Infant Massage with Infants with Down Syndrome
Infants with Down syndrome have compromised immune function and are sick quite often. A randomized experimental design study will be implemented to investigate whether infant massage by mothers is effective in reducing infant illness for babies with Down syndrome. The central piece of the proposed project is to test the effect of a massage training intervention on reduced infant illness, through mothers' implementation of massage with their infants. The implementation of infant massage is hypothesized to increase immune function in infants, which may mediate the effect of massage on infant illness. The implementation of infant massage is also hypothesized to decrease maternal stress and depression. Finally, the influence of various additional factors (maternal, infant, and environmental) on the success of the intervention will be explored. Fifty mothers and their 6- to 18-month old infants diagnosed with Down syndrome will be randomly assigned to a massage or rocking/singing group to be implemented daily for 3 months. All mothers will also collect daily symptoms of illness on their infants throughout the duration of the intervention. Data on maternal, infant, and environmental factors that may influence the success of the intervention in reducing infant illness
will be collected at pre and posttest.
The proposed randomized experimental design study will investigate whether infant massage reduces illness in infants diagnosed with Down syndrome. The following information will be learned from this study:
1. The potential of infant massage to reduce the incidence of illness and increase immune system functioning in infants with Down syndrome.
2. Identification of other factors that may affect the success of health promotion interventions for infants with Down syndrome, including parent psychosocial health.
3. Frequency of illness in infants with Down syndrome in Utah.
Project Assets