Prenatal Massage
Help With Muscle and Joint Stress
When you’re pregnant, your body goes through a lot of dramatic changes in a relatively short period of time. That puts strain on your muscles, ligaments, and joints. A prenatal massage uses long strokes and pressure to stimulate your muscles in a way that relaxes them and reduces tension.
After a massage, your muscles will be better prepared to support your growing baby bump. Beyond that, these spa treatments are an ideal way to alleviate pain without taking any drugs or medications that may affect your baby.
Alleviation of Common Complaints
While pregnant, women tend to experience a number of maladies, but prenatal massage can help to alleviate the symptoms associated with many of these issues. That includes back pain, muscular tension, hip pain, and leg cramps, but these treatments can also improve how your body functions in other ways. Massage focuses on the outside of your body, but because everything is connected, it also improves your internal functioning.
Prenatal massage relaxes your muscles so effectively that the treatment can reduce heartburn and acid reflux which are both caused by tightening of your esophagus. Because massage stimulates blood flow, it also helps with varicose veins or edema in your lower legs. As it reinvigorates your cardiovascular system, it also helps with shortness of breath or nasal congestion.
Hormone Stabilization
In addition to physical changes, your body goes through a lot of hormonal changes when you’re pregnant. Prenatal massage can help with this process. It stabilizes hormone levels, helping you to avoid mood swings or irritability. Whether you’re pregnant or not, massage reduces depression and improves your mood.
Stress Reduction
Although having a baby is one of the most joyous times in your life, the experience comes with its fair share of stresses. Let yourself take a break. Stop worrying about the nursery, preschool waiting lists, and finances. Instead, book a prenatal massage so that you can just let go and enjoy your body. On a hormonal level, massages reduce the production of cortisol (a stress hormone), and simultaneously, they encourage the production of serotonin and oxytocin (happiness hormones).
By sedating certain elements of your nervous system, prenatal massage prepares you to give birth calmly and confidently. It also helps you get in touch with your body, which can be instrumental for preparing for the monumental feat of labor and delivery.