Massage & Pregnancy
Bodywork techniques and exercises are beneficial in all stages of pregnancy.
Avoiding to 'reinvent the wheel', I have taken the following directly from the
website www.wellmother.org, as I can
hardly add to such a good description. This site is highly recommended as a
source for women in pregnancy.
Benefits of bodywork in pregnancy
There are many potential benefits of bodywork for both mother and baby.
Mother
to be
1. Complementary care for support for physical changes eg bodywork for
headaches rather than medication, strategies for working with common complaints
such as puffy legs, varicose veins, back or shoulder tension.
2. Relaxation.
3.
A focus on positive aspects of pregnancy such as the connection with the baby,
her changing body and emotions.
4. A time fears or concerns or fears can be
voiced.
5. Continuity of support from seeing the same bodyworker through the
pregnancy who may be at the birth and then continue to work with her postnatally.
6. A space in which:
• Breathing and relaxation techniques can support the woman
to relax and tune into her body, baby and feelings
• Exercises can be shown which
can support the physical changes of pregnancy and be useful for birth
preparation ie stretches to alleviate leg cramps, forward leaning to relieve
back ache and encourage foetal positioning
•
Postural awareness can be encouraged
so that the physical changes can be better integrated
•
The partner and other
children can be involved in learning massage techniques and other self care
strategies. This will help encourage communication between the couple and family
and facilitate pre natal bonding with the baby.
7. The partner can receive
bodywork and be supported in their role
Benefits for the baby
1. A calm, relaxed
environment is likely to be of benefit for the baby as well as the mother
2.
Helps to encourage mother/baby connection/bonding
3. May help encourage optimal fetal positioning
Benefits of work preparing for labour and during labour
Benefits for woman and partner:
offers tools to support the woman
• to tune into
her body and learn to pace herself and prepare for labour physically and
emotionally
• to be more aware of her baby
• to trust in birth and increase her
confidence that she can have a positive birth experience
• to help her examine her
attitudes, needs, and hopes for her birthing experience
• to provide strategies
for working with pain
• to include her partner by offering practical strategies
for them to be involved during labour
Benefits for baby
• may help the baby get
in good position for labour (optimal foetal position)
• if the woman is more
relaxed it will tend to create a more relaxing environment for the baby
• helps
support pre-natal bonding between the parents and their baby
Potential benefits
may include:
•
shorter labour,
decreased need for caesarean deliveries, forceps and
vacuum extraction, oxytocin augmentation, and analgesia.
l• ess difficult and
painful labours
• reductions in anxiety scores, positive feelings about the birth
experience, and increased rates of breastfeeding initiation.
• postpartum benefits
include decreased symptoms of depression, improved self-esteem, exclusive
breastfeeding, and sensitivity of the woman to her child's needs
Benefits of
postnatal work
Benefits for mother and partner
•
Helps promote postnatal recovery,
facilitating the restoration of pre-pregnancy physiology e.g. by supporting
abdominal and pelvic floor toning, relieving back and shoulder aches, improving
circulation and lymphatic flow, supporting energy flows May help prevent and
provide support in cases of postnatal depression
• Touch may help in the birthing
recovery process by helping relieve stress and trauma, especially if the birth
experience differed from the woman’s expectations. It may also help promote
physical recovery and support healing from the effects of any strains or medical
interventions experienced during birth.
• Helps promote a positive relationship
with her partner and baby: the partner can be involved in providing bodywork for
mother and baby. The partner could also receive bodywork to support them in
their adjustment to parenthood.
• Provides support for the emotional demands of
early mothering
• Provides a relaxed environment
• Helps promote sleep, giving space
for rest, easing fatigue
• Offers support for breastfeeding
Benefits for baby
• Can
offer a space for the mother to be with the baby without other demands
• Offers
support for bonding and feeding
• Emotional development
Long term implications
• Supports the family unit in making the transitions
• Helps lays foundations to
support the long term emotional and physical health of mother, father and baby