature delivery).

Study 2) Pregnant women diagnosed with depression received 60 minute massages from Licensed Massage Therapists twice a week. Again, the findings showed reduced depression, anxiety, and cortisol levels. Interestingly, they found a large drop in fetal movement, which has been found in excess in mothers with depression. However the most important measurement was premature delivery: the control group measured at 11% verses the massage therapy group at 0%!

I must also mention that Dr. Field tested yoga's effects during pregnancy. The participating women followed a daily yoga practice starting at 20 weeks (about 5 months) to labor. They found lower levels of pregnancy-induced hypertension and incidences of preterm labor, and with that more babies were born at a healthy weight.

The results of the mid-labor studies next week!