Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Massage therapy has been demonstrated to be effective during pregnancy.
Women who received massage therapy reported decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain. Cortisol levels decreased and, in turn, excessive fetal activity decreased, and the rate of prematurity was lower in the massage group.
In a study of labor pain, women who received massage therapy experienced significantly less pain, and their labors were on average 3 h shorter with less need for medication. An underlying mechanism we have been exploring is that these effects are mediated by increased vagal activity. This likely occurs by the stimulation of pressure receptors that are innervated by vagal afferent fibers, which ultimately project to the limbic system, including hypothalamic structures involved in autonomic nervous system regulation and cortisol secretion.
Keywords: alternative therapy, labor pain, postpartum depression, pregnancy massage, prematurity. Complementary and alternative therapies have become increasingly popular for pregnant women and women in labor. Massage therapy has been demonstrated to be effective during pregnancy in three studies by our group [ 2 - 4 ]. In the first study, therapists provided massage therapy for 20 min per week for 5 weeks [ 4 ].
The women reported decreased depression, anxiety and leg and back pain. In the second study, depressed pregnant women were massaged by their significant others over a week period using the same protocol min massages twice weekly [ 2 ]. As in the first study, significant decreases were noted in depression and anxiety, as well as cortisol levels.
