HEALTH SERVICE RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
Please note: All posters will be displayed in
Salons 10-12.
FRIDAY, 10:15-11:00 AM
Baskwill A, Dryden T.
The state of the evidence: A review of the literature
for the use of massage therapy during pregnancy, labour and delivery
and infancy.
Centre for Applied Research in Health, Technology
and Education, Centennial College abaskwill@centennialcollege.ca
The purpose of this review was to investigate
the current research evident to support or oppose the use of massage
therapy (MT) during the stages of pregnancy, labour and delivery, and
infancy.
For this review, the electronic databases, specific
to health care and complementary and alternative health care were searched
from 1973 to 2005. Relevant search words were used alone and in combination
to find MT effectiveness trials specific to pregnancy, labour and delivery,
and infant massage. The search was limited to trials in English. In
total, 15 studies were included that spanned the following categories:
MT and pregnancy (3), MT and labour/delivery (3), MT and infants (9).
Although other variables were included in the
review, variables specific to improving maternal mood and level of anxiety,
decreasing pain, decreasing obstetrical complications and improving
neonatal health and development had the most significant results. All
studies involving pregnant women showed that the MT group had greater
or longer lasting improvements in maternal mood and anxiety when compared
to the control group. This finding was further supported through the
measurement of biological measures such as cortisol, dopamine and serotonin.
Subjects in the MT group experienced a decrease in the level of back
and leg pain. Women who received MT during labour and delivery reported
decreased levels of anxiety and pain compared to women who used breathing
exercises alone. When measuring obstetrical complications, the MT group
had more optimal scores then the control group(s). Premature infants
who received MT scored higher on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment
Scale and experienced greater daily weight gain.
The small number and mixed methodological quality
of studies on the effectiveness of massage therapy for maternal and
neonatal health and the absence of studies on mechanism of action, makes
drawing definitive conclusions difficult. The best available, albeit
limited, evidence at this time, supports the use of massage therapy
for pregnant women to improve maternal mood and level of anxiety, decrease
pain, decrease obstetrical complications and improve neonatal health
and development.
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