Pregnancy, Mindfulness, and Massage

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