Can pregnancy massage shorten your labour?
Seems like quite tall claims for a simple massage treatment…
Even the healthiest people i know rarely make time for bodywork & self care treatments- it seems such a luxury when most of us are so time poor, if not cash poor too!
And why spend money on simple relaxation when we have so many things to buy for baby's arrival, real practical things to prepare...
Yes, when you think about the huge benefits to babies of treatments such as pregnancy massage and reflexology.
It can seem like a pointless use of time & money, but i am here to shed some light on just how important it is for pregnant mamas to be in the best health, and how the treatments and classes on offer are essential tools for your preparation.
👩🏽🍼So let's talk about your baby's long term health..🧑🏼🍼
Of course you are attending your clinical appointments with midwives, consultants,
🏥 you go for scans at the hospital 🏥
Yet these appointments are short, you are lucky to see the same person twice,
Antenatal Appointments have become basic screening appointments,
focused only on tests, checks, standard advice, and looking for problems,
NOT doing anything to help you or your baby be MORE healthy.
They do not ADD anything.
And of course most women stop drinking alcohol and quit smoking if they did before pregnancy
🙌🏼 this can be quite an achievement 🙌🏼
🌎 Suddenly your whole world is a different place 🌎
you have suddenly become an amazing goddess
🤰🏽 growing a new life inside you.🤰🏽
🛕Your body IS a temple!! 🛕
All the hormones running around in your body
ARE the feelings and thoughts you are having,
and ARE passed through the placenta to your baby for better or worse...
When you are chronically stressed or worried, you have more cortisol and adrenaline in your blood stream. Your breathing is more shallow, and blood vessels contract so that all the oxygen and nutrients travelling to you baby are restricted. And most people have learned to function with chronic stress in their lives - could this be the reason for the rising rates of ADHD?
On the flip side,
The hormones of:
🛀🏼 RELAXATION 🛀🏼
💜 LOVE and CONNECTION 💜
Such as oxytocin and endorphins
Are the very hormones that promote deep breathing,
Open your blood vessels
and prime your babies brain development for
🧘🏽♀️calmness and connection 🧘🏽♀️
A baby born to a calm mum will be a calmer baby who settles and sleeps easier.
But not only that - a mum who takes time during pregnancy to prepare her body and mind for labour and birth,
practicing relaxation will have primed her body for this amazing and intense experience.
See these hormones:
oxytocin and endorphins
are the main hormones a woman's body produces to help open her cervix and stay relaxed and at ease (ie. Pain free!)
When a woman is:
disturbed,
worried,
stressed
or even scared during her labour,
then it hurts more and becomes a self fulfilling cycle.
When pain and fear are present during birth,
there is a far greater likelihood that the cascade of intervention begins,
which could end in assisted delivery, episiotomy
(a cut to the vagina to allow surgical instruments to be inserted to go around your baby's head)
or even a cesarean section
major abdominal surgery.
Both of these procedures are life saving when needed,
yet the vast majority can easily be avoided with the right preparation,
and the right setting.
For instance did you know that:
teaching hospitals regularly cut twice as many vaginas as non teaching hospitals
and nearly NO episiotomies happen on birth centres or during home births!
See the problem in most births is that women do not feel comfortable,
they have not learned how to relax and open...
there are more and more stresses in our lives:
commuting,
working full time jobs,
extra bills,
smart phones,
fear based 'care'
fear based tv programmes
and news....
and the list goes on!
Which brings us back to massage treatments:
a much needed antidote to hectic, busy, stressful lives.
Promotes endorphins,
reminds your body what
FULLY RELAXED
feels like,
reduces blood pressure,
opens blood vessels
and promotes blood flow,
sending extra nutrients and oxygen through your placenta and to your baby,
helps your body flush toxins and fluids out so reduces swelling (odema).
All of this helping your energy levels, positive mood, and laying the groundwork for a calm peaceful birth,
a calm peaceful babe,
and a calm peaceful and healthy postnatal experience,
giving you the best chance to recover your energy and vitality more quickly,
with ease, flow, and love.
And if you’re not already convinced, check out this beautiful mama, who has done her preparation, knows how to stay calm, peaceful and in control, just as many women are doing.