Therapeutic massage exerts beneficial effects in several medical conditions and stressful experiences.1 Women, during pregnancy and in labor, are increasingly using complementary and alternative therapeutic interventions.2 Massage therapy can relieve stress in different medical conditions.1 Field and colleagues have extensively investigated the effects of massage therapy in several studies.

In 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, significant reduction in cortisol levels, and increase in serotonin and dopamine levels were observed.1

Depressed pregnant women who were given massage therapy had lower levels of anxiety and depressed mood and less leg and back pain. They also had higher dopamine and serotonin levels and lower levels of cortisol and norepinephrine, besides having better neonatal outcomes.3 Therapeutic massage reduces anxiety, improves mood, improves sleep and reduces back pain in pregnant women. It decreases urinary stress hormone levels (norepinephrine) and is also associated with fewer complications during labor and fewer postnatal complications in infants.4

With a fall in cortisol levels with massage therapy, excessive fetal activity has been shown to decrease, and the rate of prematurity has been reported to be lower in women receiving massage therapy. A study of labor pain revealed that women receiving massage therapy experienced significantly less pain, and their labors were on average 3 h shorter with less need for medication.5

A recent study explored the effects of aromatherapy massage on womens stress and immune function during pregnancy. Fifty two healthy pregnant women were randomized to the intervention (n = 24) or control (n = 28) group. The intervention group was given 70 min of aromatherapy massage with 2% lavender essential oil every other week (10 times in total) for 20 weeks while the control group received routine prenatal care. Women in the intervention group had lower salivary cortisol and higher immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels immediately after aromatherapy massage as compared those in the control group. The pretest salivary IgA levels at 32 and 36 weeks gestational age (GA) were significantly higher than the pretest IgA at 16 weeks GA (baseline). Aromatherapy massage was thus shown to significantly decrease stress and improve immune function in pregnant women.6

Therapeutic massage has been shown to be an effective intervention for reducing discomforts related pain and can therefore be clinically recommended as an alternative, safe and affordable method of pain relief during pregnancy.7 Therapeutic massage effectively relieves stress, improves mood, improves sleep and reduces back pain, reduces anxiety and reduces discomforts commonly associated with pregnancy.

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. Field T. Pregnancy and labor massage. Expert Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Mar; 5(2): 177–181.
3. 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.
4. Field T, Hemandez-Reif M, Hart S, et al. Pregnant women benefit from massage therapy. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology 1999;20(1).
5. Field T. Pregnancy and labor massage. Expert Review of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2010;5(2):177-81.
6. Chen PJ, Chou CC, Yang L, et al. Effects of Aromatherapy Massage on Pregnant Womens Stress and Immune Function: A Longitudinal, Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Oct;23(10):778-786.
7. El-Hosary EA, Soliman HFA, El-Homosy SM. Effect of Therapeutic Massage on Relieving Pregnancy Discomforts. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science 2016;5(4 Ver. II):57-64.