Prenatal massage is an excellent way for expecting mothers to take care of their bodies and promote overall health and wellbeing. Plus it feels greeeeat and can help accomplish the following:
- Reduce overall swelling: In pregnancy, the body retains more water than normal. A good prenatal massage helps expel some of these retained liquids naturally via the lymphatic system, providing relief to the mom-to-be.
- Reduce back and neck pain: As the body of the expecting mother changes to accommodate the baby, pain and discomfort will inevitably arise. Massage helps reduce many of those muscle aches.
- Increase flexibility: A great way to help increase flexibility during prenatal massages is by stretching the legs and lower back with hip opening motions. This is helpful to prepare for birth too!
- Improve posture: The body of the mom-to-be changes mostly during the last trimester and so does their posture. Massage helps loosen up those muscles that become tight due to the altered body posture.
- Improve circulation: With all the body changes and accompanying tension, it is common to experience some stagnation in the circulatory system. Massage helps things flow better and brings newly oxygenated blood to the entire body.
- Improve sleep: Prenatal massage can help expecting mothers feel more relaxed and connected to their babies. This will help them sleep better and feel calmer overall.
Massage is also very useful during the last days of pregnancy. The use of certain aromatherapy oils, as well as stimulating specific parts of the body (such as near the ankles – see pic of acupressure point SP6 below) can cause the mother to go into labor. An experienced prenatal massage therapist can use these techniques to help mothers who are trying to induce naturally and avoid an injection of pitocin (the hormone used to induce labor and strengthen uterine contractions). *Always consult with your doctor prior to requesting massage techniques to stimulate labor.
If you or someone you know is pregnant, make sure to send her our way (or give her the gift of a prenatal massage), so we can pamper her and make her and the baby both feel great! 🥰💗🤗