The Holistic Coach

Pregnancy and postpartum massage

A woman's body goes through tremendous changes during pregnancy, when rapid weight gain causes a change in her center of gravity and her posture. As her abdomen grows, the curve of her lower back increases and her knees rotate out-wards.

These changes put extra strain on the muscles of the hips and lower back. After the first 22 weeks of pregnancy pressure on deep blood vessels are restricted, due to the growing baby, reducing circulation to you and your baby.

Because of these changes, pain tends to develop in the muscles of the neck and back and in load-bearing joints in the hips. Big benefits from receiving prenatal massage include reduced edema (swelling) and pain associated with pregnancy. But many of massage's most powerful effects come with the relief it brings from anxiety, stress and depression caused by pregnancy's hormonal changes

Massage during pregnancy is therapeutic bodywork which focuses on the special needs of the mother-to-be as her body goes through the dramatic changes of the childbirth experience. It is a fast-growing field that has attracted the interest of labor and delivery nurses, nurse-midwives, childbirth educators and obstetricians. Massage therapy enhances the function of muscles and joints, improves circulation and general body tone, and relieves mental and physical fatigue.

Studies also have credited prenatal massage with relief from fatigue, headaches, leg pain and cramps, constipation, nausea and indigestion. It also helps keep skin supple to help prevent stretch marks, strengthens muscles in preparation for labor and delivery, helps control blood pressure, relieves pain associated with pressure on the sciatic nerve in the buttocks and back of leg, allows for deeper breathing, enhances self-image, maintains posture and body balance and strengthens the immune system.