RSS Channels IndexMassage May Bring Stress Relief to Infants
Newswise — A new review of studies suggests health infants can get the same stress-relieving benefits from massage as do adults.
In nine studies analyzed for the review, infants who were massaged slept better, cried less and had lower levels of stress hormones such as cortisol than those who did not get massage therapy.
"Given the apparent effect of infant massage on stress hormones, it is not surprising to find some evidence of an effect on sleep and crying," say study authors led by Angela Underdown of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.
One of the studies suggested massage could affect the release of the hormone melatonin, "which is important in aiding infants' sleeping patterns," Underdown said.
There is also some evidence that massage can build a better relationship between infants and mothers who had postnatal depression, although more research is needed to confirm this effect, the reviewers said.
The review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.
Among the review studies, "massage also appears to have a significant effect on growth, but only where infants are deprived of normal levels of touch, such as those who live in some orphanages," Underdown said.
Infant massage is practiced by people around the world, particularly in Africa and Asia. In Western cultures, nurses in neonatal intensive care units use massage to stimulate and comfort mostly preterm infants.
The review studies included 598 normal-term infants, age six months and under. In some studies, infants were massaged only once for a few minutes. In others, infants got a daily 30-minute massage for two weeks.
Parents and others who gave the massages received different types of training in each of the studies, the reviewers found. Some learned the techniques from videotape, while others received more extensive lessons and technique tips from health care workers who visited their homes.
Miguel Angel Diego, Ph.D., a pediatric massage therapy researcher at the University of Miami's Touch Research Institute, said the effects of infant massage can also vary depending on intensity.
"It appears that massage therapy first acts by stimulating pressure receptors in the skin. We know this because we only get effects when massage is administered using a moderate amount of pressure. By moderate, I mean enough pressure to cause a slight indentation in the skin or a slight change in color," he said.
Infant massage may be beneficial "particularly in areas where infant care is deficient," but there is not enough evidence yet to recommend its widespread use, Underdown and colleagues said.
Underdown, A., et al. Massage intervention for promoting mental and physical health in infants aged under six months. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 4.
The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. Visit http://www.cochrane.org for more information.
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