Massage therapy is known to benefit people in varying medical as well as stressful conditions.1 Pregnancy and postpartum are among those. Pregnancy and postpartum periods can put significant physical and emotional burden on women. Both during pregnancy and in the weeks and months following the birth of a baby, it is normal for a woman to feel emotional and exhausted.2

More and more pregnant women are resorting to complementary and alternative therapeutic interventions.3 Massage therapy can very well alleviate stress. Field and colleagues have shown in numerous studies that therapeutic massage has a beneficial effect on the overall health of a woman during pregnancy and beyond.1,4-7 A review of the effects of massage therapy across studies on depression, pain syndrome studies, research on auto-immune conditions, immune studies (including HIV and breast cancer), and studies on the reduction of stress on the job, the stress of aging, and pregnancy stress, noted significant decreases in cortisol levels, and increases in serotonin and dopamine.1 Pregnant women receiving therapeutic massage have been shown to have higher dopamine and serotonin levels and lower levels of cortisol and norepinephrine, besides having better neonatal outcomes.4 Massage therapy reduces anxiety, improves mood, improves sleep and reduces back pain in pregnant women.5 Pregnant women given massage therapy showed reduced depression by the end of the therapy period, and reduced depression and cortisol levels during the postpartum period in a study.6

Therapeutic massage is thus associated with decreased stress, reduced anxiety, improved mood, improved sleep and reduced back and leg pain, reduced depression, and anger and reduced labor pain and shorter labor as compared to pregnant women not receiving massage therapy.

Likewise, postpartum therapeutic massage has diverse benefits such as hormone regulation, reduction in swelling, improved sleep and improved breastfeeding.8 Massage therapy exerts a significant impact on postpartum maternal sleep quality.9 Back massage during the postpartum period can potentially reduce noradrenalin levels and increase the levels of oxytocin and prolactin. Back massage in the postpartum period can therefore increase mother’s milk.10 Postpartum massage also protects against postpartum depression. It can reduce anxiety and stress level, and improve quality of sleep and mental status among mothers in the postpartum period.11 Aromatherapy‐massage has been found to be an effective intervention for postpartum mothers to improve physical and mental status and to facilitate mother‐infant interaction.12 A study revealed that foot reflexology massage is an effective intervention to relieve fatigue, stress, and depression in postpartum women.13

Therapeutic massage thus has proven benefits for a woman both during pregnancy and during the postpartum period and can therefore be included as a therapeutic intervention in the care of women during pregnancy and postpartum.

References

1. Field T, Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M, et al. Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy. Int J Neurosci. 2005 Oct;115(10):1397-413.
2. Emotional changes during pregnancy and following childbirth. Available from: https://www.nhft.nhs.uk/download.cfm?doc=docm93jijm4n1351.pdf&ver=2068.
3. Field T. Pregnancy and labor massage. Expert Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Mar; 5(2): 177–181.
4. Field T, Diego MA, Hernandez-Reif M, et al. Massage therapy effects on depressed pregnant women. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2004 Jun;25(2):115-22.
5. Field T, Hemandez-Reif M, Hart S, et al. Pregnant women benefit from massage therapy. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology 1999;20(1).
6. Field T, Diego M, Hernandez-Reif M, et al. Pregnancy massage reduces prematurity, low birthweight and postpartum depression. Infant Behav Dev. 2009 Dec;32(4):454-60.
7. Field T, Figueiredo B, Hemandez-Reif M, et al. Massage therapy reduces pain in pregnant women, alleviates prenatal depression in both parents and improves their relationships. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 2008;12(2):146-150.
8. Available from: http://americanpregnancy.org/first-year-of-life/postpartum-massage/.
9. Owais S, Chow CHT, Furtado M, et al. Non-pharmacological interventions for improving postpartum maternal sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews 2018 Jan 31.
10. Kosova F, Demirtaş Z, Çalım S, Sapmaz L. The Effect on Lactation of Back Massage Performed in the Early Postpartum Period. J Basic Appl Res. 2016;2(2):113-8.
11. Traditional postnatal care in restoring women’s physical and mental health. Available from: http://www.moh.gov.my/penerbitan/mymahtas/TCM%20Postnatal%20care_for%20upload%20Version3.pdf.
12. Imura M, Misao H, Ushijima H. The Psychological Effects of Aromatherapy‐Massage in Healthy Postpartum Mothers. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health 2006;51(2):e21-e27.
13. Choi MS, Lee EJ. Effects of Foot-Reflexology Massage on Fatigue, Stress and Postpartum Depression in Postpartum Women.