Positives Of Massage During Pregnancy

For expecting mothers, pregnancy is both a joy and a physical stress simultaneously. The anticipation of adding a new life can be incredibly exciting to think about, but pregnancy also comes with significant physical changes, from back pain and cramps to swelling and much more.

At Jenna Baker LMT, we’re here to offer deep tissue massage services that can help relieve various physical pains or stresses during each trimester of pregnancy. These services are often perfect complements to things like yoga, hydrotherapy or other soothing forms of relaxation, providing benefits both physically and mentally. Let’s go over what massage can help you with during each trimester of your pregnancy.

First Trimester

First of all, let’s address a common myth out there: That it’s unsafe to get massage of any kind during your first trimester of pregnancy. This simply isn’t true – we do suggest getting your doctor’s approval before booking any prenatal massage services, but any experienced massage therapist knows how to make the entire experience completely safe for you.

During this period of the pregnancy, the majority of physical symptoms are caused by changing hormones rather than additional weight or things to do with the baby itself. Massage can help relieve resulting symptoms here, which include headaches, constipation, morning sickness and many others. They can also help de-stress, which is important for new mothers who are still wrapping their heads around everything that’s happening.

Second Trimester

During the second trimester, many women find symptoms relatively manageable compared to the first and third. But there are still good reasons to continue massage, namely to help with posture as your belly grows – this causes your center of gravity to slowly shift over time, and may lead to back pain that massage can help with. They’re also good for increasing blood flow and keeping body tissue healthy. And even if you have extremely limited symptoms during your second trimester, having this as part of your routine is often very important as you head into the third.

Third Trimester

During the third trimester and approaching birth, symptoms tend to return pretty heavily. You’ll deal with swollen feet, heartburn, the heaviness of the baby, and possible sleep issues. Massages can help with all these areas, benefitting the body in terms of pain and swelling reduction in several areas.

And did you realize massage can even be beneficial for the birth itself? Massage can include pelvic muscles that are a big part of the birthing process – making sure these are healthy and strong can make the birth that much less painful and that much easier for you.

For more on how massage can benefit pregnant women, or to learn about any of our injury or deep tissue massage services, speak to the pros at Jenna Baker LMT today.