pregnancy massage

Pregnancy Massage

You’re having a baby, hosting the miracle of life inside your body. Whilst this is a magical time, life doesn’t always go at the pace a pregnant body desires and this can cause some discomfort.

Pregnancy massage is a beautiful way to soothe, relax and prepare your body and your baby for birth. It is time out for you to take the rest you need and a lovely way to begin to bond with your baby.

Our bodies have a lot of work to do when growing a baby. Tension and discomfort in the hips, back and pelvis, painful swelling of the legs and feet, sickness and nausea, sleepless nights, worries and anxiety, lack of mobility are all common areas of discomfort. Pregnancy massage is a gentle and safe way to work with these symptoms and help you to enjoy your pregnancy and feel comfortable in your changing body.

There are some fundamental things we understand about our bodies in pregnancy…

  • The first step to feeling relief from morning sickness/hyperemesis is to rest the nervous system.

  • The key to having your baby in a good position for birth is by working with the alignment and balance in your body

  • A fundamental principle to having an undisturbed birth is to mobilise the pelvis with movement and body work.

  • The secret of a good night’s sleep is to calm the body-mind experience, as well as targeted soft tissue work

  • Holistic treatment of pelvic girdle pain should include emotional wellbeing as well as your biomechanics

  • In Pregnancy massage we work to deeply relax the muscles, align the pelvis, release congestion and bring your nervous system back into a state of safety and rest.

FAQs

  • You may be worried as there are some conflicting opinions on the safety of pregnancy physical therapy but the simple answer is: with experienced hands- YES it is! We avoid certain points and positions at certain stages in pregnancy and work in a way that is comfortable for you. The only consideration is that if you have had a history of early miscarriages- it is best to wait until after 12 weeks but please contact me to discuss this.

  • The sooner you begin the sooner you can enjoy the benefits and I wholeheartedly encourage you to make regular time for yourself before your baby arrives, whether that’s weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Many mothers find that more frequent massage as they get closer to full term is a great support for preparing both physically and emotionally for birth.If you have had a history of miscarriage then its helpful for us to have a discussion about the best time to begin and it may be that after 12 weeks is more suitable.

  • If you’re reading this you may well be 40+ weeks and itching to meet your little one. The chances are that you are pretty uncomfortable too. Before answering the question I’m sure that I don’t need to tell you that babies come when babies are ready. Just like the fruit on my apple tree- they all ripen at different times. However, during massage you release oxytocin, a main player in the cocktail of love hormones needed for birth, so you can be sure that if your baby is ready- a treatment will nudge things in the right direction. Equally you shouldn’t worry that this massage will induce early labour.

  • Some women find having their bumps massaged quite invasive and others love it. In short, you choose. However, we won’t start abdominal work until you reach the 20 week benchmark. In the third trimester it’s a great way to connect with your baby and encourage them into a good position for birth.

  • The simple answer is one that works for you. I can adapt the pressure and pace of the massage to suit your needs and this is different for everyone. Your needs may also change as you move through your pregnancy. So you if you’ve ever had that frustrating experience of an irritating feathery light massage when what you wanted was some proper relief from tight knots or feeling under too much pressure when what your body craved was to be lightly and gently soothed then you need not worry. The beauty of the way that I work is that we work together to adapt to what your body needs at each treatment.

  • Yes absolutely, although of course it’s not the same as relaxing into a treatment that is just for you. Self massage can be a very soothing and empowering way to bond with your baby and bring your partner into the experience. I am very happy to teach you a lovely form of self belly massage to practice at home on your own or with your partner.

“Every pregnant woman knows that while a wonderful state to be in the business of growing a wee human being is also a huge strain on your body and it’s resources. My massages with Bella, during the course of both my pregnancies, helped me and my babies enormously – relieving stress, relieving tired muscles and joints, giving me time to just be in myself registering my body for a while, noticing the changes. It made me feel stronger which helps make being pregnant feel even more wonderful.

She totally cured my twitchy legs for several days (sweet relief!) and gave valuable advice about the condition which helped me control it on my own at home between treatments. She is so knowledgable about the entire experience of pregnancy and child birth. I recommend her to everyone I know.” Zoe, client London