Article- "Common relaxation technique touches many aspects of pregnancy"

Story by Jessica Lovell (Contact)


"When Beatrice Gilbert’s first daughter was born, she arrived early. Now pregnant again, Beatrice is hoping to prevent that.

She’s part of a study at the University of Miami’s touch research institutes to see if massage can reach out and touch before a child is born.

"We have found in two studies now that we've published that we can basically reduce the premature rate to zero by having women massaged during pregnancy," said Tiffany Field, Director of Touch Research Institutes.

"It not only helps me with you know my pregnancy, it helps me with life, with having to go to work, having to you know have time for my daughter and you know with the father of my children. It helped me in more ways than i ever could have imagined," said Gilbert.

Other new discoveries: massage can boost the natural killer cells that can help women fight breast cancer. It’s also proven to be helpful in overcoming eating disorders.

"It has very strong affects on the immune system, so that people who get a good dose of touch are going to be healthier. They’re also going to be less stressed, they're also going to be less depressed because of all the chemical and physiological reactions that occur," said Field.

Another surprise, studies show the massage giver may benefit just as much as the receiver.

"I think the power of touch is definitely underestimated," said Field.

Which makes getting the word out about massage all the more rewarding.

For more infomation on the study, visit the Touch Research Institutes's website."