The Benefits of Prenatal Massage:
Can a Mama-to-be really find relaxation and relief?! Let’s find out!
Pregnancy is often depicted as a joyful nine months but the physical reality is there are a lot of things that are happening with your body, surprisingly a lot of these things can be aided with massage!
There is an extensive body of research that firmly supports massage therapy’s many advantages for pregnant women which run the gamete from reducing discomfort, anxiety, depression to shortens labor.
The list can go on and on but here is a short list of a few of the benefits of prenatal massage:
Massage can help with the structural changes going on in the body ( which I feel like is one of the most important benefits, there are so many things happing with your spine in such a short amount of time, and even shorter after labor, so this make massage vitally important!)
-Better sleep
-Reduces edema
-Improve circulation
-Reduces joint pain
-Reduces back pain
-Reduces muscle muscle tension
and headaches
-Helps with Hip pain
-Can reduce sciatica pain
-Reduces calf cramps
– Can help shorten labor
-Reduce insomnia
-Morning sickness
-Heartburn
Morning sickness:
Much evidence indicates massage reduces this highly common issue says Susan Salvo, PH.D
It can help with improvement of nerve pain:
Sciatica nerve pain happens with a lot of women in the late pregnancy stage the uterus rest on the muscles of the pelvic floor and lower back the pressure of the uterus spreads tension and muscles of the upper and lower leg causing them to swell and put pressure on there by nerves massage therapy addresses the inflamed nerves by helping to release tension on nearby muscles.
Hormone regulation:
Studies done in the past 10 years have shown that hormone levels associated with relaxation and stress are significantly altered leading to mood regulation and improvement of cardiovascular health.
Precautions for prenatal massage?
As with any therapeutic approach to pregnancy wellness women should discuss massage with their prenatal care provider the best way is to work together with your knowledgeable professionals.
Seeking a massage therapist?
Make sure that your massage therapist is a certified prenatal massage therapist, a certified therapist knows how to address a specific pregnancy needs and sensitive areas of the body.
With a ever changing body in a very quick period of time the low back is thrust forward creating a very large lordotic curve the structure of your body needs a bit of structural massage to help keep the muscle in the right placement. This is why its so important to get a postpartum massage as well it is trying to go back to normal even quicker than it got there structure massage can help it along the way! Help your body during these changes fell the best you can!
Charity Smith, LMT is a guest blogger, She is the owner of Legacy Massage, & is passionate about Prenatal Massage as well as well as structural Massage, which go hand in hand ! She is from UT and moved to KC in 2015 and has been married to her amazing husband for 6 years! We love hiking and Kayaking in our spare time!
Full Circle Yoga KC is family centered yoga studio in Midtown Kansas City specializing in Aerial Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Prenatal Yoga, Baby Yoga, and more.
