title: Therapeutic touch. A viable link to midwifery practice.
abstract: Through the use of their hands, their intelligence, and their compassion, midwives have traditionally taken a noninterventionist approach to labor and childbirth. Therapeutic Tough, known by its practitioners as simply TT, is a contemporary healing modality through which a practitioner's hands are used to facilitate healing. Midwives and practitioners of TT share an appreciation of the value of a holistic and noninterventionist approach to maintaining patient health. This article explores the potential use of TT as a tool to complement the practice of midwifery. It provides an explanation of the theories underlying TT, the history of its development, and the process involved in its practice. Additionally, the results of studies both supportive and critical of the practice of TT are analyzed. Finally, possible applications of TT to the practice of midwifery are suggested.
authors.affiliation: State University of New York at Stony Brook Nurse-Midwifery Education Program, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D019124:Therapeutic Touch