Massage with Lavender Alleviates Colic

Reprinted from:  Massage Magazine (posted 3/27/2012)

Massage therapy isn't just for grownups; infants benefit from the relaxing effects of touch as well.
New research shows massage therapy performed with lavender essential oil is effective at diminishing colic in infants.
Colic is evidenced by frequent, high-pitched crying, and up to 25 percent of babies experience colic for a few weeks or months after being born, according to the Mayo Clinic, although the cause is unknown.
The research was carried out on a group of 40 infants between 2 and 6 weeks of age with a gestational age of 38-42 weeks and normal development and growth, according to an abstract published on www.pubmed.gov.
All the infants exhibited the signs of colic, and infants in the treatment group received abdominal

massage by their mothers using lavender oil while those in the control group did not receive an intervention, according to the abstract. "The infants in both control and treatment groups were monitored once a week by the researchers, in total five times," the abstract noted. "The effect of the massage was measured in terms of changes in the length of time the infants cried per week."
The research was conducted by investigators at Pamukkale and Ege Universities, in Turkey, and will be published in the International Journal of Nursing Practice, published by Wiley-Blackwell.