You are seven months pregnant, feeling ungainly, sleeping poorly, wondering if you will ever be ready for your family’s new arrival. Now imagine having some guilt-free time to close your eyes and feel your spirit lighten, your muscles relax, and your balance restore itself through human touch. Massage therapy is the ultimate in physical and emotional support while you prepare for the arrival of your little one.

Once the excitement, panic, and maybe even a few tears of discovering you are pregnant subside,  you may still find your world rocking – sometimes as gently as a baby, other times like your cradle is falling.  Massage therapy offers a respite from the emotional, physical, and spiritual changes that most women experience during their pregnancy.

“Pam, I just wanted to tell you, I woke up pain free after my massage,” says Tamara from Orlando, who is five months pregnant. “It’s the first time in a week I’m not limping. Thank you so much!”

When Orlando-based licensed massage therapist Pamela Guldi hears comments like Tamara’s, she smiles. “Massage therapy is integral to healing and growth for all people,” she says. According to Guldi, prenatal massage has been found to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, decrease swelling, and relieve aches and pains in muscles and joints. It’s a popular complementary therapy during pregnancy for back, hip and shoulder pain when choices for pain relief, such as medication, are often limited. Not only can massage be physically beneficial, but the human touch provides nurturing emotional support during pregnancy.

Expecting and experienced mothers alike, both need a little mommy time out, a space where they can enjoy the unconditional love and nurturing they deserve. Whether in the first, mid, or last trimester of pregnancy, consider scheduling an appointment with a licensed, certified, perinatal (the time around birth) massage therapist.

It is important to know that your therapist is qualified to keep you and your baby safe during massage. Ask questions. Ask how you will be positioned on the table (side-lying only after 20 weeks). Ask what techniques the therapist will be using, and mention any special concerns you need addressed, such as specific hip or shoulder pain. A certified perinatal massage therapist will be able to massage you safely throughout your pregnancy and even during the birth process, if you choose.  Some therapists may ask for your doctor’s release before seeing you if you have any of the following conditions:  high risk pregnancy, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, severe swelling, high blood pressure, or severe headache.

“The benefits of massage therapy during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum are too good to be missed!” says Guldi.

Benefits of Prenatal Massage

• Reduces muscle strain and pain
• Reduces swelling, relieves heaviness
• Lowers blood pressure
• Improves posture from weight gain
• Promotes better sleep
• Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression
• Fosters body awareness necessary for the birth process

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A massage therapist helped create a birth experience that was positive and empowering for one Baldwin Park couple. “She taught us many relaxation techniques and made us feel at ease before, during, and after the birth,” says new mom, Mickey. Techniques such as aromatherapy, visualization and movement were used, along with relief through massage during the most difficult parts of the labor. “She coached my husband on how to create comfort during labor with touch – especially in my legs, hips and feet where I was experiencing the most discomfort. Instead, we focused on the beauty of birth and the incredible things happening to us.” Mickey adds that working with a massage therapist was an awesome experience. “It made our birth relaxing and memorable in so many ways.”

Benefits of Massage during Labor

• Reduces anxiety
• Couples feel supported emotionally and physically
• Natural pain reliever
• Pressure points stimulate good contraction pattern
• Reduces labor complications, medications, and interventions

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Postpartum massage is helpful in easing the new mother’s recovery from the strain of childbirth. Within a few weeks after birth, gentle myofascial work can accelerate the return of the abdomen to its natural size and shape. Massage can provide additional relief from the cramping that  occurs as the uterus returns to its normal size. As the milk ducts go into production, massage can reduce discomfort when the breasts become enlarged, sore, and sensitive. Most importantly, massage can aid in returning the body to its natural alignment after postural shifts from pregnancy.

Benefits of Postpartum Massage

• Relieves muscle pain from birth and infant care
• Helps reestablish integrity of abdomen and pelvic floor
• Helps restore spinal alignment
• Aids healing from cesarean birth, including healing of incision and processing birth outcomes

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Guldi reminds parents to explore the benefits of infant massage for their new bundle of joy. “Infant massage helps to deepen bonding with your child,” she says. “Therapeutic benefits include developing fine motor skills, promoting hand-eye coordination, and improving digestion. Techniques for older children can also be taught.”

Benefits of Infant Massage

• Dad or Grandma learn massage and give mom a daily break
• Eye to eye contact and touch deepen bonding
• Deepens sleep patterns
• Stimulates the sleepy baby
• Promotes right brain-left brain coordination
• Baby learns language patterns and intuitive communication skills

Skin stimulation is simple yet profound, especially for the infant. No special technique is really needed; just your loving touch and baby’s tiny neurons will fire away, making new connections while increasing his or her IQ. We all want smart babies; just be forewarned that your little angel will likely start walking and talking on the early side if she’s lucky enough to receive daily massage.

To find a licensed, certified massage therapist, ask your friends or healthcare provider for recommendations. You can also go to Americanpregnancy.com or bodytherapyassociates.com.