Peer-reviewed article
Women's experiences of massage during childbearing: A Swedish qualitative interview study.
Claesson Karhunen A, Henricson M, Knez R, Bäckström C ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study explores Swedish women's experiences of receiving massage during pregnancy and childbirth through interviews with 12 participants. The research found that massage promoted relaxation, pain relief, emotional well-being, and strengthened connections with partners and unborn children. However, massage also triggered vulnerability and recalled bodily memories that required respectful handling. The study concludes massage is a valuable complementary therapy for maternity care when boundaries are respected.
Key points
- Massage promoted present-moment awareness, trust and safety during childbearing
- Massage relieved pain and stress and strengthened connection with one's own body
- Massage deepened closeness to both partner and unborn child
- Massage was associated with vulnerability and recall of bodily memories requiring respect for boundaries
- Massage is not routinely offered by Swedish midwives despite documented benefits
Limitations
This study focuses on adult women's experiences during pregnancy and childbirth, not children's well-being outcomes. The research does not evaluate effects on newborn health, child development, or child welfare.
Abstract
Objective Massage during childbearing has been shown to benefit women's health and well-being, such as reducing pain and stress and enhancing satisfaction with the labour experience. Despite these documented benefits, massage is not routinely offered as a complementary method by midwives within standard maternity care in Sweden, leaving women's lived experiences of massage in this context unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to explore women's experiences of massage during childbearing. Methods The research was conducted as a qualitative study using an inductive approach. Semi-structured interviews with 12 women in Sweden were carried out, and data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Analysis of the data yielded one overall theme-seen, heard and touched-and three categories: being mentally present in the body, a vulnerability needed to be respected and sharing experiences. Massage promoted present-moment awareness, trust and safety and relieved pain and stress. It also strengthened the connection with one's own body and deepened closeness to both partner and unborn child. However, it was associated with vulnerability and the recall of bodily memories. Conclusion Massage during childbearing is a supportive practice that integrates physical and emotional well-being with mental recovery, making women feel seen, heard and touched. For optimal benefits and positive experiences, massage must be provided with respect to boundaries. This is particularly important because it may evoke sensitive memories, which involve a vulnerability that needs to be respected. Massage is a valuable complementary method alongside maternity care.