Hands-on: The Massage Table

This is huge. The University of Miami Medical School has found that massage therapy benefits pregnant women with major depression and their infants. Twelve weeks of twice-weekly touch therapy reduced depression and blood cortisol levels (a sign of stress) in the women both during and immediately after pregnancy. Considering that post-partum depression is a risk even for those in excellent mental health, massage could be considered essential for all mothers-to-be. In addition, the subjects' newborns had lower cortisol levels and performed better on neonatal assessment tests than those in the sans-massage control group. What's good for mom can be great for baby.

In Other News:

Changing Lives
During four deployments in the middle east, the "hardest time of her life," Navy pilot Stacie Rine relied on massage therapy to manage stress. Now that she's out of the service, she's opened two Florida massage studios to make the sanity-saving benefits available to others. When you discover something amazing, you just have to share.

Now That's a Stimulus Program
Linda Clifford, a professional massage therapist in Illinois, has inspired her community by offering free therapy to the recently unemployed.