maternity treatment.
What to expect from a Maternity Massage treatment
Congratulations, you're pregnant! What an amazing stage in your life. Even if you have planned or haven't planned, it's a major shock to your body. Lots of mixed feelings and hormones are racing around inside you bringing about change. Pregnancy can bring about many fluctuations within the body especially on your mood and energy levels. A lot of my pregnancy clients feel out of sync with their bodies and this causes them to feel stressed, nervous and anxious. Massage is one way in which you can take some time out and relax. Massage therapy has been demonstrated to be effective during pregnancy. Pregnant women reported decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain from Tiffany Field, Pregnancy, and labor massage article. It has also shown that having a massage regularly can reduce labor pain and labor time.
Pregnancy massage has become widely available in many spas and salons, with a whole range of products and treatments designed especially for maternity treatments. However, I remember when I first started about ten years ago, pregnancy treatments were limited to facials, manicures, and pedicures and a lot of salons/spas wouldn't massage pregnant women. Massage therapy and bodywork are constantly advancing and much research has been done on the topic. For example, a study was done in 2013 'optimizing pain relief during pregnancy using manual therapy' and it said: "as pregnant women move into their second and third trimesters, their centers of mass shift anteriorly, causing an increase in lumbar lordosis, which causes low back pain and pelvic girdle pain. Increasing recent evidence attests to the effectiveness and safety of treating this pain using manual therapy". When carried out properly and provided the right type of techniques/treatments are used, pregnancy massage can be safe and effective.
From my perspective, I'll be writing about holistic massage and what to expect when having the treatment. I just wanted to give you some articles on massage and pregnancy, to show that it can be safe. There are a few guidelines to regard when going for a pregnancy massage.
Over your first trimester
Every woman's experience of pregnancy is different and sometimes the first trimester can be very difficult and a lot happens in this stage. Allow yourself rest and be gentle with yourself and your body these first few week. Your body will be going through a whirl wind of emotions and hormones plus there are a few risks that would possibly happen. So it would be best to wait for the first trimester to be finished. However, I have been researching this and found that there are different opinions on this. Some say you can massage in the first trimester and is perfectly safe. What I would suggest is do your own research and find out how long the therapist you're going to see is practicing. As far as I can tell a lot of insurances will only cover after the first trimester. Again it comes down to you and how your feeling within the first few weeks of your pregnancy.
Find your why
This is important so you get value for your money and time. What is it that you need to receive from the massage therapy? Do you some time to relax and your body needs some pampering or are you experiencing pain in a specific area in the body that's affecting your sleep and/or your daily activities? Holistic massage or treatment would answer the first part of the question and sports therapy, chiropter or physiotherapy would answer the latter. Also if you were practicing yoga before you got pregnant, consistently, this could help with certain discomforts too.
Consultation
Make sure your therapist does a good consultation with you before hand and voice your concerns or any issues that you are having during your pregnancy. It's important that you are as honest and give as much information as you can. This will help the therapist tailor the treatment to you and avoid any possible mistakes. There are a few issues that would contraindicate you from having the treatment done such as blot clots, recent bleeding or cramping with the last 48hours, vomiting within the last 48hours and a woman who is categorized as a high-risk pregnancy.
Sideline
Your treatment should be carried out with you lying on which ever side you what first with a pillow in between your legs. Legs can be at a 90-degree angle and you can have a pillow to hug or place under your bump. Some therapist's use pregnancy pillows and some have special pregnancy pillows to help achieve maximum comfort.
Soft pressure, really? There seems to be a difference of opinion on what pressure to use during a pregnancy massage. The thing is, the term 'deep pressure' contradicts itself. Normally when you think of deep pressure, you think of (see picture) hard, piercing, 'dig in there' pressure. However, when talking about deep in certain treatments, it's about working slowly and gradually into the muscle. The muscle softens under your hands and allows you to feel deeper layers of the muscles. I would err on the side of caution. Light to medium pressure with certain areas to be avoided or very gently massaged. Certain reflexology points need to be avoided when you are pregnant. I would recommend going to a therapist that massages pregnant woman on regular basis. How you, your body and your baby are feeling on the day will determine the pressure of the massage as well.
Essential oils?
When you are pregnant there are so many things you have to avoid and essential oils isn't necessarily one of them! I would recommend a therapist who is qualified and practicing with essential oils every day. Essential oils are powerful and should be used with care. There are some amazing blends that would definitely benefit you throughout your pregnancy. I just use carrier oils like grapeseed oil, coconut and almond oil for the pregnancy massage at the moment.
Do you have to massage my bump?
