WHY PRENATAL and POSTPARTUM MASSAGE?
Prenatal Massage uses techniques designed specifically to address pregnancy’s challenges. Several research studies suggest that pregnancy massage may help to:
- Encourage relaxation and reduce anxiety
- Help alleviate muscle and joint pain
- Improve breathing and digestion
- Improve mom and baby’s health by reducing the negative impacts of stress on both
- Help mom feel more at home and in touch with herself and her baby
- Contribute to easier, shorter labors
- And, touch is essential to us as a species!
- Mothers who experience intimate and safe touch during pregnancy are more likely to touch their babies in the same manner.
- Abdominal recovery
- Reducing the strain of baby care on mom’s body ("nursing neck", shoulder and arm strain, back pain)
- Support satisfying breast feeding
- Nurturing the mother. Again, mothers who are massaged tend to more quickly and fully touch their babies in loving, nurturing ways, and that leads to a more peaceful world for us all.
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Q & A AND INFORMATION ABOUT PRENATAL and POSTPARTUM MASSAGE
PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO COVID19 these services have very limited availability at this time. Please refer to the COVID19 Considerations page for the latest information about availability for new clients.
CONSIDER:
Comfort Measures and Essential Touch for Couples, an online class for partners to connect and offer touch that addresses common painful conditions, but most importantly encourages continued intimacy and connection. However you define your couplehood, you are welcome, and being parents is not necessary- but this is extra helpful if you are raising small children in the same household!
EveryWoman and the other Holistic Core Restore programs that I offer to help you strengthen your core and pelvic floor for pregnancy, birth, postpartum and beyond (or before it all!). Addressing the center of your being will keep you out of pain and in the long run reduce your need for additional services.
CONSIDER:
Comfort Measures and Essential Touch for Couples, an online class for partners to connect and offer touch that addresses common painful conditions, but most importantly encourages continued intimacy and connection. However you define your couplehood, you are welcome, and being parents is not necessary- but this is extra helpful if you are raising small children in the same household!
EveryWoman and the other Holistic Core Restore programs that I offer to help you strengthen your core and pelvic floor for pregnancy, birth, postpartum and beyond (or before it all!). Addressing the center of your being will keep you out of pain and in the long run reduce your need for additional services.
Q & A AND INFORMATION ABOUT PRENATAL AND POSTPARTUM MASSAGE
Is massage safe in the first trimester?
Yes, with a well trained, knowledgable massage therapist, massage is safe and beneficial in the first trimester!
An experienced, perinatal specialist will know when to begin changing positioning for massage during this time.
Your second and third trimesters require side-lying positioning, with the occasional semi-reclined option earlier in the second trimester, and for short periods of time as therapeutically indicated throughout the rest of the pregnancy.
Your side-lying position will be VERY comfortably supported by pillows, bolsters and cushions expertly arranged by me. I know how to create the perfect and relaxing nest needed.
Why side-lying? Can I use the system that let's me lay face down?
I do not offer massage in the face down position, or use any such systems. I have taken the highest level of training available for Perinatal Massage, and this is what is taught. As a woman focused massage therapist, and one that has midwifery, birth, and postpartum care experience, I have a deep knowledge of the pelvic structures (and still learning all the time!) and understand how certain positions affect not only the muscles and joints, but also the fascia (connective tissues) that support pregnancy. It is no mistake that nature did not intend for us to lay face down easily during the later stages of pregnancy. Because most "belly in a hole" systems are not fully customizable, there is no one way to ensure that the uterine ligaments or related fascial structures are not irritated. Most of the sturctures in question, when irritated, can contribute to the general ache felt in the low back. So, in essence, the 60 - 90 minutes of temporary comfort can potentially create additional discomfort later.
A last important point: attempting to rest at home face down comfortably or safely is unlikely. Being seen by an experienced perinatal therapist who massages in side lying will not only make you incredibly comfortable, but also inform you on how you can duplicate the positioning at home, which will give you more rest.
What about those pressure points that should be avoided, and massaging the feet and ankles?
Every therapist who trains for prenatal massage is taught the areas to avoid. However, attending the more in depth training offers therapists the information that working pressure points requires more in depth knowledge of accupressure to achieve the onset of labor. Many factors come into play, and clients should be wary of anyone who claims "induction massage" unless they have specifically trained in these techniques - accupuncturists who are also massage therapists would be the most skilled in this regard. Highly trained and experienced perinatal massage therapists (20 hours or more of training) can comfortably and safely offer massage of these areas with the appropriate pressure. Denying expectant mothers relief of massage to aching feet is unnessesary.
