Less Anxious after the first session and less leg pain after the first and last session.
An Abstract from Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology - Volume 20, 1999 - Issue 1
Pregnant women benefit from massage therapy T. Field,M. Hemandez-Reif ,S. Hart ,H. Theakston ,S. Schanberg &C. Kuhn
Pages 31-38 | Received 23 Oct 1997, Accepted 12 May 1998, Published online: 07 Jul 2009
Abstract
Twenty-six pregnant women were assigned to a massage therapy or a relaxation therapy group for 5 weeks. The therapies consisted of 20-min sessions twice a week.
Both groups reported feeling less anxious after the first session and less leg pain after the first and last session.
Only the massage therapy group, however, reported reduced anxiety, improved mood, better sleep and less back pain by the last day of the study.
In addition, urinary stress hormone levels (norepinephrine) decreased for the massage therapy group and the women had fewer complications during Labor and their infants had fewer postnatal complications (e.g., less prematurity).
link to article here : https://www.amtamassage.org/publications/massage-therapy-journal/massage-and-pregnancy-a-powerful-combination/
Other Benefits -
Greater Drops In Depression - Nausea - Anxiety - Leg Pain - Labor averaging 3 hours shorter
massage can also reduce swelling, lessen sciatic pain and ease insomnia.
“The No. 1 benefit is obviously relaxation,” says Stephen Abate
A small 2006 study in the Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences
Additional early research added even more insight into massage’s role in facilitating a healthier pregnancy. A small 2006 study in the Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences showed massage was a solid integrative treatment for severe pregnancy- related nausea and vomiting, while a 2009 study in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies on 112 pregnant women diagnosed with depression suggested those receiving psychotherapy plus massage over a six-week period experienced greater drops in depression than those getting psychotherapy alone.
Meanwhile, a 2009 study in Infant Behavior & Development also focused on pregnant women with depression, finding those undergoing massage therapy not only experienced less depression at the end of 12 weeks, but also carried that benefit into the postpartum period. And a 2010 literature review in Expert Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology showed massage therapy decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain in pregnant women, also indicating those in labor used less pain medication and had labors averaging three hours shorter than average.
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