What are the Benefits of a Prenatal Massage?

What are the Benefits of a Prenatal Massage?

Pregnancy isn’t easy. Pregnant women have to eat for two and walk around feeling bloated all the time. Plus, the extra baby weight can really put stress on a woman’s body, making her back ache, her neck feel stiff, and her feet swell, among other irritating symptoms. However, just like prenatal vitamins—which are taken while pregnant in order to help the baby get all the nutrients he or she needs to be healthy—prenatal massage can be beneficial for both the mother and growing fetus. This type of massage can get rid of many of the symptoms that pregnant women deal with throughout the stages of their pregnancy and help ease them into a more comfortable delivery when the baby is ready to be born. So what exactly are the benefits of this massage?

Benefits of a Prenatal Massage

Massages in general help relieve stress and body tension through the following ways:

• Improves circulation: A big reason for that wonderful, relaxing sensation you get after someone massages your back, neck, scalp, feet, etc., is blood circulation. Every time you receive a massage treatment, blood moves through the congested areas of your body. This makes way for new blood to stream in, which can both give you the feeling of relaxation and improve many body functions.
• Relaxes muscles: Everyday chores, even the ones that require you to sit all day, can make your muscles tighten. And if you have tense muscles, you will find yourself with lots of pain. This is why a lot of people that have a desk job have neck and back pains. With a massage, these tight muscles would loosen up.
• Lowers blood pressure: Everything goes hand in hand when it comes to massage treatments. For instance, getting a massage and having a better blood flow can put you in a more relaxed state and, as a result, lower blood pressure. This is a great way to get rid of overwhelming feelings such as anxiety and depression, which sometimes appear with high blood pressure.
• Relieves headaches: Neck, scalp, and facial massages relieve headaches. So if you are feeling extra stressed or simply feeling tired and your head hurts because of all that is going on around you, getting a neck, scalp, and facial massages will remove all that headache and tension away.

And a prenatal massage works exactly like that as well. A massage during pregnancy helps alleviate backaches, stiff muscles, leg cramps, swelled feet, and even headaches. Additionally, because this massage helps loosen tension in the body, it gets rid of depression and anxiety caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy. Best of all, this massage can aid pregnant women in sleeping better.

How Are Prenatal Massages Usually Practiced?

Obviously, it would be highly uncomfortable—and dangerous—for a pregnant woman to lie flat on her stomach for a massage. That’s why, when it comes to prenatal massages, women lie on their side with supportive, soft cushions to relieve lower back and pelvic strain, making this type of massage truly ideal for pregnant women.

 Pregnancy doesn’t have to be as hard as it typically is. With a regular prenatal massage, pregnant women can relieve themselves from body aches, tension, and stress and be more ready to welcome their child into the world.