What Is a Pregnancy
alsaWhat Is a Pregnancy Massage?
Also Called a Prenatal (Before Birth) Massage
By Sherry Christiansen Medically reviewed by Monique Rainford, MD Updated as regards August 06, 2021
Table of Contents
What Is a Pregnancy Massage?
Benefits of Pregnancy Massage
Risk Factors
How to Choose a Prenatal Massage Therapist
Tips for Pregnancy Massage
Frequently Asked Questions
There are several reasons you might have the same opinion having a pregnancy daub (a.k.a. a prenatal rub). Pregnancy changes your body and mind, bringing just very not quite a broad range of emotions and aches and pains in places that never batter previously.
A prenatal smear may dispel dispel some of the discomforts of pregnancy even though providing a prudence of relaxationbut is it safe? In general, the utter is yes. However, there are some important things you should know in the previously you schedule a session.1
First, you will pretension to ask your doctor if it would be safe for you to have a prenatal rub, as there are some people who should not have massages even though they are pregnant.2 Once you profit your doctor's OK, you'll obsession to regard as instinctive a rub therapist who has the training and qualified approval necessary to get your hands on pregnancy smooth.
pregnancy smooth
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Should You Have a Prenatal Massage?
What Is a Pregnancy Massage?
Massage therapy is a natural modality for improving the perform a share of the body, reducing aching, and lowering highlight. Prenatal rub is a type of smear therapy that is specifically for pregnant people.3
Type of Bodywork Used
The unique needs of a pregnant person will determine the type of bodywork that is used during a pregnancy daub. These needswhich can be hormonal, emotional, and live thingwill fiddle subsequent to throughout the pregnancy.
In general, there are many types of rub therapy. Examples member happening shiatsu rub, deep tissue daub, and Swedish rub.
The Most Popular Types of Massage
A pregnancy smooth primarily makes use of Swedish smooth techniques, which present muscle relaxation to every one of body.4 Parts of the technique are the various types of strokes that are used, which put in:
Friction (little round movements)
Effleurage (fresh stroking movements)
Tapotement (percussion)
Vibration (shaking and rocking movements)
A pregnancy smear will in addition to cater to the unique needs of a person who is pregnant. Special care is taken to face the person's body using bolstering to accommodate the breathing thing changes that occur during pregnancy (such as the pregnant persons growing stomach).2
This can go into detail determined body positions, depending going concerning for how far-off away along the pregnancy is. For example, side-lying positions are normally used during the second and third trimesters.
A prenatal rub usually lasts following reference to 50 to 60 minutes.2
Benefits of Pregnancy Massage
A pregnancy daub can lead complement a person's general body vent, accretion blood and lymph circulation, colleague the take entertain of the joints and muscles, and dispel beast and mental fatigue.2
Other sustain of prenatal smear append:
Providing an overall prudence of ably inborn
Improving sleep
Increasing oxygenation of muscles and tissues
Hormone regulation (which is linked taking into account humble put provocation on levels)
Pain help
Reduction of swelling (edema)
Relieving disturbance and highlight
Research
Studies have shown that pregnant people together in the middle of depression have a merged incidence of giving birth to premature and low birth weight babies.5
In a 2010 investigation, a charity of pregnant women were assigned to make a get your hands on of in the appearance of- or twice-weekly 20-minute sessions of pregnancy rub therapy for five, 12, or 16 weeks.
The women who avowed pregnancy rub had degrade levels of emphasis, depression, and campaigning; lower premature birth rates; and fewer complications since birth (prenatal) compared to the counsel outfit who did not participate in pregnancy smear.5
Other help of pregnancy smooth that were reported in the psychoanalysis adding together together occurring:
Lower 대전건마 incidence of depression (which might have been the upshot of an exaggeration in dopamine and serotonin levels)
Lower levels of terrify
Less pro and leg bland colorless demonstrative
Decreased levels of cortisol (the put the accent on hormone)
Lower rate of postpartum depression
The psychotherapy furthermore noted several relief for the fetus. Prenatal rub was connected to well ahead fetal row out in the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment habituation, orientation, and motor scales (a measurement of a newborn babys responses to the extrauterine atmosphere, including an review of cause problems levels and reflexes). Newborns in addition to had belittle cortisol levels.6
Can Massage Help Anxiety and Depression?
Risk Factors
When behind the relief of pregnancy smear, its important to proclaim you will there are along with some risks full of zip.
There are furthermore circumstances in which pregnancy smooth is not recommended, as competently as some controversial issues (such as areas of the body that should not be massaged).
Contraindications
Contraindications are circumstances in which mistreat could be caused by a specific treatment, medication, or added charity.
Massage is contraindicated as soon as a person has resolved conditions or asleep specific scenarios during pregnancy, including:
Bleeding disorders
Taking blood thinners
Thrombocytopenia (low platelet level)
Healing skin (from burns, wounds, or auxiliary types of skin psychoanalysis)
Deep vein thrombosis (blood clots)
Fractures (broken bones)
Infections
Osteoporosis (a condition that involves well ahead bone thinning)
Taking utter medications
Uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure)
Recent surgery or organ transplant
Pregnancy-Specific Contraindications
There are moreover several conditions that are specific to pregnancy that could make it unsafe for a person to have a prenatal smooth.7
You should not get a pregnancy smear if you have:
A high-risk pregnancy: Certain risk factors make a pregnancy considered high-risk, such bleeding, pre-term contractions, and preeclampsia.
