Authors
Abstract
Background and purpose: Fatigue is common to pregnant women, 80% of whom consider fatigue as one of the ten health concerns. Affecting the nervous and muscular systems, massage therapy induces muscular relaxation, blood circulation and excretion of body waste including lactic acid which leads to energy release. This study is therefore conducted to investigate the effect of massage on the intensity of labor fatigue in the primipara admitted to Bentolhoda Hospital in Bojnord, Iran in 2005.
Methods and Materials: This clinical trial was conducted on 62 primiparous women (18 to 32 years old) who were candidates of natural labor. The subjects were purposively selected and randomly assigned into massage therapy and conventional caregiving. The former (32 subjects) received back or leg massage or both. But the latter (the control group) received no massage therapy. Fatigue intensity before and 30 minutes after intervention were measured and recorded by a visual scale over the three labor phases. The data were analyzed in SPSS using student t- test, paired t- test, chi-square and linear test. Results: Significant differences, across the two groups, were observed in the fatigue intensity of the latent phase and the transition phase but not in the active phase. Before and after means were statistically different in the transition phase for the massage therapy group.
Conclusion: Massage therapy reduces the fatigue intensity of latent and transition phases. As labor fatigue intensity is lightest during the transition phase, massage therapy can be applied in pregnant women, as a non- invasive and conservative procedure, in order to relieve fatigue intensity and to enhance their health and well being.
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