Benefits Of Massage For Pregnancy, Labor, & Postpartum Care

Massage is an ancient healing art form.  The use of massage for the expectant mother has been used worldwide among many ethnic traditional cultures.  Among the Nama people of South Africa, the woman with child is massaged several times a week in preparation for childbirth.  Pregnant women in Uganda receive massage treatments to make bones supple for an easier delivery.  In the Philippines, massage was used throughout labor and postpartum care to stimulate uterine involution.  In Tahiti, the mother kneaded her own abdomen to stimulate further expulsion of afterbirth materials.

1. Keeps the skin nourished, supple and elastic, helps prevent stretch marks
2. Stabilizes mothers hormonal levels, making their side effects less severe.
3. Greatly reduces the strain on the lower back, abdomen and shoulders.
4. Tones the body, improving posture.
5. Stimulates blood and lymph circulation.
6. Combats fatigue
7. Relieves insomnia, sedates the nervous system.
8. Soothes Frazzled nerves.
9. Waste products are readily eliminated.
10. Muscle stress is reduced. Muscle spasms & knots are released, and muscle ligaments, tendons, & joints become more flexible.
11. Bonds mother and baby from the start.
12. Reduces stress in the mother
13. Reduces stress in the baby.
14. Reinforces a positive reaction to the birthing process.  Allows mother to enjoy the miraculous experience of childbearing.
15. Helps to ease discomforts.
16. Reduces any stress that might sabotage milk letdown.

The ancient healers used massage to focus on the wellness of the multi-dimensional body, through passive subtle movements on various levels.  The ancient form of massage was a very therapeutic, non-sexual, form of touch.  The healers used their knowledge of eastern medicine and looked at the human body as a garden.  With a landscape that embodies the 5 elements or forces in nature:

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal/Air, and Water.  The ancient healer was the gardener, and used the healing art of massage to cultivate health in order to improve the ecological conditions of the body, enhancing the body’s self-regulatory capacity.