The effects of infant massage on weight, height, and mother-infant interaction.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to test the effects of infant massage (auditory (mother's voice), tactile/kinesthetic (massage) and visual (eye to eye contact) stimulation) on weight and height of infant and mother-infant interaction with normal infants over a period of 4 weeks.


METHODS
This study was designed as a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The experimental group infants (aged 2-6 months) participated in one of the infant massage programs at the health district center for 4 weeks. The control group (N=26) was paired with the experimental group (N=26) by matching the infant's age and sex. Infant weight, height, and mother-infant interaction were measured two times and recordings of the mother-infant interaction were done using the video equipment in a room at the health center for 10 minutes.


RESULTS
After 4 weeks of massage, there were no significant differences weight gain and height increase between the two groups. Comparison of the total scores for the mother-infant interaction between the two groups showed a significant difference (t=5.21, p=.000). There were also significant differences on maternal response (t=3.78, p=000), infant response (t=5.71, p=000) and dyadic response (t=4.05, p=000) in the mother-infant interaction between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the results of this study reassure that infant massage facilitates the mother-infant interaction for infants and mothers who give massage to their baby.
Lee
Hae Kyung
HK
Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Kangwon National University, 192-1 Whewja-dong, Chuncheon, Korea. leehk@kangwon.ac.kr
D000886:Anthropometry; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002657:Child Development; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007224:Infant Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009769:Object Attachment; D002666:Psychology, Child; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013694:Temperament; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014743:Videotape Recording