by Shalon Da~Nai Spaulding, LMT
Massage Therapy is beneficial to everyone, especially the expectant mother.  Pregnancy is a time of great change for a woman.  From the continuous changes in her body to the overall transition as she journeys toward motherhood, there is much to process.  It is a time of great joy and excitement, but with that can also come physical discomfort and mental or emotional stress.

Prenatal massage is customized to alleviate the physical discomforts of pregnancy and prepare the body for birth. During pregnancy the center of gravity shifts as the baby grows.  This causes changes in posture, starting at the pelvis and affecting  the neck and shoulders.  Muscular tension and inflammation are common side affects of this shift.  The body produces the hormone relaxin to help joint mobility.  Relaxin causes all ligaments in the body to soften, stretch and weaken.  As a result, women may develop carpal tunnel syndrome, pelvic pain, and/or other joint pains.

Pregnancy affects nearly all systems of the body. Sinus congestion and constipation are often an issue. Breathing and digestion are affected as the baby grows, compressing and displacing organs within the mother’s body.  Skeletal position also changes. As the baby grows, it lifts and widens the rib cage up to 3 inches.  The pelvis also widens to prepare for birth.  All of these changes may affect each mother uniquely, and massage can help ease the ensuing discomforts.

Stress during pregnancy is common, as it is a major life change.  Many practitioners believe that everything the mother feels, the baby also feels.  Stress affects hormone levels within both mother and child, and this can affect fetal development.  The best thing an expectant mom can do for her baby is to stay relaxed and promote feelings of love and well being within herself.
Studies have shown that women who received pregnancy massage not only experienced lower levels of stress hormones and fewer common discomforts, but also had fewer complications during labor and fewer premature births than those who did not receive massage.*
*Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, 20, 31-38

Benefits of Prenatal Massage:
~Reduces stress levels
~Eases back and pelvic pain caused by changes in posture
~Reduces swelling of feet and ankles
~Improves skin elasticity, reducing stretch marks
~Improves sleep
~Improves digestion

~Reduces sinus congestion
~Relaxes and soothes baby

The effects of pregnancy do not end after the baby has been delivered.  The body takes time to shift back to its original alignment.  Trigger points that developed may still cause pain, stiffness and weakness in the muscles.  The body continues to create the hormone relaxin for up 4 months postpartum, and this perpetuates the excessive flexibility and weakness in joints. It can be hard for a new mother to focus on anything but her new child, but it is important to realize that time spent caring for herself enables her to care for her baby in the best way possible.

Benefits of Postpartum Massage:
~Brings the body back to pre-pregnancy alignment
~Helps with tension and muscle pain of the neck, shoulders & low back
~Aids in returning the uterus to normal size
~Soothes digestive trouble
~Energizes and helps to eliminate fatigue
~Balances hormones & sleep cycle
~Decreases stress and the effects of depression

Shalon Da~Nai Spaulding is a NH Licensed Massage Therapist.  She is Certified in Pregnancy Massage and Postpartum Massage.  Shalon also offers labor support techniques and Infant Massage classes.

All practitioners at Healing Hands Chiropractic specialize in prenatal and postpartum care, including chiropractic, acupuncture, reiki, and yoga. We also offer workshops in pregnancy, childbirth, and wellness.

“What do you think of your body?”

It’s a question that elementary school children have been asked recently, in hopes of shedding light on the body image crisis. But it’s also a question that every woman of childbearing age should ask herself – and most do, albeit unconsciously.

Medical anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd writes that a woman’s choices regarding her birth often reveal her deepest beliefs about the abilities of her body, and by extension, her beliefs about nature and technology. A woman who believes that nature has made her body powerful and capable will choose a birth with minimal interventions – a labor that begins spontaneously and is allowed to progress without interference. A woman who believes that technology is superior to nature and that medical knowledge is superior to natural (and often unpredictable) body processes will choose a more “controlled” birth, where the labor process is carefully monitored and perhaps managed by outside influences. Even if the type of birth is not consciously chosen in advance – in fact, it rarely is – these same belief systems are often evident in a mother’s choice of care provider (midwife or OB/GYN) as well as the location for her baby’s birth (home, birth center, or hospital).

