Progesterone, Oxytocin, Postnatal Massage, and Hugs: The Missing Link To Recovery After Birth

This article describes the effects of oxytocin, the "cuddle" hormone, and the importance of encouraging its release after pregnancy to help with mood and recovery in general.  There are many things that can be done to encourage the production of this important hormone...

Pregnancy is truly a special time in a woman’s life, and any woman who’s been pregnant will tell you that the experience, subjectively, feels different somehow. If you thought that this was, perhaps, just romanticizing your past in retrospect, or caused by the (very real!) excitement about your pregnancy, you may be shocked to learn it wasn’t at all in your head. Well, it was in your head, but that’s not to say it was imaginary; rather, there is a strong and solid neuro-hormonal basis for what you experienced. And, of course, you can now rest assured: You DID, in fact, experience many, many odd things during your strange, yet fantastically beautiful trip to motherhood.

37 Weeks Pregnant By Mark Couvilion

Read the Original Article by Clicking Here

Forty Days of Postnatal Massage For New Moms in New Jersey - An Ancient Asian Indian Tradition

The latest blog post on the official blog of Mountainside On Site Massage Therapy talks about the Asian Indian tradition of Jaappa, or forty days of rest and massage therapy practiced by women in India for centuries.

Excerpted from the blog:

During the postpartum period in the days immediately following giving birth, a new mother is recuperating from the stress of birth. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the perinatal period as the most crucial, yet most commonly neglected phase in the lives of mothers and babies worldwide.




In India (and now New Jersey) women follow a 40 day rest and recuperation period called ‘Jaappa’ in Hindi. During this time, the new mother is not expected to fulfill either her household or workplace duties. A special Ayurvedic diet is followed which increases milk production, as well as strengthens the blood by increasing hemoglobin. Marital relations are discouraged at this time. And [Postnatal] Massage Therapy, for both the Mother and newborn, are often practiced each and every day, without fail.

Read the full article by clicking here.

Pregnancy Tips For A Better, Healthier, Easier Birth With Fewer Interventions

Pregnancy can be a time of great confusion for many women. There is so much conflicting advice from care givers that it is easy to become overwhelmed. So here are just a few things that may be most helpful in letting you have the birth you want, especially if you want a natural or conscious birth where you are more in control of your birth and your body.

First, hire a doula. DONA International at dona.org is great place to start. This is someone who will be there to support you during the birth, as well as act as your advocate and liaison with the hospital staff. No matter what type of caregiver you have during your pregnancy, a doula can help you. A doula will tell you the facts about every procedure your caregiver recommends, including episiotomy, forceps, pitocin, and others. If your doctor asks if you want a procedure, the doula will be there to explain it to you. They will explain what each procedure is and what it is for, as well as its potential hazards and alternatives.

Second, have one or more prenatal massage sessions. Prenatal massage has been positively associated with many benefits. Some of these include a shorter, less painful labor with fewer interventions, better birth outcomes, and less prematurity. Then there are the usual massage benefits such as reducing lower back pain and depression.

The depression reducing effect is especially beneficial, because it can extend past the time of birth, and post natal depression can have many negative effects on the newborn. The scale used to measure neonatal development has been studied with relation to depression in the mother, and negative effects have been shown with babies born to depressed mothers whose depression continues. Similarly, this scale was used on newborns whose mothers had received prenatal massage, and the measurements showed improvement for the newborn's development.

Third, find a prenatal class in your area and register.BirthArts International, Lamaze, and The Bradley Method all offer classes in most areas. You can get to their websites by clicking on their name in the preceding sentence. Look for a class with positive reviews and ratings online, and for a teacher who shares your philosophy of birth. Even if you are planning a cesarean, you can find a teacher who will be supportive while educating you about your decision.

