Massage
can relieve the pain of childbirth, according to a
study at an Oxfordshire maternity hospital.
The results of the small-scale study suggest regular
massage by the woman's partner before and during labour
can substantially reduce the need for painkilling
drugs.
The Horton Hospital in Banbury also suggests massage
"encourages a sense of calm", with the babies
of the 35 women on the study being more placid and
alert at birth.
The hospital is now looking for money to carry out
more in-depth research.
Each of the couples on the study was asked to carry
out the massage programme for three evenings a week,
for around 30 minutes.
Medical staff at the hospital say they had grown
particularly concerned at the level of interventions
in childbirth, involving drugs or surgery.
Last year only 47.9% of women in the UK experienced
a completely normal birth.
Delivery suite manager Anne Haines said: "This
programme supports our maternity unit's philosophy
of active childbirth, encouraging drug-free labours
that create conditions for natural hormonal impulses
to occur."
Pain relieving injections were used by 11% of the
women in the study, comp |
