Massage Techniques for Childbirth
by Linda Kimber
Background
Throughout the 17 years that I worked as a community midwife at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, I witnessed many changes in attitude and approach. During the 1970s it was common for doctors and midwives to take absolute control over childbearing women, leaving many women feeling disempowered and very dissatisfied with their experiences. Groups such as the NCT evolved in response and actively challenged this type of care,[4],[5] emphasising the normality of childbirth.
During the 1990s alternative and complementary therapies began to gain popularity. Books and courses became available on such topics as massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, homoeopathy and acupuncture.[6],[7] There was a shift towards acceptance of complementary therapies, both by the users and the providers of health services. Guidance on the use of complementary therapies is given in the Midwife’s Code of Practice, and their use is to be based upon a sound knowledge and appropriate training.[8]
Leg massage enables a directional influence on breathing as well as eye-to-eye
contact between the woman and her partner
Massage is one such complementary therapy. It is a form of touch, and as such is an important form of communication.
When performed in a positive and conscious way it can provide an active role for a support person. In investigating the physiological changes associated with touch, two small studies are of relevance.
The first looked at the effects of massage on 11 preterm infants, and indicated that, while pain results in an increase of cortisol concentrations, the opposite occurs in response to massage.[9]
The second study shows the effects of connective tissue massage and suggests that it results in a rise in beta endorphins.[10]
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