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Massage Therapy offers a nurturing, effective complement to your pregnancy health regime. Massage Therapy is safe and helpful for women with uncomplicated pregnancies, and can also be beneficial to women with “high-risk” pregnancies (with written consent form your health care provider).
During your child-bearing year, your body will undergo extraordinary changes which can create physical and emotional stress. Because you are your baby’s entire environment during your pregnancy, your baby experiences what you do, from joy to anxiety. Nurturing and skilled massage therapy can significantly reduce the discomforts of pregnancy, and can provide a greater sense of well-being for both you and your baby.
Massage therapy sessions for pregnant and postpartum women are designed to provide relief from physical and emotional stressors in a nurturing, calm and pleasurable manner. Taking your stage of pregnancy into account, you will be well supported in side-lying or reclining positions. Using modest draping, we will address your particular areas of concern, whether it be an aching low back, swollen ankles, or anxiety. Each session is solely dedicated to meeting the needs of you and your baby.
Benefits of Massage Therapy During and After Pregnancy
During Pregnancy
Studies have shown that massage during pregnancy may:
- Relieve muscle spasms, cramps and myofascial pain
- Lower blood pressure and heart rate
- Decrease anxiety and depression
- Promote relaxation
- Increase blood and lymph circulation
- Provide emotional support
In addition, receiving massage therapy during your pregnancy may help you to develop the sensory awareness you need to relax during the first stage of labor. It will also offer you a nurturing place in which to communicate feelings of physical and emotional well-being to your unborn child.
During Labor
Studies have shown that massage therapy before and during labor may also improve outcomes during labor, contributing to :
- Decreased length of labor
- Decreased labor complications
- Decreased skeletal muscle and uterine pain
- Decreased depression and anxiety
During the Postpartum Period
Studies have shown that massage therapy offers many postpartum benefits, including:
- Promotion of the restoration of abdominal strength and weight bearing muscles and joints
- Support for new mothers as they cope with the physical and mental challenges of motherhood
- Facilitation of treatment for postpartum depression
Please let me know if you would like further information on the studied benefits of massage therapy during pregnancy, labor or the postpartum period.
Qualifications of Your Practitioner
I strongly recommend that you work with a massage therapist trained in pregnancy massage therapy. Finding someone with a deep understanding of the physiological and emotional changes that occur during pregnancy, along with an educated approach to working safely with pregnant clients, will ensure that you are receiving the most helpful therapy possible.
I am a nationally certified and licensed massage therapist, and have received intensive training in pregnancy and postpartum massage from Kate Jordan, a pioneer and wise teacher in the area of massage therapy during pregnancy. I have completed the “Bodywork for the Childbearing Year” course that covers in rich detail the many aspects of working with mothers-to-be. Adding personal perspective, I am a mother myself, and have journeyed through two full-term pregnancies and the joys and challenges of parenting. I have also experienced the grief of miscarriage, and know how much massage therapy can help in recovery.
If you would like to talk further about working together, please don’t hesitate to give me a call at 301 229 8581 or an email at cheryl@dodwell.net.
Whether we end up working together or not, I do encourage you to include massage therapy as part of your self-care plan during and after pregnancy.
Thank you, and warm wishes!
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