ABHAYANGA- MANEUVER FOR SUKHPRASAVA

Abstract

Abhyang /Mardan (Massage) used to be one of the  widely used labor management practice by doulas, midwives  and traditional birth attendants for comforting and reassuring  the patient in labor, since the time immemorial, to relieve  

them of pain and fatigue. In recent years, with more  emphasis on hospital setting based labor& delivery and  increased use of various oxytocic and analgesic drugs as  gold standard practice in the labor management, this non 

pharmacologic treatment disappeared. Abhyanga is a time  tested art and science of comforting the pain and fatigue and  

has been enlisted as one the labor management practice in Bṛhat-Trayī. Acharya Charak in  Sharir sthana categorically mentioned its application with body sites. It is mentioned to help in  

the descent of the fetus and ease the parturition. Abhyanga is mentioned to make tissues pliable  and soft thereby increasing the tissue compliance and helps in vayu anuloman. 

There is no dearth of scientific evidence which validate ayurveda’s claims of  effectiveness of massage or abhyang as a non-pharmacologic measure to ease the labor and  delivery. Many scientific studies vouch for analgesic, anxiolytic, stress relieving, oxytocic  effects of massage / abhyanga, resulting into the easy vaginal delivery with lesser complications  to both mother and child in a more natural way only aiding the physiologic process of  parturition.This paper purports to review and validate the benefits of abhyanga in  commencement of Sukhprasava in the light of the available scientific evidence and fill the  research gap as there are very limited studies available in this niche area of ayurveda which can  change the direction of Sukhprasava.