Pregnancy Massage

A pregnancy massage can be a wonderful experience for an expectant mum.

While pregnancy can be a joyous and wonderful time in a woman’s life, it can also be a time of adjustment, uncertainty and immense change, both physically and emotionally.

Pregnancy places considerable strain on your body, as it adjusts to ensure that your unborn child is nurtured and supported to its full and optimal development. Our pregnancy massage promotes emotional support and physical nurturing in a warm and friendly ambiance provided by fully qualified professionally trained therapists.

Did You Know..

During pregnancy, there are significant changes to your body? The heart increases total blood volume by 30-50 percent, the lungs increase oxygen consumption by 10-20 percent, which requires a 30-40 percent increase of inhaled air; the digestive system must handle increased food intake while the intestines, stomach and diaphragm are pushed upward by the enlarged uterus.

Blood flow in the kidneys increases by 35 percent and filtering function increases by 40 percent. Increased urination occurs due to increased pressure on the bladder by the uterus. Weight gain increases the curvature of the lumbar spine and stress on the bones and joints. Relaxin, a hormone that makes the ligaments more stretchable causes the joints to become less stable.

All these changes may result in one or more of the following symptoms:

• Fatigue

• Neck & shoulder pain

• Lower back pain and pelvic pain

• Carpal tunnel syndrome

• Nausea &morning sickness

• Leg cramps

• Varicose Veins

• Oedema, or fluid retention

• Sleeplessness

• Breathing discomforts

• Moodiness due to hormonal fluctuations

Benefits:

• Promotes deep sense of relaxation

• Eases muscular pain & tension - e.g. lower back and hip pain, shoulder & neck tension

• Increases circulation

• Relieves joint pain especially around the ankles & relieves joint swelling

• Eases fluid retention and promotes improved lymphatic flow

• Relieves stress and anxiety

• Reduces nerve pain

• Improves sleep and eases insomnia

• Improves skin tone & flexibility

• Stabilises hormonal changes during pregnancy

• Reduces blood pressure

• Supports labour

• Reduces baby's stress hormones

While an hour massage is always enjoyable, we recommend a longer session of 90 minutes in the second & third trimesters. This allows you to really relax and adjust to the changes in your body and to bond with your baby. By the end of your pregnancy, you are more likely to be dealing with a range of symptoms that can be very uncomfortable such as lower back pain, pressure on the ankles, joints and fluid retention. It may be harder for you to move around and to reposition on the table. A longer massage enables us to work through these areas without you feeling rushed. We know too that the effects of your stress are felt by your baby. The more relaxed you are then the more content your baby is and the better his /her development.

A cautionary note

There may be some instances where massage during pregnancy is not recommended or is best undertaken with the written consent of your doctor or midwife.

These may include:

• Gestational diabetes

• Where there are, or have been, complications in any of your pregnancies

• Pregnancy-induced high blood pressure

• Multiple births

• Foetal genetic disorders

• Ectopic pregnancy

If you are unsure, please do not hesitate to call us to discuss these matters.

Once your baby is born…

Once your new baby is born, it is also important to continue to look after yourself to ensure that you are at your best and able to offer your new baby the best of you.

A regular massage, once your new baby is born, will help balance emotions as hormones stabilise, promote a strong sense of relaxation which will help address fatigue and exhaustion and speed your recovery and healing from the labour process.

In addition, massage supports the structural alignment of your pelvis and spine after giving birth and helps strengthen and revitalize your body.