The primary assessment was by video recording
interaction between mother and baby [2]. The baby
sits in a baby chair and the mother is asked to play
with him or her for 5 min. The recording is later
scored for a number of factors, such as maternal
intrusiveness and mother–baby interaction. This
method has been well validated by other
researchers. This assessment was carried out at the
first session and again at the end of the trial. The
scoring of the videotapes was checked by an
experienced practitioner, blind to the mother’s
group. In addition the mothers filled in the EPDS at
their first and last sessions.
The EPDS scores showed that while the depression
of control mothers who attended the support
group improved over the period, the improvement
of the massage group was significantly greater