However, most teachers do feel that birth is a natural physiological process, and that nearly all women are able to give birth naturally if they learn ahead of time what to expect and how to deal with the pain of labor using relaxation techniques, breathing, baths, etc. They will also explain to you what you can expect in a hospital, and what interventions have been studied and shown to be necessary. For example, continuous fetal monitoring is practiced in most hospitals, but has not been shown to be of greater benefit than intermittent monitoring. Some hospitals, however, will not allow the patient to reject this intervention, since it limits their liability and can be used in court to justify other interventions later.

Fourth and last on this list is prenatal yoga. Find yoga teachers at yoga-centers-directory.net Prenatal yoga has been shown to have some of the same benefits as massage, and it can also help in other ways. Most importantly, it can help to make your hips looser and more open, so that it is then easier for the baby to pass through your pelvis. Yoga also can help you to be more relaxed during labor and delivery, so that you are more present and able to deal with any issues that may come up. Prenatal yoga is most effective if you also have a doula to support you in labor and an obstetrician who performs more natural births than c-sections. Having a midwife instead of an OB has begun to become more popular in recent years, since your chances of an unmedicated intervention free birth are higher with a midwife in a free standing birth center.

One difficulty in choosing a doctor and hospital is that they are not required to disclose their statistics to you regarding the number of c-sections they perform, nor are they required to record them at all. This can make it impossible to verify whether a doctor or hospital is likely to give you the type of birth you want.

However, if you are not satisfied with the care you are likely to get at your hospital, New Jersey and New York both have quite a few free standing birth centers, as well as a number of homebirth midwives. If this seems like a better environment for your birth, it will not be hard to find help. Prior blogs here have discussed the benefits of both home births and midwives. Most insurance companies today have begun to cover midwife births in a birth center, so long as they have a relationship with a hospital for any emergency (nearly every one does).

So, if you want to have an easier birth, these four tips can help you to be successful in fulfilling that desire. Don't forget to have several postnatal massage sessions afterward, as this has been shown to speed recovery. For more information on prenatal massage, please click here.

Fundal Massage After Birth To Reduce Risk of Post Natal Hemorrhage

As a pre and post natal massage therapist, I was taught the technique of fundal massage. Fundal massage is most useful in the first hours and days following labor. Fundal massage loses its effectiveness two weeks after delivery.

According to several articles published in medical journals and consumer magazines, fundal massage has long been known as a technique to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Varying techniques are used in hospitals and by medical practitioners, and they are similar to the technique used by massage therapists certified in pre and post natal massage. Fundal massage in a gentle manner is also beneficial during the pregnancy, and has been traditionally performed by midwives, doulas, and certified massage therapists.

Several techniques of fundal massage have been used by obstetricians after the birth. Some physicians use an internal and external technique, where the uterus is massage posteriorly from inside the vagina, and anteriorly from the upper abdomen. This type of massage is performed if there appears to be excess bleeding after birth.

Another technique is a much less invasive one that would be used more often by labor and delivery nurses, midwives, doulas, and massage therapists. One hand is placed toward the pubic bone under the bulge of the fundus. The other hand is placed directly on the bulge of the fundus, and circular kneading is performed until the uterus is felt by the therapist to harden or by the patient to contract.

This technique is used to help facilitate uterine involution and prevent hemorrhage in the days following birth. Studies cited in the articles that will be linked to at the end of this article mention that this has been an effective technique to reduce the risk of postpartum hemorrhage. In many hospitals, this technique will be performed at least once, although if there is greater blood loss than normal it may be done every fifteen minutes or every hour for several days until release. Release may be delayed if there is excess blood loss for monitoring of the patient. The continuation of this massage after hospital release extends the benefits of the technique.

Since most births happen in hospitals, it helps postpartum women to receive this type of massage after their birth since they often leave the hospital within a day or two. For women who have a doula or a midwife, these techniques will often be performed by those caregivers as they are generally experienced with it. For those women whose midwives are more medically orientede, they may need to receive this technique from their doula or postnatal massage therapist (see this link also shared below for more on touch in and after pregnancy).

