ArticleMaternal health, neonatology and perinatology2023
Benefits of maternally-administered infant massage for mothers of hospitalized preterm infants: a scoping review.
Article in Maternal health, neonatology and perinatology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Newborn Massage Training on Maternal Attachment and Postpartum Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial.Nursing & health sciences · 2025Trial
- Effect of tactile-kinesthetic stimulation on breastfeeding performance among preterm neonates in a neonatal intensive care unit.Maternal health, neonatology and perinatology · 2026Article
- The state of infant massage use in neonatal intensive care units.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Financial incentives for family members of hospitalized neonates for improving family presence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Article
- Mothers' experience of infant massage in child health care: A qualitative interview study.Nursing open · 2024Article
- Parent and Therapist Perceptions of the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Benefits of a Weekly Therapist-Led Massage Program for Extremely Preterm Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesInfant massage (IM) is a well-studied, safe intervention known to benefit infants born preterm. Less is known about the benefits of maternally-administrated infant massage for mothers of preterm infants who often experience increased rates of anxiety and depression in their infants' first year of life. This scoping review summarizes the extent, nature, and type of evidence linking IM and parent-centered outcomes.
methodsThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) protocol was followed using three databases: PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL. Thirteen manuscripts evaluating 11 separate study cohorts met pre-specified inclusion criteria.
resultsSix primary topics related to the influence of infant massage on parent outcomes emerged: 1) anxiety, 2) perceived stress, 3) depressive symptoms, 4) maternal-infant interaction, 5) maternal satisfaction, and 6) maternal competence. Emerging evidence supports that infant massage, when administered by mothers, benefits mothers of preterm infants by reducing anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms and improving maternal-infant interactions in the short-term, but there is limited evidence to support its effectiveness on these outcomes in longer periods of follow-up. Based on effect size calculations in small study cohorts, maternally-administered IM may have a moderate to large effect size on maternal perceived stress and depressive symptoms.
conclusionsMaternally-administered IM may benefit mothers of preterm infants by reducing anxiety, stress, depressive symptoms, and by improving maternal-infant interactions in the short-term. Additional research with larger cohorts and robust design is needed to understand the potential relationship between IM and parental outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.