Infant Massage and Quality of Early Mother–Infant Interactions: Are There Associations with Maternal Psychological Wellbeing, Marital Quality, and Social Support?

Abstract

Infant massage programs have proved to be effective in enhancing post-natal development of highly risk infants, such as preterm newborns and drug or HIV exposed children. Less studies have focused on the role of infant massage in supporting the co-construction of early adult-child relationships. In line with this lack of literature, the present paper reports on a pilot study aimed at investigating longitudinally the quality of mother-child interactions, with specific reference to emotional availability (EA), in a group of mother-child pairs involved in infant massage classes. Moreover, associations between mother-child EA, maternal wellbeing, marital adjustment, and social support were also investigated, with the hypothesis to find a link between low maternal distress, high couple satisfaction and high perceived support and interactions of better quality in the dyads. The study involved 20 mothers and their children, aged between 2 and 7 months, who participated to infant massage classes. The assessment took place at three stages: at the beginning of massage course, at the end of it and at 1-month follow-up. At the first stage of assessment self-report questionnaires were administered to examine the presence of maternal psychiatric symptoms (SCL-90-R), perceived social support (MSPSS), and marital adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale); dyadic interactions were observed and rated with the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008) at each stage of data collection. The results showed a significant improvement in the quality of mother-child interactions, between the first and the last evaluation, parallel to the unfolding of the massage program, highlighting a general increase in maternal and child's EA. The presence of maternal psychological distress resulted associated with less optimal mother-child emotional exchanges, while the hypothesis regarding couple satisfaction and social support influence were not confirmed. These preliminary results, if replicated, seem to sustain the usefulness of infant massage and the importance of focusing on early mother-infant interactions.

Mothers’ experiences learning and performing infant massage—A qualitative study

“…A mixed-method study with several aims and measures found infant massage to improve mother-child interaction (Porreca, Parolin, Bozza, Freato, & Simonelli, 2016). However, few studies describe how mothers experience baby massage, and several research articles have concluded that these questions should be explored further (Bennett et al, 2013;Garmy, 2012;Kristensen et al, 2015).…”

Mother’s Ability to Massage her Baby with Technical Guidance from Medical Personnel: A Systematic Review

“…In addition, an emotionally intense "guided" approach to babies can reassure mothers, who often perceive newborns as fragile and afraid to touch them, making them more confident when holding their babies. From this perspective, infant massage is a valuable resource in terms of primary prevention, that is, in terms of interventions aimed at maintaining and enhancing existing resources in the family system, as it can be offered as enriching support also in the absence of adult psychopathology [32]. Parents all over the world have been massaging their babies for centuries.…”

Massage Therapy Research Review

“…Examples of the benefits of mother-delivered massage therapy include improved mother-infant interactions and better sleep in the mothers and infants. For example, in a study on infant massage classes, mother-infant interactions were observed and were coded for emotional availability of both the mother and their 2-7-month-old infants (Porreca, Parolin, Bozza, Freato & Simonelli, 2017). Emotinal availability increased for both the mothers and their infants which contributed to their improved motherinfant interactions.…”