Read more about this technique, as well as how it is used in hospitals in conjunction with oxytocin and other medications, in the articles below. For those women who prefer a nonmedicated birth and after birth period (especially since many medications can be transferred to the baby during breastfeeding), manual fundal massage is an excellent way to prevent hemorrhage by itself without medication. If you would like more information about prenatal and postnatal massage in general, please visit our prenatal page by clicking here, and our postnatal page by clicking here.

http://www.pphprevention.org/pph.php

http://www.brooksidepress.org/Products/Obstetric_and_Newborn_Care_II/lesson_2_Section_5.htm

http://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/hemorrhage-care-plan-351985.html (see comments)

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/primaltouch.asp

Top Benefits of Having a Post Partum Doula

A doula is a relatively new profession in the US. There are two types of doulas: those who assist the pregnant woman during labor and birth and those who assist afterwards. The doula I am referring to here is the type that assists after birth.

In many cultures, the new mother is assisted for the first few weeks at home by her mother or sisters. This is true of Indian cultures, Chinese culture, as well as others. In the US, however, the new mom is often left to fend for herself, with no one to help. Her husband generally returns to work after a few weeks, and she is on her own. This often makes caring for the new baby difficult.

A baby brings a host of new responsibilities. They must be fed, and with the new recommendations about breastfeeding, as well as the new baby's tiny stomach, that often occurs every twenty minutes during the first few days or weeks of life. Add to that the need to change diapers, clean the house, wash dishes, do laundry, and other household chores that were easy before, and it is easy to see how the new mom can become overwhelmed.

So this is where a post partum doula can be of great help. Post Partum doulas are trained to help the new mom care for her baby, as well as assist with the household chores of cleaning dishes, doing laundry, as well as cleaning in general. This can make the new mom's life much less stressful, as well as help her to focus on the task of bonding and breastfeeding her new baby.

When a baby is just born, they may need to feed every twenty minutes or more to grow properly. When a woman is breastfeeding, this can be a challenge in general. Even more so when she is left to do it all alone.

In addition, a post partum doula is trained in the care of the new mom. If she is not a massage therapist herself, she is likely to recommend massage therapy for the new mom. Post natal massage has been shown to speed recovery from birth, increase milk production, reduce post partum depression, along with many other benefits. Your doula is likely to help you find a therapist to come to your home, as generally the baby cannot go outside by order of their pediatrician.

In addition, your doula can help with anxiety about the baby getting enough food, as well as other concerns you may have about caring for the new member of your family. Post natal depression is a real concern, and a doula can help with this. Often this type of depression stems from the new mom being alone to take care of the baby and the home, so having someone to help can go a long way in alleviating this type of depression. According to Mothering the Mother by Klaus et al, these doulas have been shown to help with depression in a number of studies.

In all, a post partum doula would be a worthwhile investment for you and your family. You can find these doulas listed on the DONA website, the doula match website, and the Childbirth International Find A Doula website (Click on each of the site names to link to their sites). For more info about post natal massage, please visit our website at njmassage.info by clicking here.

10 Reasons to Have a Midwife-Led or Midwife-Assisted Childbirth

When you are considering your options for labor and birth, you might wish to consider having a midwife lead or assist at your birth. This article details ten reasons for having a midwife at your birth. There are certain medical conditions, described below the list, that may prevent you from having a midwife led birth, but some of the benefits below will also apply to a midwife assisted birth (where you have a midwife work with your obstetrician at your labor and birth).



So, if you are interested in having a midwife but are unsure of the benefits to you, here are the top 10 reasons to have a midwife led or assisted labor and birth.

1) Lower maternity care costs. This may not apply if your deductible is very low or waived for pregnancy. However, you are likely to still pay about $2-3,000 for your co-pay or deductible depending on your insurance if you have a natural birth in a hospital. If you have an elective or necessary C-section, your co-pay is likely to be closer to $7,000.

