Coping with pain
Specific comments made by the women about how massage helped them to cope with the pain of labour included:
“Very useful as a means of pain relief. Used for the first ten hours with breathing techniques as the sole means of relief. It proved very good and I feel it would have been possible to rely on massage, had I not failed to progress, for the entire labour” (nullipara).
“In some ways (and this is very difficult to describe in words), the massage focused my attention on the pain, but at the same time gave me a way of coping with it. Previous to starting the massage, / had been walking around, almost as though trying to walk away from the pain. The massage was a way of facing up to it” (multipara).
“Good for breathing, rhythm and a distraction from pain” (multipara).
The effects of massage techniques in combination with the breathing appear to provide a focus for women which was a distraction from the pain.
Feeling in control and reducing anxiety
The relationship between feeling anxiety, feeling in control and pain relief is sometimes difficult to tease apart, but the following quotes indicate that massage assisted some women in feeling in control of the pain of their contractions:
“It helped me concentrate on the breathing, which helped me override the pain to the best of my ability, also made me feel in control to a certain degree” (nullipara).
“I felt that the massage helped me to have more control of the pain. It also seemed to provide pain relief, as I compare contractions I went through without massage with those with the massage. I had no pain relief during my first labor and I found the massage during the second one a much more pleasant way of getting through it” (multipara).
Partners’ views on the use of massage techniques
A summary of the comments made by the partners in using the massage techniques is given below:
• Helped feeling of involvement (12 nulliparae, 7 multiparae)
• Helpful/useful (9 nulliparae,10 multiparae)
• Practical/positive contribution (7 nulliparae,1 multipara)
• Active role (7 nulliparae,1 multipara)
• Togetherness (1 nullipara)
• Rewarding (1 nullipara)
Being involved in my partner’s labor
Most partners found that using massage techniques assisted them in being involved and taking an active part in the process of labor. Some of the comments made include:
“A significant effect. During the very early stage I felt uninvolved and unable to help – a bit of a ‘spare part’. When using massage, I felt very much more involved and glad that I was clearly having some impact in assisting pain relief” (partner of nullipara).
“It enabled me to get more involved in an active way and contribute positively, to help my partner get through the contractions. If not for the massage, I would have held her hand, wiped her face, etc., all very useful, but this way I was able to help her get through the contractions directly” (partner of multipara).
Massage School Classes in Maui