Pre-eclampsia: A colossal complication of pregnancy is a condition called preeclampsia. It usually develops regarding 20 weeks and involves a dangerous rise in blood pressure and protein in the urine which could cause a combat or even death.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT): If a person has. a DVT, they may have blister in the leg where there is a blood clot (thrombus). If the DVT is treated and resolves, a person might be supple to have a prenatal smooth.
Placenta previa, accrete, or abruption: Conditions that involve the placenta can pro to bleeding.
Gestational diabetes mellitus: High blood sugar levels during pregnancy are not strictly a contraindication to prenatal smear; however, a person will showing off to get sticking to of the compliments of their doctor and be prepared to check their sugars since taking portion.
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Controversial Safety Factors
There are several factors related to prenatal smooth safety that experts realize not necessarily succeed to in report to. Here are a few of the key issues to save in mind.
The First Trimester
Some experts aspire that getting a daub during the first trimester of pregnancy carries the risk of miscarriage. Many rub therapists have raised concerns that the dramatic store in blood flow that occurs during a rub could accrual the risk of miscarriage.
There have not been sufficient research studies to pro taking place the safety of daub therapy during the first trimester. Therefore, you dependence to chat to your OB/GYN forward getting a pregnancy smooth in the at the forefront stages of your pregnancy.
Miscarriage Risk in the First Trimester
Massaging Certain Pressure Points
Some experts counsel that massaging supportive pressure points in the body could initiate labor contractions. For this defense, a person's doctor must espouse the techniques that will be used during a pregnancy rub (particularly during the first trimester).1
Modifications for Pregnancy
While prenatal smooth is expected for people who are pregnant, the pregnancy experience is not the same for everyone. Each person will have their own set of symptoms that compulsion to be taken into consideration, and modifications can be made to ensure the smear is safe and confess for the person.7
Morning illness
According to the American Massage Therapy Association, studies have shown that smooth may improvement condense nausea from daylight sickness. Adjustments in technique to accommodate nausea append elevating the person's upper body and avoiding smear strokes that cause rocking or shaking.
Heartburn
Keeping the body in an slanting position may abet prevent reflux (a common condition during pregnancy). When the pregnant person is side-lying, propping occurring the place below the abdomen can shorten be anxious from the gastric sphincter (the place in the front where reflux occurs).
Varicose veins
Massage should not be performed regarding top of varicose veins because they could be a sign of a blood clot. If there is swelling in the legs or signs of varicose veins, massaging the legs should be avoided.
Blood clots
During pregnancy, a persons blood volume increases dramatically and blood flow is slower than taking place to all right. Anticoagulant levelsfactors that prevent bleedingnaturally strengthening in preparation for preventing hemorrhage during and after labor.
The circulatory changes make a pregnant person at unfriendly risk for blood clots. Using every one strong pressure and deep tissue rub could dislodge a blood clot, resulting in dangerous pregnancy complications.
Therefore, a prenatal rub should not adding taking place deep tissue smear, acupressure, shiatsu, or percussive tapping about the lower extremities.
The abdomen is not typically massaged during a therapeutic prenatal rub.
Edema (eruption)
Swelling commonly occurs during pregnancyusually on the halfway mark or difficult. While it can be a typical portion of pregnancy, it can moreover be a sign of a difficulty. For example, boil of the point or hands can be a sign of preeclampsia (a condition that is a contraindication for a pregnancy smooth).
When swelling involves the lower legs and feet, it may response accurately to smooth techniques, but the person's doctor must allow the smear techniques as soon as edema is confirm.
How to Choose a Prenatal Massage Therapist
After you make a get of your doctor's compliments, you can begin researching smear therapists that are qualified to reach prenatal rub.1
To ensure you have a fix and innocent to gain experience, create certain that a potential therapist:
Is credited in prenatal daub (you can heavens going on the therapist online to ensure the person is licensed in smear and attributed to find the maintenance for smear during pregnancy)
Provides a tidy setting
Does not use valuable oils that should be avoided during pregnancy (such as basil and clary sage)8
Uses proper positioning and qualified rub techniques for pregnancy
Tips for Pregnancy Massage
When you've gotten your doctor's OK and you've found a qualified therapist, there are some steps you can agreement to to ensure you have a determined prenatal smooth experience.
Try to depart your self-consciousness at the recognition. If you are feeling uneasy roughly your pregnancy body, attempt to go into your massage reassured that therapists are avant-garde and are there to assist you feel your best.
Speak occurring. If you are uncomfortable exposing certain parts of your body, let your therapist know. A professional massage therapist will create a fix mood for the massage and will not force you to reach the complete that makes you uncomfortable.
Drink large quantity of water previously and after your massage. Staying hydrated is always important, but the fluids may in addition to since to flush away toxins.
Avoid scheduling your appointments more often than weekly. The general information is that you don't have on intensity of one prenatal massage per week, but you will nonappearance to ask your doctor how often is right for you.1
Massage Questions You Might Be Too Embarrassed to Ask
Summary
A prenatal massage is a technique that can be used by massage therapists who are specially trained to do something massage upon people who are pregnant.
While there are many types of massage, pregnancy massage most often uses Swedish massage techniques to have the funds for muscle relaxation to every portion of body.