Top 10 Massage Benefits For Pregnant Women

Pregnancy is a blissful time but it comes with its gay share of discomforts. Massage therapy in pregnancy has gained a lot of popularity in today’s world because of its immense benefits. Massage during pregnancy helps in reducing anxiety, relieve joint and muscle pains, reduce depression, improved newborn health and provides many more benefits in pregnancy.

Massage therapy can begin at any point of your pregnancy during the first, second or third trimester. Some may refuse to give massage therapy in the first trimester because of the increased risk of miscarriage. The most common method of massage is Swedish massage which is a highly recommended method during pregnancy. It addresses many discomforts brought on by hormone shifts during pregnancy.

Now, let’s have a look at some of the essential benefits of massage therapy that can help the pregnant mother to relax and refresh their mind and body:

1. Regulation of hormones: Massage, when done effectively, helps in reducing the stress hormones of a pregnant women’s body. It also increases the level of hormones which tends to low in women who are depressed or having stress. It helps in proper regulation of hormones.
2. Reduction in anxiety: Massage therapy leads to a reduction in anxiety. It helps in improving the mood of pregnant women following a massage. Massage helps in rejuvenates their energy by keeping them completely relax. Massage is an excellent lubricant for our brain as it activates the old nerve cells in our brain and boosts the memory and concentration abilities of the brain.
3. Reduction in swelling: Swelling is very common during pregnancy as it is caused due to an increase in the belly weight of the woman. It is the body’s normal response to increased pressure on the blood vessels and reduced blood circulation. So, massage helps in reducing the collection of fluids in the joints.
4. Increases blood circulation: Massage also helps in increasing blood circulation that will provide more oxygen and nutrients to the mother and the child as well. It also helps in increasing immunity and removal of toxins. It is very helpful to boost circulation and encouraging lymph in removing toxins and reducing swellings. It aims at improving the blood circulation by applying mild pressure to the muscle groups of the body.
5. Relax the nervous system: Massage helps in relaxing the entire nervous system by releasing endorphins into the mother’s body. It results in, the pregnant women feel more relaxed and will also sleep easier and more deeply. It also helps women to be for easier delivery.
6. Acts as a support system: Massage acts as a support system to the pregnant women and surely it provides support for the new mother with physical and emotional stresses of mothering. Massage helps in rejuvenating the skin and helps in the smooth functioning of our whole body. It acts as a lubricant to all the body muscles and helps them to maintain their bone density at the time of pregnancy.

7. Reduces discomforts: Massage reduces many discomforts which may affect the pregnant women, including muscle pain, cramps, back pain, foot pain, headaches, stress, leg cramps and stiffness in the joints. It increases the muscle tone and flexibility by which the women can carry the extra weight easily. It also reduces the load on the heart by keeping the blood pressure in the normal range.
8. Benefits the skin: Massage improves the health of the skin and the underlying tissues. It helps you to keep that pregnancy glow in your complexion. As the massage keeps away you from any kind of stress, anxiety, discomforts and pain it ultimately provides you with a fresh, soft and smooth skin.
9. Prevents heartburn: Your digestive system becomes sluggish during the latter stages of pregnancy that allows the body to absorb vital nutrients. It may cause heartburn and constipation. At the same time, stress can make it worse. Therefore, a massage will help to reduce anxiety and tension and can help you in easing symptoms.
10. Improves sleep: Massage supports the release of serotonin in the body which improves deeper sleep. After the massage, the pregnant women can sleep better and the baby kicking is also sensed as a token of gift after the massage therapy. As massage is a wonderful way to relax the tired muscles, you will feel much better and your sleep will also improve. Women tend to have less quality sleep due to nausea, pain, stress, back pain and headache. Thus, Massage plays a vital role in relaxing and keeping a regular bed and wake time.

Precautions are taken in Massage Therapy

1. It is important to take the necessary precautions during the massage. You should seek care from a certified massage therapist. They better knowledge of how to position you safely. Also, they are able to watch for symptoms of blood clots.
2. Note that during a massage, it is very important to communicate with the therapist and tell her to know where you need more attention. Let her know if anything is amusing you discomfort dyeing the massage including your positioning.

CONCLUSION

As still many women question the safety of massage during pregnancy. As we know everything has its pros and consequences and hence massage also has. So, it is advised to have a massage from a well-reputed therapist. The positive effects of massage include lowered anxiety, improved sleep, decreased stress and many more which we have discussed already. The women experienced less pain and they had less need for medicine usage in case of discomforts by having massage therapy. Swedish massage is the suggested prenatal massage method because it addresses many common discomforts.

Further, massage has a positive impact on neurotransmitter systems which are implicated in mood regulation. Massage has various benefits to a pregnant woman which we have discussed already. Women experience less stress, less craving, and therefore it has its long-term benefits. Massage may prove as a valuable tool for pregnant women. So, by relaxing massage treatment performed regularly during pregnancy is able to parent or alleviate already present discomforts. Massage care about the well-being of pregnant women.