The effects of massage therapy on weight gain and sleep behaviors in infants
Year: 2008
Type: article
Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial
Abstract: Introduction: Massage therapy for newborns and infants is used as an important care invaried customs, specially in Indian. But clinical and experimental studies have done only inrecent years. Because of few study about that over the world and no research in Iran, thisstudy, with the objects of assess the effects of massage therapy to weight gain and sleepbehavior in infants have done.Materials & Methods: This is a clinical trial study that involved 2 months aged infantswho referring to Arak city (Iran) clinics. At first, the infants topometrics sizes (weight,length, head, chest, abdomen, arm and femoral circumference) and sleep behaviors (length ofsleep in 24h, and length of night sleep) assessed and then infants divided randomly in 2groups, with and without massage. In massage group, mothers trained for doing 10 minutesrotational and continually monotonous massage used in all of the infants̓ body, twice each day(morning and night before sleep) for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, the topometrics size and sleepbehaviors were assessed again.Results: At first of the study, sex frequency and mean of weight, length and othertopometric sizes in two groups did not have statistically significant differences. After 4 weeksin massage group mean of weight gain was 965.24 ± 310.12 gram and in group withoutmassage it was 686.14 ± 220.92 gram. This was considered to be statistically significant(P<0.0001) Mean of chest circumference increased in massage group was 2.63 ± 0.82 and inwithout massage group it was 1.75 ± 0.92 centimeter that was considered to be significant(P<0.05). Length, and head circumference, increased in massage group were more thanwithout massage group, but it was not considered to be statistically significant. Mean increaseof night sleep length in massage group was 94.8 ± 28.9 minutes and in control group was 26.4± 12.7 minutes. Mean increase in 24h sleep in massage group was 61.2 ± 22.5 minutes and incontrol group it was 10.24 ± 8.3 minutes .Both of them were considered to be statisticallysignificant.Conclusion: Results from this study have shown that massage therapy could improve thesleep behaviors, weight gain and also length in infants. These positive effects on growth ofinfants may result from augmented of growth hormone release due to an increment in durationof the infants̓ night sleep.
Authors: Nasrin Rosbahany, Fereshteh Narenji
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2256435090