Massage with Oil Has More Positive Effects on Normal Infants

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Sixty one-month-old normal infants were randomly assigned to a massage group with oil and a massage group without oil. Massage had a soothing/calming influence on the infants, particularly when given with oil. The infants who received massage with oil were less active, showed fewer stress behaviors and head averting, and their saliva cortisol levels decreased more. In addition, vagal activity increased more following massage with oil versus massage without oil. The use of massage with infants is as old as the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) in China.1 Infant massage also has strong historical roots in Ayurvedic medicine in India around 1800 B.C.2 At least two volumes have been written on infant massage techniques and anecdotal accounts of its therapeutic benefits for various infant problems including colic and sleep problems.2,3 However, very little empirical research has been conducted to document the benefits of massage for infants except for research on infants at risk due to a variety of conditions. In preterm infants, for example, massage therapy facilitated weight gain and shortened the hospital stay by 6 days, yielding a cost savings of approximately $3,000 per infant.4-5 The infants, who were also more socially responsive following massage therapy, were continuing to show a weight advantage along with a mental and motor development advantage at the end of the first year.6 Other high-risk groups that have significantly benefitted from massage therapy include 1) preterm infants exposed to cocaine in utero, who gained more weight and showed better motor performance7; 2) preterm infants with HIV exposure whose weight and development were positively affected8; 3) infants of depressed mothers who also gained more weight and developed better sleeping patterns9; and 4) neglected and abused infants who became less touch aversive and more responsive to caregivers.10 Thus, different groups of high-risk infants have benefitted in several ways. The question of whether normal infants can also benefit from massage therapy was the focus of this study. Although therapists report that massage reduces irritability, enhances sleep and improves parent-infant relationships, no systematic studies have been conducted with normal infants. Another purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of oil enhanced the positive effects of massage. Therapists have anecdotally reported that massaging infants with oil is more effective than massaging without oil. However, this claim was also anecdotal. Our previous studies and those in the literature had provided massage therapy without oil. METHOD Subjects Sixty, one-month-old healthy, full-term infants (N = 30 females) were recruited from a university hospital approximately one day after they were delivered. Mothers of full-term, healthy infants were read the informed consent and, following their willingness to consent, were randomly assigned to one of two groups using a random numbers table. The two groups were a massage with oil group and a massage without oil group. The mothers averaged 25.3 years (R = 15-38), and their infants averaged 1.0 month (R = 3-6 weeks). Mothers were low income (M = 4.4 on the Hollingshead two factor index), and their ethnic distribution was 49% African-American, 49% Hispanic and 2% Asian-American. The two groups did not differ on these demographic factors. Procedures Massage Therapy. Each infant was massaged for 15 minutes between naptimes in a laboratory that is furnished like a living room. The mother, who was present during the massage procedure, was asked to remove the infant's clothing except the diaper. The infant was placed on a cotton blanket on top of an infant massage mat. The massage therapist (the same therapist for all infants) began by stroking the infant's face along both sides. Johnson and Johnson baby oil was applied (in the case of the oil massage) with long, gentle strokes from hip to foot, stroking the ankle with the hands wrapped around the lower leg, gently squeezing and twisting in a wringing motion. …