Infant Massage and Maternal Mental Health: What Does the Research Tell Us?
At Bee Happy Babies, we talk a lot about the benefits of infant massage for babies — better sleep, improved digestion, support for neurological development, and that wonderful deepening of the parent-baby bond. But in honour of World Maternal Mental Health Day, we want to shine a light on something that matters just as much: what infant massage does for mums.
The research in this area has been growing steadily over the past two decades, and the findings are genuinely exciting. Here's what the evidence says.
The Scale of the Problem
Postnatal depression (PND) affects around 1 in 7 new mothers, with anxiety disorders affecting a similar number. These aren't just difficult feelings that pass — they can have lasting effects on a mother's wellbeing, her relationship with her baby, and her baby's development. And yet, many mothers remain unsupported, either because they don't reach out or because services are not able to reach them.
This is exactly why accessible, community-based interventions matter so much. And infant massage shows a lot of promise.
What the Research Shows
A Landmark Systematic Review (2023)
One of the most comprehensive pieces of evidence we have comes from Geary, Grealish and Bright (2023), published in PLOS ONE. Their systematic review searched five major academic databases and analysed eight studies involving 521 mothers. The findings were clear: women who practised mother-led infant massage showed a reduction in symptoms of postnatal depression, improved mother-infant interactions, and improved self-efficacy — that crucial sense of confidence in their own ability to parent. The authors also highlighted that infant massage may reduce anxiety and stress, improve maternal sleep quality, reduce feelings of guilt, and improve a mother's comfort with physical contact with her baby.
The Founding Study (2001)
This wasn't the first research to point in this direction. Over 20 years ago, Onozawa and colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry in London conducted a randomised controlled trial with 34 mothers diagnosed with postnatal depression. Those who attended weekly infant massage classes alongside a support group showed significantly better improvements in mother-infant interaction than those in the support group alone. At the time, it was a groundbreaking finding — that something as gentle and accessible as infant massage could improve the quality of the mother-baby relationship in ways that treating depression alone could not.
That study sparked two decades of further research, and the picture it painted has only been strengthened since.
Reducing Anxiety in Mothers of Premature Babies
Mothers of preterm babies face some of the highest rates of anxiety and depression of any group of new parents. A study by Feijó and colleagues (2006) found that mothers who actively massaged their preterm infants in the NICU had lower anxiety levels after the session compared to mothers who simply observed. A later quasi-experimental study by Afand et al. (2017) specifically measuring state anxiety found that infant massage had a significant positive effect on mothers of preterm babies prior to hospital discharge, and recommended it as a routine mental health support strategy. A broader scoping review (Smith et al., 2023) concluded that maternally-administered infant massage may have a moderate to large effect on maternal perceived stress and depressive symptoms in this group.
Better Sleep, Better Mood
Sleep deprivation is one of the biggest contributors to postnatal anxiety and low mood. Two RCTs by Mindell and colleagues (2009 and 2018) — including one with 405 mothers — found that a consistent bedtime routine incorporating infant massage improved maternal sleep quality and maternal mood. If a mum is sleeping better because her baby is sleeping better, the ripple effects on her mental health are significant.
Growing Confidence as a Parent
One of the outcomes we hear about most from the healthcare professionals and families we work with is confidence — and the research backs this up. A longitudinal study by Castilho-Weinert et al. (2017) followed 194 mother-baby pairs from birth to 12 months. Mothers who participated in regular infant massage sessions were better adapted to motherhood, had greater confidence in their abilities, and reported higher parenting satisfaction than those in the control group. A more recent RCT (Gürol and Polat, 2023) found that online infant massage training significantly improved maternal attachment scores. And a 2023 study of mothers with colicky babies found that maternal functioning improved most significantly in the massage group compared to kangaroo care or standard care.
What This Means in Practice
The research isn't suggesting that baby massage replaces clinical care for postnatal depression or anxiety. But it does make a compelling case that baby massage is a meaningful, evidence-based addition to the support toolkit — particularly because it:
Is accessible and low-cost
Can be delivered in community settings by trained healthcare professionals
Benefits both mum and baby simultaneously
Builds parental confidence and strengthens the parent-baby relationship
Has a very low barrier to engagement for families
A 2022 systematic review concluded that a 10-minute, home-based infant massage practice for at least four weeks is advisable for supporting maternal depression within the first five months postpartum (Lin et al., 2022). That's a remarkably simple, achievable recommendation.
A Note on the Evidence
As with any growing area of research, there are limitations to acknowledge. Many studies are small, use different massage protocols, and measure outcomes in different ways. The results are not uniformly consistent across every study. But the direction of travel is clear — and as the 2023 systematic review put it, promoting infant massage within healthcare services could support a more proactive approach to perinatal mental health, with benefits for both mothers and their babies.
Want to Learn More?
At Bee Happy Babies, all of our courses are grounded in the latest evidence and taught by a paediatric physiotherapist. Whether you're a healthcare professional who wants to integrate baby massage into your practice or a parent who wants to get started at home, we're here to support you.
👉 Explore our CPD-certified Instructor Training 👉 Learn baby massage at home with our parent course