Armaghane Danesh Bimonthly Journal (Apr 2024)
Investigating the Effect of Infant Massage by the Mother on Maternal Postpartum Depression
Abstract
Background & aim: Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in different societies. Postpartum depression occurs in the first 4 weeks after childbirth. Touching and massaging the infant is part of the high interaction in the care model that improves the physical and psychological connection between mother and child. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate and determine the effect of infant massage by the mother on maternal depression. Methods: The present semi-experimental study was conducted in 2017. The population of study consisted of 70 mothers with healthy infants, without addictions, without history of mental illnesses, who had mild to moderate depression, and were randomly divided into two intervention and control groups, the control group received routine care. A standard the Edinburgh Depression questionnaire was used before and after the intervention (4 weeks and 8 weeks after the intervention). In this study, field massage technique was used for intervention. The mother massaged the infant for 15 minutes every day for 8 weeks. The collected data were analyzed using t-test, repeated measures analysis, and chi-square test. Results: The data of 70 mothers were analyzed. The two groups had no statistically significant differences in the variables of age, occupation and literacy level of the mother, the number of living children and the sex of the infant. The average postpartum depression score in the experimental group was 10.57±1.59 before the intervention, 5.91±1.09 four weeks after the intervention, and 3.68±1.07 eight weeks after the intervention. The depression score in the control group was 10.60±1.40 before the intervention, 9.20±1.51 four weeks after the intervention, and 8.42±3.59 eight weeks after the intervention. In terms of the depression score before the intervention, no statistically significant difference was observed between the experimental and control groups, but at four weeks and 8 weeks after the intervention, a statistically significant difference was observed between the experimental and control groups. Conclusion: Infant massage can be effective on mother's depression and is recommended as a low-risk, low-cost and time-saving method for mothers in the postpartum period.
