from Massage Magazine

The study, “The effect of slow-stroke back massage on the anxiety levels of Iranian women on the first postpartum day,” involved 100 primiparous women, or first-time mothers, with normal deliveries. The women, whose average age was 22, were randomly assigned to either the massage group or the control group.

On the first postpartum day, the mothers in the massage group received 20 minutes of slow-stroke back massage. In the control group, one of the researchers stayed with each new mother in a quiet room for a period of 20 minutes.

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