Yes, with a well trained, knowledgable massage therapist, massage is safe and beneficial in the first trimester!
An experienced, perinatal specialist will know when to begin changing positioning for massage during this time.
Your second and third trimesters require side-lying positioning, with the occasional semi-reclined option earlier in the second trimester, and for short periods of time as therapeutically indicated throughout the rest of the pregnancy.
Your side-lying position will be VERY comfortably supported by pillows, bolsters and cushions expertly arranged by me. I know how to create the perfect and relaxing nest needed.
Why side-lying? Can I use the system that let's me lay face down?
I do not offer massage in the face down position, or use any such systems. I have taken the highest level of training available for Perinatal Massage, and this is what is taught. As a woman focused massage therapist, and one that has midwifery, birth, and postpartum care experience, I have a deep knowledge of the pelvic structures (and still learning all the time!) and understand how certain positions affect not only the muscles and joints, but also the fascia (connective tissues) that support pregnancy. It is no mistake that nature did not intend for us to lay face down easily during the later stages of pregnancy. Because most "belly in a hole" systems are not fully customizable, there is no one way to ensure that the uterine ligaments or related fascial structures are not irritated. Most of the sturctures in question, when irritated, can contribute to the general ache felt in the low back. So, in essence, the 60 - 90 minutes of temporary comfort can potentially create additional discomfort later.
A last important point: attempting to rest at home face down comfortably or safely is unlikely. Being seen by an experienced perinatal therapist who massages in side lying will not only make you incredibly comfortable, but also inform you on how you can duplicate the positioning at home, which will give you more rest.
What about those pressure points that should be avoided, and massaging the feet and ankles?
Every therapist who trains for prenatal massage is taught the areas to avoid. However, attending the more in depth training offers therapists the information that working pressure points requires more in depth knowledge of accupressure to achieve the onset of labor. Many factors come into play, and clients should be wary of anyone who claims "induction massage" unless they have specifically trained in these techniques - accupuncturists who are also massage therapists would be the most skilled in this regard. Highly trained and experienced perinatal massage therapists (20 hours or more of training) can comfortably and safely offer massage of these areas with the appropriate pressure. Denying expectant mothers relief of massage to aching feet is unnessesary.
Your First POSTPARTUM MASSAGE: You AND Your Baby!
DID YOU KNOW that I can accommodate you AND your baby during your first early postpartum massages?
(COVID restrictions currently apply and this will be decided on a case by case basis)
It's true! With your health providers approval, massage can happen immediately after birth. You can bring your baby and we address massage needs in either semi-recline or side-lying positions, with your baby in arms, propped safely with bolsters. I am experienced in a multitude of adaptations to make this a very relaxing and stress free post birth experience. I offer this for those who are not yet ready to leave their baby (completely understood and respected!)
It is also possible to have a caregiver/partner in the waiting area with the baby in case you are still establishing breastfeeding, and if baby gets fussy, can be brought into you.
Home Visits:
With prior discussion and arrangement, depending on your needs, a home visit is possible immediately after delivery. This service is going through a revision with COVID19 taken into consideration. Rather than being a typical "on the table" massage, this will be a service that will check in with your healing process: a hands on assessment of your abdominal muscles, core and (external) pelvic bowl. Techniques will be used to encourage and facilitate alignment of your birthing body so you can heal better. We'll check for the "tummy gap" (diastasis recti) and if you have had a cesarean birth, we will attend to how your scar is healing and make plans for optimal healing.
(COVID restrictions currently apply and this will be decided on a case by case basis)
It's true! With your health providers approval, massage can happen immediately after birth. You can bring your baby and we address massage needs in either semi-recline or side-lying positions, with your baby in arms, propped safely with bolsters. I am experienced in a multitude of adaptations to make this a very relaxing and stress free post birth experience. I offer this for those who are not yet ready to leave their baby (completely understood and respected!)
It is also possible to have a caregiver/partner in the waiting area with the baby in case you are still establishing breastfeeding, and if baby gets fussy, can be brought into you.
Home Visits:
With prior discussion and arrangement, depending on your needs, a home visit is possible immediately after delivery. This service is going through a revision with COVID19 taken into consideration. Rather than being a typical "on the table" massage, this will be a service that will check in with your healing process: a hands on assessment of your abdominal muscles, core and (external) pelvic bowl. Techniques will be used to encourage and facilitate alignment of your birthing body so you can heal better. We'll check for the "tummy gap" (diastasis recti) and if you have had a cesarean birth, we will attend to how your scar is healing and make plans for optimal healing.