All about Pre-Natal Massage
Prenatal massage might seem like a luxurious treat but it truly is a necessity throughout the birth cycle for most expectant mothers. Pregnant women experience a variety of chronic pain and discomfort throughout their pregnancy; such as back pain, hip pain, and swollen feet. Massage is one of the best way to ease these muscular aches and pains. Massage also has added health benefits for both mom and baby.
What Is Prenatal Massage?
First things first: What is prenatal massage and how does it differ from a regular Swedish massage? Prenatal massage is a Swedish Massage that is usually performed side-lying and takes into account the health concerns and symptomatology of a pregnant person throughout the entire massage. Much of the focus of prenatal massage is on the low back, gluteal muscles and hips. This area is the center of gravity in the human body and the low back and hips often become painful because of an increase of a hormone called “relaxin” that softens ligaments and joint tissues in preparation for childbirth. Because of this increased joint laxity, our muscles often pick up the slack with increased gripping to hold your joints together. In my opinion, muscles in spasm or that “grip” are the largest source of chronic back pain and muscular pain.
Prenatal massage at Vision of Tomorrow with Darcy is a great way to unwind. All of our prenatal and postnatal massage sessions are performed by licensed massage therapists with specialized certifications in prenatal and perinatal massage. This ensures you’re getting the best care to feel so much better by a massage expert!
Benefits Of Prenatal Massage NYC
There are so many benefits to getting a prenatal massage in NYC. We’ve covered the most common benefits below.
Decreased Swelling
Massage promotes and increases circulation. Because of this certain massage techniques like Manual Lymph Drainage can help to decrease swelling. Swelling in the lower legs and feet due to increased blood volume, is very common in the later stages of pregnancy. We incorporate techniques from Manual Lymph Drainage into our sessions for clients this is an issue for. We also recommend techniques like dry brushing at home to increase circulation in the legs and feet.
Pregnant women who regularly receive massages had a lower risk of developing edema. Gentle massage is the most effective for the lower legs and feet to move lymph back into the circulatory system.
Bonding with your Baby
Never underestimate the power of tender touch! Humans are touch and socially oriented. Massage increases our feel-good hormones like Oxytocin. So a massage can literally help you bond with your baby through good vibes and sharing of that hormone exchange.
Pregnant women who get this self-care are also more inclined to touch their children tenderly. Which helps develop a loving relationship, combat postpartum depression, and increases neural networks in newborns. As a result, newborns and moms receive all the advantages of prenatal Massage, NYC during those months of pregnancy and in their early days post-pregnancy.
Easier Delivery
According to studies, women who regularly receive the message during their pregnancies report shorter labors and less discomfort during labor overall. Their babies are often healthier by being less likely to be underweight or born prematurely.
Circulation is Increased
Blood Volume doubles over the course of a pregnancy so increased circulation is beneficial during those 9 months. Massage helps increase circulation and with decreased blood pooling from slow circulation. During pregnancy and the first five weeks after giving birth, the risk for blood clots increases five fold. Regular massage can help reduce these risks through circulation-boosting effects of massage.
Better Sleep
Many pregnant women have trouble getting enough sleep. Usually sleep issues are a result of rapid bodily changes. A larger belly, back problems, acid reflux, leg cramps,a sleep position that they are used to amongst other reasons.
As we talked about above, massage helps increase feel-good hormones like Oxytocin and Serotonin. Increases in Serotonin and increased relaxation from massage, help with better nighttime sleep cycles. Better sleep will also help with pain associated with pregnancy because most of the reparative work our bodies do happens at night during sleep.
Decreased Likelihood of Depression
While most people are aware of postpartum depression, few are aware that it frequently starts during pregnancy. This is often due to hormone fluxations and the stress pregnancy puts on the body. The hormonal benefits of massage and the decrease of pain from massage can help with this. Both throughout pregnancy and after giving birth, moms can benefit from this.
Back Pain Relief
The primary purpose of prenatal massage is to provide relief from chronic back pain. Our LMTS in our office that offer prenatal massage helpt to ease lower back pain from ligament and joint laxity, as well as upper and middle thoracic pain from the rib spread that happens in pregnancy. Later in pregnancy this happens primarily due to rapid weight gain and changes in body composition because the muscles have to work so much harder to support joints and increases in weight. This kind of back pain can be relieved by massage which helps to decrease back pain.
Some Tips when Seeking Prenatal Massage in NYC
Despite many spas and massage studios not seeing clients until the second trimester, massage is totally safe for mothers throughout all three trimesters when the massage is performed by a licensed massage therapist certified in prenatal massage. There are a few things to keep in mind:
While any licensed massage therapist can perform massage on pregnant clients, those certified in prenatal massage have additional training in regards to technique, health considerations, and contraindications of the mother.
Pressure and types of strokes during the session are moderated throughout pregnancy based on where you are in the birth cycle and your unique health considerations.
Some essential oils, are contraindicated in pregnancy like rosemary, oregano, peppermint, thyme, and sage. These tend to be moving and can cause unwanted muscular contractions.
Certain pressure points in your feet, around your sacrum and in your shoulders are contraindicated in pregnancy. We avoid these in our massages in our Manhattan office.
In our spa in Larchmont, we do prenatal massages sidelying. We don’t use massage tables that have a prenatal massage cut-out for the pregnant woman's belly, as suggested by the American Pregnancy Association. It puts undue stress on the fetus, applies pressure in places it shouldn’t, can cause uterine ligaments to stretch, and puts your back further into a lordosis (forward position). Lordosis or compression of the lumbar spine is exactly what we are trying to address during a prenatal massage, so it’s both counterproductive and can actually increase back pain.
If the massage makes you dizzy or queasy we suggest letting your LMT know. In addition to sidelying, we also have beds that incline. That change in position can help with both lightheadedness and things like GERD.
If you have health concerns like diabetes or high blood pressure (especially high blood pressure), it is important to get physician clearance before seeking a massage. Uncontrolled high blood pressure in anyone is a complete contraindication for massage.
We can also give you suggestions for stretching, assisted stretching or other massage related suggestions within our scope to help ease symptoms.
Conclusion
We hope that you found this article informative and that you’ll consider coming to Darcy Stockton Massage. Darcy has been certified in prenatal massage and providing licensed massage therapy to expectant mothers since 2011.
If you have any questions about our prenatal service, considerations you’d like to discuss feel free to contact us or book an appointment!