Of course, many women begin pregnancy unsure of what they believe regarding medical technology and its relationship to nature. The attitude of today’s average expectant mother could be summed up like this: She wants to believe that a natural, low-intervention birth is safe, realistic, and worthwhile. But by the middle of her pregnancy, she has heard, read, and viewed so many birth horror stories, she is no longer confident in her body’s ability to birth without the “safeguards” of modern medicine. She likely still hopes for a normal birth, but has taken on more of a “wait and see” approach to her birth plan.

Several studies indicate that a mother’s level of satisfaction with her baby’s birth is only loosely related to the choices that were made, but very closely related to the mother knowing she played an active role in making those decisions. A mother who feels pressured to submit to an intervention she would prefer to avoid (or even a mother who feels she was denied an intervention she wanted) is often left feeling very dissatisfied with her birth experience.

Regardless of the decisions she makes, every mother deserves to give birth with confidence in her choices. Just as the physical work of pregnancy reaches its climax with labor and birth, much of the intellectual and emotional work of pregnancy is to be informed and stay confident. Pregnancy and childbirth classes are an excellent way to get information. The face-to-face interaction with childbirth professionals as well as with other parents gives both the mother and her birth partner the chance to ask questions and explore their beliefs about a natural pregnancy and birth. Most importantly, birth classes encourage dialogue between the mother and her birth partner. (This is often a more effective source of communication than handing your husband or boyfriend a copy of the latest pregnancy book and then wondering if he’ll actually read it.)

Prenatal yoga classes offer pregnant women another opportunity to increase confidence in their birth choices, no matter what they are. Yoga’s emphasis on “tuning in” to the self helps a woman build confidence in her intuition. Pregnancy hormone jokes aside, Woman’s Intuition is not cutesy sitcom fodder but in fact a powerful and valuable player during pregnancy and birth. For many women of childbearing age, the value of intuition has gone the way of body confidence: we lost it in early adolescence. Pregnancy is an opportunity to reconnect with both.

Not sure what you want for your birth? Be honest with yourself. Do research. But most importantly, practice tuning in to your deepest thoughts and feelings. With time, you will begin to discover the choices that are best for you and your baby.

Healing Hands Chiropractic offers a number of prenatal care services to help you have the healthiest pregnancy and birth. In addition to pregnancy and childbirth workshops, we offer prenatal yoga, prenatal chiropractic care (including the Webster Technique), prenatal massage, reiki, and acupuncture.

Reiki is a very ancient form of healing which originated in Tibet and was re-discovered and further developed by a Japanese monk named Dr. Mikao Usui. It is a natural hands-on method of energy balancing for the purpose of stress reduction and relaxation.

Reiki therapy can be used for many conditions and situations. It is especially useful in helping infertility because it is safe and gentle. It helps you reach a deep state of relaxation where you become receptive to receiving healing, thus allowing physiological and emotional changes to take place within your body.

There is a variety of health benefits associated with
Reiki treatments. Some of these benefits include:

• reduced levels of stress
• increased
  energy levels
• improved immune system health
• reduced muscle pain
• reduced levels of anxiety and depression
• improved methods of detoxification

Because
Reiki healing works to improve your overall physical and mental health, it can in turn improve your chances of
getting pregnant by promoting overall reproductive health by minimizing conditions and illnesses that can contribute to infertility. Reiki therapy
can help to maintain good reproductive health that is beneficial for both men and women. Also, because stress is often linked to fertility problems, Reiki therapy can be beneficial in cases in which stress is contributing to problems
getting pregnant.

In addition to promoting good preconception health,
Reiki treatments can also help promote good prenatal health. A recent study found that
Reiki healing sessions reduced stress during pregnancy by 94% while nausea and morning sickness were reduced by 80% after
Reiki treatment sessions. In addition, the study found that quality of sleep is improved by 86% when
Reiki treatment is conducted during pregnancy.

Reiki healing can also help to minimize labor pains as well as to provide relief to muscles and reduce other discomforts linked to the birthing process.

To learn more about the benefits of Reiki please visit http://www.healinghandsnh.com/reiki.html

To book a Reiki session with Dr. Jessica Caruso please call 603-434-3456 or email info@healinghandsnh.com.

Discount packages for Reiki treatments are available upon request.

References:

http://www.thechakragarden.com/articles/Reiki%20for%20Fertility%20&%20Pregnancy%20article.htm

http://www.gettingpregnant.co.uk/natural_fertility/reiki_therapy.html

http://iarp.org/articles/Enhancing_Fertility_with_Reiki_and_Mind-Body_Techniques.htm

http://www.natural-health-for-fertility.com/reiki-therapy.html