Alternative Therapies

Massage therapy, reiki and shiatsu may enhance breastfeeding and reduce stress

In a move that could change how many women recoup from pregnancy, Hallmark Health Corp., the largest independent health care system in Massachusetts, has launched new alternative therapy services for new moms and their infants.

Through massage therapy, reiki, shiatsu and foot reflexology, Hallmark Health says it can help new moms enhance breastfeeding, deal with stress, increase muscle flexibility, improve circulation and reduce muscle pain.

There are benefits for newborns too. Hallmark Health officials say massage therapy improves sleeping patterns, enhances bonding, reduced heart rates and stress hormones, strengthens respiration and may relieve colic, gas and constipation in infants.

"State-of-the-art health care for maternity patients doesn’t always require high-tech solutions," said Christine Candio, director of Women’s and Children’s Services for Hallmark Health. "After nine months of physical and hormonal changes, topped off by the stress of labor and delivery, alternative therapies can produce many health benefits for pregnant women, new mothers and their newborns."

Shiatsu combines aspects of massage and acupuncture without using traditional acupuncture needles. Reiki is a technique used to improve health by balancing a person’s energy system, and foot reflexology is based on the premise that the bottom of the foot can provide stimulation that helps restore balance and improves healing.

Hallmark Health hospitals handle about 2,300 births a year. Women who give birth at a Hallmark hospital are now offered post-partum alternative therapies. They can also take classes in infant massage techniques.

"These all-natural, alternative therapies are designed to compliment the expert medical care patients receive from the physician or midwife," Candio said. "This is a new dimension of health care that we believe will become increasingly popular."

Despite Hallmark Health’s claims that alternative therapies can help new moms deal with stress, other research shows breastfeeding alone helps moms handle stress.

Earlier this year, researchers from the University of North Carolina found that breastfeeding moms may cope better with stress than moms who bottle-feed.

The researchers found nursing moms had higher levels of oxytcocin, a hormone that triggers the release of milk during breastfeeding and also has effects on the brain areas that deal with emotion and stress responses.