I get asked this a lot and a find some women are very protective of this area, which is totally understandable. I always ask permission at the start of the massage. Most women would pefer if I focused on areas that need a little be more work i.e lower back. I usually give them some of the oil or lotion at the end of the treatment so they can massage it on to the stomach themselves. However, if women want this area done it's absolutely fine and I use light pressure and relaxing movements.
Pregnancy massage is one of my favorite treatments to give and I love seeing my clients blossom through their pregnancy. If you have any questions or input I'd love to hear from you.
Slan
Emma
Pregnancy massage has become widely available in many spas and salons, with a whole range of products and treatments designed especially for maternity treatments. However, I remember when I first started about ten years ago, pregnancy treatments were limited to facials, manicures, and pedicures and a lot of salons/spas wouldn't massage pregnant women. Massage therapy and bodywork are constantly advancing and much research has been done on the topic. For example, a study was done in 2013 'optimizing pain relief during pregnancy using manual therapy' and it said: "as pregnant women move into their second and third trimesters, their centers of mass shift anteriorly, causing an increase in lumbar lordosis, which causes low back pain and pelvic girdle pain. Increasing recent evidence attests to the effectiveness and safety of treating this pain using manual therapy". When carried out properly and provided the right type of techniques/treatments are used, pregnancy massage can be safe and effective.
From my perspective, I'll be writing about holistic massage and what to expect when having the treatment. I just wanted to give you some articles on massage and pregnancy, to show that it can be safe. There are a few guidelines to regard when going for a pregnancy massage.
Over your first trimester
Every woman's experience of pregnancy is different and sometimes the first trimester can be very difficult and a lot happens in this stage. Allow yourself rest and be gentle with yourself and your body these first few week. Your body will be going through a whirl wind of emotions and hormones plus there are a few risks that would possibly happen. So it would be best to wait for the first trimester to be finished. However, I have been researching this and found that there are different opinions on this. Some say you can massage in the first trimester and is perfectly safe. What I would suggest is do your own research and find out how long the therapist you're going to see is practicing. As far as I can tell a lot of insurances will only cover after the first trimester. Again it comes down to you and how your feeling within the first few weeks of your pregnancy.
Find your why
This is important so you get value for your money and time. What is it that you need to receive from the massage therapy? Do you some time to relax and your body needs some pampering or are you experiencing pain in a specific area in the body that's affecting your sleep and/or your daily activities? Holistic massage or treatment would answer the first part of the question and sports therapy, chiropter or physiotherapy would answer the latter. Also if you were practicing yoga before you got pregnant, consistently, this could help with certain discomforts too.
Consultation
Make sure your therapist does a good consultation with you before hand and voice your concerns or any issues that you are having during your pregnancy. It's important that you are as honest and give as much information as you can. This will help the therapist tailor the treatment to you and avoid any possible mistakes. There are a few issues that would contraindicate you from having the treatment done such as blot clots, recent bleeding or cramping with the last 48hours, vomiting within the last 48hours and a woman who is categorized as a high-risk pregnancy.
Sideline
Your treatment should be carried out with you lying on which ever side you what first with a pillow in between your legs. Legs can be at a 90-degree angle and you can have a pillow to hug or place under your bump. Some therapist's use pregnancy pillows and some have special pregnancy pillows to help achieve maximum comfort.
Soft pressure, really? There seems to be a difference of opinion on what pressure to use during a pregnancy massage. The thing is, the term 'deep pressure' contradicts itself. Normally when you think of deep pressure, you think of (see picture) hard, piercing, 'dig in there' pressure. However, when talking about deep in certain treatments, it's about working slowly and gradually into the muscle. The muscle softens under your hands and allows you to feel deeper layers of the muscles. I would err on the side of caution. Light to medium pressure with certain areas to be avoided or very gently massaged. Certain reflexology points need to be avoided when you are pregnant. I would recommend going to a therapist that massages pregnant woman on regular basis. How you, your body and your baby are feeling on the day will determine the pressure of the massage as well.
Essential oils?
When you are pregnant there are so many things you have to avoid and essential oils isn't necessarily one of them! I would recommend a therapist who is qualified and practicing with essential oils every day. Essential oils are powerful and should be used with care. There are some amazing blends that would definitely benefit you throughout your pregnancy. I just use carrier oils like grapeseed oil, coconut and almond oil for the pregnancy massage at the moment.
Do you have to massage my bump?
I get asked this a lot and a find some women are very protective of this area, which is totally understandable. I always ask permission at the start of the massage. Most women would pefer if I focused on areas that need a little be more work i.e lower back. I usually give them some of the oil or lotion at the end of the treatment so they can massage it on to the stomach themselves. However, if women want this area done it's absolutely fine and I use light pressure and relaxing movements.
Pregnancy massage is one of my favorite treatments to give and I love seeing my clients blossom through their pregnancy. If you have any questions or input I'd love to hear from you.
Slan
Emma
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