Massage with Oil Has More Positive Effects on Normal Infants

Sixty one-month-old normal infants were randomly assigned to a massage
group with oil and a massage group without oil. Massage had a soothing/calming influence on the infants,
particularly when given with oil. The infants who received massage with oil were less active, showed fewer
stress behaviors and head averting, and their saliva cortisol levels decreased more. In addition, vagal activity
increased more following massage with oil versus massage without oil. The use of massage with infants is as
old as the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) in China.1 Infant massage also has strong historical roots in Ayurvedic
medicine in India around 1800 B.C.2 At least two volumes have been written on infant massage techniques and
anecdotal accounts of its therapeutic benefits for various infant problems including colic and sleep problems.2,3
However, very little empirical research has been conducted to document the benefits of massage for infants
except for research on infants at risk due to a variety of conditions. In preterm infants, for example, massage
therapy facilitated weight gain and shortened the hospital stay by 6 days, yielding a cost savings of
approximately $3,000 per infant.4-5 The infants, who were also more socially responsive following massage
therapy, were continuing to show a weight advantage along with a mental and motor development advantage at
the end of the first year.6 Other high-risk groups that have significantly benefitted from massage therapy include
1) preterm infants exposed to cocaine in utero, who gained more weight and showed better motor
performance7; 2) preterm infants with HIV exposure whose weight and development were positively affected8;
3) infants of depressed mothers who also gained more weight and developed better sleeping patterns9; and 4)
neglected and abused infants who became less touch aversive and more responsive to caregivers.10 Thus,
different groups of high-risk infants have benefitted in several ways. The question of whether normal infants can
also benefit from massage therapy was the focus of this study.