To browse Academia. Self-reported leg pain, back pain, depression, anxiety and anger decreased more for the massaged pregnant women than for the control group women. In addition, the partners who massaged the pregnant women versus the control group partners reported less depressed mood, anxiety and anger across the course of the massage therapy period. Finally, scores on a relationship questionnaire improved more for both the women and the partners in the massage group. These data suggest that not only mood states but also relationships improve mutually when depressed pregnant women are massaged by their partners.
International journal of research in ayurveda and pharmacy, Log in with Facebook Log in with Google. Remember me on this computer. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. Need an account? Click here to sign up. Massage therapy reduces pain in pregnant women, alleviates prenatal depression in both parents and improves their relationships Barbara Figueiredo.
The massages in that study were provided by the partners putative fathers who might also be expected to become less stressed by giving the massages, although the men were not assessed in that study. In another study that exclusively assessed the partners who provided the pregnancy massages, the men experienced improved mood across the treatment period Latifses et al.
Certainly the relationship between the pregnant couple would be affected by both partners, and the relationship, in turn, would impact the level of distress in the two partners Bernazzani et al.
Pregnancy has been noted to be the most stressful period for men undergoing the transition to parenthood Codon et al. Paternal and maternal depressed mood and partner relationships are then noted to affect postpartum adjustment to parenthood Florsheim et al.
