Abstract
BackgroundKnowledge of the prevailing infant care practices and their effects is important to inform practice and public programs. Infant massage is a traditional practice in India but remains less studied. This study was conducted to study the prevalence and perceptions of infant massage practices in two states of India.MethodsA total of 1497 caretakers of children under 18 months of age were interviewed in a cross-sectional study at immunisation units of medical schools in Maharashtra (MH) and Madhya Pradesh (MP) states and through home visits in villages in MH during March through August 2018.ResultsInfant massage was a prevalent practice (93.8% [95%CI: 92.4,94.9]) in both study states – 97.9%[95%CI:96.9,98.8] in MH and 85.3%[95%CI: 81.9,88.3] in MP – and the prevalence did not vary between male (94.5%) and female (93.5%) infants (p = 0.44). Massage was mostly initiated in the first week of life (82%); it is widely viewed as a traditional practice. It was common to massage the baby once daily (77%), before bathing (77%), and after feeding (57%). Massage was mostly conducted using oils (97%). In MH, preferred oils were a sesame oil-based proprietary traditional medicine oil (36%) and coconut oil (18%) while olive (29%) and mustard (20%) oils were most popular in MP. Commonly reported application techniques included gentle massage with minimal pressure, pressing (30%) and manually stretching certain joints (60%). Commonly reported perceived benefits of infant massage included increased bone strength, better sleep and growth, while no harm was perceived (95%).ConclusionInfant oil massage is a highly prevalent traditional practice in MH and MP. Clear guidance on the use of massage, choice of oil, and techniques for application is required to optimize benefits and minimize risks of this popular traditional practice.
Highlights
Knowledge of the prevailing infant care practices and their effects is important to inform practice and public programs
The objective of this paper is to address this knowledge gap based on a study in two parts of India, namely Maharashtra (MH) and Madhya Pradesh (MP)
Most of the births occurred at facilities located at district-level or more peripherally and most were in private health facilities or medical college hospitals (55%) compared to public sector facilities
Summary
Knowledge of the prevailing infant care practices and their effects is important to inform practice and public programs. Infant massage is a traditional practice in India but remains less studied. Global efforts to improve newborn and child health outcomes include interventions across the continuum of care such as prenatal care, skilled care at birth, immediate newborn care, and post-partum maternal and newborn care. Social determinants of health such as socio-economic status, education, gender, caste, race, disability, age and access to quality medical care influence infant/child health outcomes and are important underlying considerations for lasting improvements. Infant care practices tend to be region- and culture-specific and influence child health outcomes. Knowledge of the prevailing child care practices and their effects is important to inform practice and public programs [5]
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