Massage and Maternal Anxiety (MAMA) pilot study.

INTERVENTION: The purpose of this feasibility study is to explore the potential of partner delivered relaxation massage maternal anxiety during pregnancy. Partner‐delivered relaxation massage program Women allocated to this program, will be invited with their partner to attend a 2 hour workshop about mental health and relaxation massage techniques. The workshop will take place at Monash University’s Peninsula campus and be conducted by an experienced midwife and a qualified massage therapist. Following the massage workshop, women and their partners will be asked to undertake twice‐weekly 20 minute relaxation massages at home until birth. Women will be given an instructional DVD and a manual about the massage techniques. Women will be invited to attend refresher training as required. Following the workshop, women will be asked to complete a short monthly online questionnaire which will assess anxiety levels. Women will also be asked to complete a weekly online log book, and participate in a face‐to‐face or telephone interview 4‐6 weeks after the birth of their baby. CONDITION: Perinatal anxiety PRIMARY OUTCOME: Acceptability ; Acceptability will be measured by compliance with the massage instructions, using a weekly log and an interview with the woman/partner dyad 4‐6 weeks following birth. Feasibility: ; Feasibility of the recruitment and retention strategies will be measured by the rate of participants who complete the online questionnaire. ; ; SECONDARY OUTCOME: Adverse birth outcomes assessed via Birth Outcome Summary (BOS) data Discomforts of pregnancy assessed via self‐report of conditions in their monthly questionnaire. ; Perinatal anxiety as assessed via the State domain of State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI‐S) (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983). ; ; Stress as assessed via the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983). ; INCLUSION CRITERIA: Pregnant women who have moderate anxiety as measured by the Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Index (STAI); a low risk pregnancy: are between 24 and 32 gestation at the start of the intervention; aged 18 years or older and able to read and speak English; who commit to attending the workshop with a partner, and if allocated to the massage intervention group, commit undertaking home practice of relaxation massage at least twice a week for the remainder of their pregnancy.