ABSTRACT
Massage is an important part of baby and infant health care in different societies. Considering specific role of massage with natural oils, we studied the effect of massage with sesame oil on infant anthropometric measurements and their sleep pattern. This clinical-trial study was performed on 150 two months healthy infants who were referred to the health care centers in Arak city. Samples were randomly divided into one of the following groups: massage with sesame oil, massage only and no massage. In sesame oil group, mothers performed massages on whole of their infant body for a period of 10 minutes, two times per day for 4 weeks. In solely massage group, the method was the same as previous group, but without oil. No massage was done in control group. Anthropometric measurements and sleep pattern were evaluated before and after the interventions and data were analyzed using Chi-square, ANOVA, Kroskal-Wallis and Post-Hoc tests. At the beginning of the study, anthropometric measurements did not show significant difference between groups. After 4 weeks, the average increase in infant weight in sesame oil, solely massage and control group were 1076.23 +/- 273.12, 965.24 +/- 310.12, 686.14 +/- 220.92, respectively [P<0.001]. Mean increased duration of sleep in massage groups was significantly higher in massage groups than control group [P<0.001]. Based on the results of this study, it seems that infant massage, particularly massage with sesame oil can lead to increased weight and improved sleep pattern. It may have positive effect on infants' heights in a longer time