INTRODUCTION: Infantile colic is a common problem that affects around 20% of babies in the first months of life. However, it is often poorly understood by parents and caregivers. Its aetiology is not yet known and an effective treatment remains unidentified although studies suggests there are many techniques to reduce colic (Savino and Tarasco, 2010). Infant massage has been advised by paediatricians and nurses as one of these methods that could be more effective.
OBJECTIVES: To understand the effectiveness of massage in the infant’s colic relief.
METHODS: The Systematic Review of the Literature was performed based on the Joanna Briggs Institute® model. After delineating the scientific question based on the “PICO” model – “The effectiveness of massage in relieving colic in infants” – with the keywords infant, newborn, neonate, baby, massage, colic and their synonyms in Portuguese and English and the databases Scopus®, Web of Science® and EbscoHost® were used to identify the articles. Only articles written in Portuguese or English were included. A total of 123 articles were found. The references of these articles were analyzed and the other articles, that could eventually help to answer the scientific question, were also included in the investigation. Once the duplicates were removed, a total of 56 studies were submitted to analyses. After their submission to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 52 were eliminated and 4 were submitted to a methodological quality assessment, performed with resources available in the Joanna Briggs Institute®. The process was conducted by two independent researchers. The disagreements from the revision process were discussed with a third investigator.
RESULTS: Four studies were included: a quasi-experimental study and three randomized controlled trials. The findings do not point for the existence of consistency about the benefits of massage in infants’ colic relief. Massage can be effective when compared with rocking the
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baby and when associated with aromatherapy using lavender oil. The technique reveals itself equally efficient compared to a crib vibrator, but less efficient than sucrose solution, herbal tea and hydrolysed formula.
CONCLUSIONS: The analyses of the selected articles suggests that the findings support the use of massage to relief colic symptoms. However, further investigations about the best technique to use, how and when should be performed
