Sleep disturbance and fatigue are common complaints during pregnancy and postpartum.1 Pregnancy is considered as a stressful experience which is associated with extensive physical and mental changes.2

Massage and aromatherapy have the potential to reduce stress and fatigue among women during pregnancy and postpartum.

Massage involves the manual manipulation of soft body tissues (muscle, connective tissue, tendons, and ligaments) to enhance health and wellbeing. It is often used to relieve pain and for stress reduction. Massage therapy during pregnancy can reduce anxiety and relieve muscle aches and joint pains.3

A study assessed the effect of therapeutic massage on relieving pregnancy discomforts. In all, 150 pregnant women were included in the study. The sample was divided randomly into two groups - 75 pregnant women received massage (massage group) while remaining 75 women did not (no massage group). There were statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding pregnancy discomforts such as headache, backache, muscle cramp, sleep disturbance and anxiety. Therapeutic massage was reported to be very effective in relieving pregnancy discomforts.3

A study explored the effect of counseling and sole reflexology on fatigue in pregnant women. Group A received counseling and reflexology, group B received reflexology and group C served as control group. Groups A and B exhibited a significant decrease in the mean score of fatigue severity after the intervention. A significant difference was observed between the control and experimental groups in terms of fatigue severity after the intervention.2

Erdogan et al4 determined the effect of low back massage on perceived birth pain and delivery and noted that lower back massage has a significant impact on reducing labor pain and increasing the satisfaction with birth. Massage intervention can thus be employed for decreasing pain, reducing delivery time and increasing satisfaction with birth experience.4 A review revealed that massage, warm pack and thermal manual methods could have a role in reducing pain, reducing length of labor and improving womens sense of control and emotional experience of labor.5

A study assessed the effects of back massage to reduce lower back pain in active phase of first stage of labor. Back massage was found to have a significant effect in reducing back pain in the intrapartum period.6

Aromatherapy involves the use of highly concentrated essential oils or essences distilled from plants in order to make use of their therapeutic properties. A study evaluated the effect of aromatherapy massage using lavender oil on the level of pain and anxiety during labor among primigravida women.7 The aromatherapy massage with lavender oil was shown to reduce pain and anxiety during labor. It could also decrease labor duration. Effati-Daryani et al1 evaluated the role of lavender cream and footbath on sleep quality and fatigue in pregnancy and postpartum. The global sleep quality score post-intervention in pregnancy and postpartum were significantly lower in the lavender and footbath and the lavender cream only groups. Fatigue was significantly improved in both intervention groups at the 6th week postpartum. Thus, lavender cream, with or without footbath, was found to improve sleep quality in pregnancy and postpartum.

Lee and Ko8 determined the effectiveness of a back massage intervention in relieving lower back pain in postpartum women. After 5 days of intervention, the experimental group experienced significantly less lower back pain in comparison with the control group (2.97 ± 1.71 vs. 4.43 ± 1.77). Back massage therapy can effectively reduce lower back pain during the first postpartum month.

In an evaluation of the effects of meridian acupressure massage on body composition, edema, stress, and fatigue in postpartum women, the experimental group had a significantly larger decrease in measures of body composition, edema, total subjective stress, psychological stress, and subjective fatigue, in comparison with the control group.9 Foot reflexology massage has been shown to relieve fatigue, stress, and depression among postpartum women.10 Slow-stroke back massage has been shown to be a potential method to reduce anxiety levels among primiparous women during the first postpartum day.11 Aroma hand treatment has been found to promote relaxation in mothers in their early postpartum period.12 Yet another study revealed that aroma treatments significantly improve relaxation and reduce fatigue for mothers in the early puerperal period.13

Therefore, there is ample evidence to suggest a potential role of massage and aromatherapy in relieving pain, stress and fatigue among women during pregnancy as well as postpartum.

References

1. Effati-Daryani F, Mohammad-Alizadeh-Charandabi S, Mirghafourvand M, et al. Effect of Lavender cream with or without footbath on sleep quality and fatigue in pregnancy and postpartum: a randomized controlled trial. Women Health. 2018 May 22:1-13.
2. Shobeiri F, Manoucheri B, Parsa P, Roshanaei G. Effects of Counselling and Sole Reflexology on Fatigue in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Clin Diagn Res. 2017 Jun; 11(6): QC01–QC04.
3. El-Hosary EA, Soliman HFA, El-Homosy SM. Effect of Therapeutic Massage on Relieving Pregnancy Discomforts. IOSR Journal of Nursing a nd Health Science 2016;5(4 Ver. II):57-64.
4. Erdogan SU, Yanikkerem E, Goker A. Effects of low back massage on perceived birth pain and satisfaction. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 2017;28:169-175.
5. Smith CA, Levett KM, Collins CT, Jones L. Massage, reflexology and other manual methods for pain management in labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Feb 15;(2):CD009290.
6. Hutagaol HS, Saragih HS. The Effect of Back Massage on Lower Back Pain in Intrapartum. Jurnal Ilmiah PANNMED 2017;11(3):163-166.
7. Lamadah SM, Nomani I. The Effect of Aromatherapy Massage Using Lavender Oil on the Level of Pain and Anxiety During Labour Among Primigravida Women. American Journal of Nursing Science 2016;5(2):37-44.
8. Lee HJ, Ko YL. Back massage intervention for relieving lower back pain in puerperal women: A randomized control trial study. Int J Nurs Pract. 2015 May;21 Suppl 2:32-7.
9. Jung GS, Choi IR, Kang HY, Choi EY. Effects of Meridian Acupressure Massage on Body Composition, Edema, Stress, and Fatigue in Postpartum Women. J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Oct;23(10):787-793.
10. Choi MS, Lee EJ. Effects of Foot-Reflexology Massage on Fatigue, Stress and Postpartum Depression in Postpartum Women. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2015 Aug;45(4):587-594.
11. Jahdi F, Mehrabadi M, Mortazavi F, Haghani H. The Effect of Slow-Stroke Back Massage on the Anxiety Levels of Iranian Women on the First Postpartum Day. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2016 Aug; 18(8): e34270.
12. Asazawa K, Kato Y, Koinuma R, et al. Effectiveness of Aromatherapy Treatment in Alleviating Fatigue and Promoting Relaxation of Mothers during the Early Postpartum Period. Open Journal of Nursing 2018;8:196-209.
13. Asazawa K, Kato Y, Yamaguchi A, Inoue A. The Effect of Aromatherapy Treatment on Fatigue and Relaxation for Mothers during the Early Puerperal Period in Japan: A Pilot Study. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. 2017 Oct;5(4):365-375.