A study conducted by Annelle Agren and Marie Berg,
which can be viewed by clicking here, both registered nurses, in a clinical setting, found that there were positive benefits received by women who had tactile massage during their pregnancy. The women were suffering from nausea, vomiting, and other morning sickness symptoms. The morning sickness symptoms were severe enough to be classified as a condition in themselves, called Severe Nausea and Vomiting During Pregnancy (SSNVP).
The study was conducted on women who were suffering from SNVP, who had come to feel that the condition was ruling their life. The study findings were in the form of a post-treatment interview, and the results were subjective. The results of this study indicated that tactile massage is a useful therapy for women experiencing morning sickness. As a non-pharmacological alternative, it helped the women feel more in touch with their bodies, as well as more relaxed and less enslaved to the nausea they had been experiencing.
The results of this study are very encouraging, considering that many women do not necessarily want a pharmacologic alternative because of their pregnancy. Pregnancy is a time of caution always, as the fetus is in a delicate state during the first trimester, when most women experience morning sickness. Many alternative treatments that have given good results for this condition would be welcomed for women suffering from SNVP.
Certified pre-natal massage therapists could be called upon in the medical setting to provide this type of massage to women suffering from SNVP, with good results. The knowledge of this study would likely be very useful to both obstetricians and midwives, to assist them with patients suffering from this condition. In short, massage therapy could easily be recommended and integrated into the alternative health care practices of women with SNVP to help alleviate some of their suffering.
