Pregnancy, Mindfulness, and Massage

Pregnancy Massage and Mindfulness Study for Tobacco Smoking Women

This trial will examine the contribution of massage therapy and mindfulness to tobacco-smoking women in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Massage therapy may be a viable approach to decrease stress during pregnancy that may in turn reduce tobacco consumption. Massage therapy may not be sufficient as a stand-alone approach, and may be better suited partnered with a cessation approach that targets another mechanism of addiction, craving. Therefore, participants (N=60) will be enrolled in the Craving to Quit® tobacco cessation program, designed by researchers at Yale, which employs a mindfulness-based approach to train participants to recognize and bring cravings into their conscious awareness. Each mother will be randomly assigned to a bi-weekly massage intervention (n=30) or control (n=30) group. Participants in the intervention group will receive two prenatal massages a week for a three-week period.

Inclusion Criteria:

• currently pregnant in third trimester
• singleton pregnancy
• aged 18 years or older
• women smoked before their pregnancy
• women who currently smoke at least 5 cigarettes per day at enrollment
• women need access to a smartphone
• women expressing an interest in learning skills to help decrease tobacco-smoking

Exclusion Criteria:

• incapable of giving informed consent
• insufficient English fluency
• participating in other smoking cessation programs
• evidencing severe psychiatric symptoms