The effect of massage on childbirth satisfaction: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To examine the effects of massage on childbirth satisfaction in women with a healthy single fetus. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, databases in English and Persian (PubMed, Cochrane Li-brary, Embase, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of science, SID, Magiran) were systematically searched until April 28, 2022. The risk of bias for each study was assessed using Cochran's handbook and meta-analysis was per-formed using RevMan 5.3 software and the quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Results: A total of 2286 articles were found after searching the relevant databases; among them 1319, 931, and 36 articles were screened by reviewing their titles, abstracts, and full texts, respectively. Finally, 6 articles with a sample size of 615 participants were included in this systematic review. The results of a meta-analysis on dichotomous data (OR: 4.95, 95% CI: 1.86-13.17, two trials, 110 women) and another meta-analysis on continuous data (SMD: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.20-1.65, three trials, 260 women) showed that massage had a statistically significant effect on improving childbirth satisfaction. Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis indicated that massage significantly improved labor satisfaction in the intervention group compared to the control group. Researchers are suggested to carry out well-designed clinical trials, use reliable tools such as the Labor Agentry Scale and Mackey Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale (MCSRS) to assess the effect of massage on childbirth satisfaction, and report side effects of massage in the participants as a separate outcome in future studies.