Touch & Massage in Pregnancy Effects Our Entire Health & Our Baby
As a massage therapist I’m always informing pregnant ladies how important touch is to our entire health, our growing baby & our body. By our entire health I mean our 12 systems.
Touch & its therapeutic benefits filter back through history to biblical times & ancient Chinese philosophies. It’s our natural instinct to touch an area on our body that is tender or aching. Touch is healing. With all the right added settings like salt lamps, aromatherapy, warm towels, soft relaxing music & a nurturing hand, your pregnancy massage will take you to another place where you & bub can rejuvenate on a cellular level leaving the treatment room feeling completely bliss-ed out & totally happy.
When we are pregnant our bodies, as incredible as they are, are working overtime to help grow our babies & support our changing posture. Massage is known to improve our circulation & increase blood flow to our hearts therefore increasing the distribution of oxygen throughout our body & to our baby.
Pregnancy is an exciting time but can also cultivate fear leaving our nervous system & digestion struggling. Touch & massage improve our mood & promote a deep sleep, something all pregnant mums need. Other common pregnancy ailments that massage can assist with are, sciatica, aching neck & shoulders, leg cramps & swelling of the hands & feet, joint pain , and muscle stiffness from skeletal & ligament changes.
Pregnancy Arthritis is also very common & uncomfortable. Having treated clients lately with great results proves how important touch & massage is during pregnancy. Touch releases built up lactic acid in our muscles, lactic acid is muscular fluid that crystallises when we don’t get regular massage or exercise to allow the body to release it. Drinking plenty of water daily also releases lactic acid from our muscles.
Touch stimulates the release of endorphin’s for the body to use as natural anaesthesia during pregnancy. In HypnoBirthing we teach couples techniques of touch and massage by the partner to regularly stimulate the release of endorphins, so when bub says its time to be received by you & your partner, the endorphins are easily accessed. Having a massage throughout pregnancy, and close to your due time, can really help assist natures wonderful release of hormones.
Massage increases blood & lymph circulation keeping you healthy & balanced.
The Post natal period is as important if not more so for our recovery. Touch has been used to relieve back discomfort after labour, preventing a decline in our moods & supporting us to have a higher coping mechanism for all the demands newborns bring. Touch is de -stressing on our busy mind. Soothing to our soul & balancing on our entire Body.
I highly recommend it to all expecting mums & new mums. To find a Pregnancy Massage specialist in your area, click on our Supportive Providers List to book yourself into a massage today!
Written by Meaghan Amor
Meaghan is one of our wonderful HypnoBirthing Practitioners on the Gold Coast of Qld. Meaghan is a pregnancy massage specialist and Doula for over 20 years. She runs a business called A Place Called Birth on the Southern End of the Gold Coast.
Visit Meaghan’s Website: http://www.aplacecalledbirth.com.au
