Prenatal Massage: Journey into Motherhood Feeling Amazing

Receiving regular massage therapy sessions during your pregnancy is an amazing benefit for you and your baby. When used in conjunction with other healthy lifestyle habits, like eating nutritiously and exercising, massage therapy can help with mood regulation, stress relief, and pain relief. Massage can provide relief for the common discomforts of pregnancy like back pain, leg and hip pain, round ligament pain, and edema. The deep relaxation and relief of muscle tension that massage therapy provides has been proven to reduce labor times and ease natural birth. Massage therapy helps align your mind, body, and spirit, helping to facilitate the mother/child bonding. According to recent studies performed by Tiffany Fields, Ph.D., a leading researcher in touch research:

“Massage therapy has been demonstrated to be effective during pregnancy. Women who received massage therapy reported decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain. Cortisol levels decreased and, in turn, excessive fetal activity decreased, and the rate of prematurity was lower in the massage group. In a study of labor pain, women who received massage therapy experienced significantly less pain, and their labors were on average 3 hours shorter with less need for medication. An underlying mechanism we have been exploring is that these effects are mediated by increased vagal activity. This likely occurs by the stimulation of pressure receptors that are innervated by vagal afferent fibers, which ultimately project to the limbic system, including hypothalamic structures involved in autonomic nervous system regulation and cortisol secretion.”(You can read more details of the study at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870995/)

In addition to the physical benefits regular massage therapy sessions will provide to you, the nurturing component of the session will help fill your needs for deep rest and rejuvenation, and provide you with a peaceful respite from the demands of day to day life. My sessions focus on your specific needs and are deeply nurturing. Oftentimes, my clients find that the regular massage they receive during their pregnancy is the beginnings of understanding the importance of a self-care regimen for themselves. Prioritizing self-care is not only important at any time in our lives, but crucial for pregnancy and the post-partum period. Bringing a child into the world is such an exciting time; however; most are not prepared for the stress the transition into parenthood brings. Implementing a self-care strategy that prioritizes the parents’ health and stress relief needs is crucial.

You don’t have to suffer without reprieve from the daily discomforts of pregnancy. You are on a profound journey; the journey to motherhood. You are a life giver and should be nurtured completely and experience the least amount of discomfort possible during this time. I want to help you feel amazing during your pregnancy. Massage therapy can provide you with relief and make your pregnancy deeply enjoyable. I look forward to being a part of your pregnancy journey!

In Peace & Health,

Nikki Terry, LMBT