2) Reduced mortality and morbidity rates due to a lower rate of cesaereans and other interventions.

3) Lower rate of interventions, including forceps and vacuum assisted delivery rates.

4) Fewer recovery complications

5) Flat rate pricing, which will often include gynecological exams, preconception care, labor and delivery support, newborn care, as well as birth and labor education and breastfeeding education. This flat rate is often lower than your co-pay or deductible out of pocket expenses for a hospital birth. Those co-pays do not include the cost of your hospital stay.

6) Provides hands on assistance and support during labor and birth. The midwife will also monitor the physical, emotional, and overall wellness of the mother throughout labor and birth.

7) The midwife will provide post-partum support, such as counseling and breastfeeding education.

8) The midwife can help reduce pain in the laboring mother by making suggestions for non-pharmacological interventions such as a warm bath, chaning positions, certain herbs and juices, etc.

9) A midwife led birth held out of a hospital will not be subjected to the same time limits as a hospital birth often is. In many hospitals, labors have a set time limit, after which interventions will begin. Such interventions can include induction of labor (where certain of the induction medications can cause their own complications including uterine rupture and fetal distress), forceps and vacuum extractor deliveries, as well as C-sections. As indicated above, C-sections can lead to complications in later births, and may be best avoided in situations where they are not medically necessary.

10) A midwife is also likely to suggest certain pre and post birth activities that will reduce later pain during labor as well as pregnancy itself. Such suggestions are likely to include pre-natal massage, pre-natal yoga, as well as post-natal massage. Post-natal massage has been known in other countries such as India to speed recovery time, enhance milk production, as well as enhance the bonding of the newborn with its mother. Pre-natal massage and yoga have both been shown to reduce complications and interventions.

The medical conditions that generally require obstetric assistance or intervention are the following: preeclampsia (which means high blood pressure in the mother); epilepsy, heart disease, and non-gestational diabetes are also conditions which will make your pregnancy be considered high risk; placenta accreta, percreta, and increta (where the placenta implants too deeply into the uterine wall), and placenta previa where the placenta covers the opening of the cervix.

While placenta previa is not necessarily a complication requiring a surgical delivery (as many midwives have attended these births), the former three types of placental implantation require surgical intervention and have been positively linked to one or more previous C-sections. See the page about placental problems on the American Pregnancy website here . In addition, most obstetricians will tell you that the presence of multiples (i.e. twins) is also a reason to have a cesarean section. However, the latest Summer issue of Midwifery Today is centered on the topic of twins, with many stories of twins being successfully delivered by midwives.


The decision to have a midwife or an obstetrician be responsible for your childbirth and prenatal care is a very personal one. However, there are also medical and physical reasons to consider having a midwife involved in your birth. A future article will discuss the benefits of a doula, so that if a midwife is out of your price range, you can also have a doula, who is a birth assistant there to help you.

This article referenced several websites that speak about the benefits of having a midwife for your birth. American Pregnancy’s article can be viewed here, the BabyCenter webpage can be found here, and Pregnancy Corner’s website can be found here.

Informing Yourself About the Dangers of Induction Of Labor in Pregnant Women

When you are pregnant, you have a great many decisions to make. You need to think about a birth plan for yourself, you need to find the best midwife or obstetrician for your birth, and you need to consider where you want to have your baby. You also need to think a lot about your pre- and post-natal care, for example, will you have a midwife and a doula, an obstetrician and a doula, an OB only?


Will you have prenatal massages, or will you have a series of post-natal massage sessions after the baby is born to help you recover? Or will you have both? Do you understand why these decisions are important, and are you clear as to why you have made the choices you have?


In the midst of all of these decisions, you may be neglecting informing yourself about a very important decision that can have consequences for your and your baby: the decision of whether to induce labor or to let nature take its course.

It is helpful to understand that obstetricians working in hospitals are generally quick to try to get a pregnant woman to induce labor. They have a view that the pregnant woman’s body is somehow defective and will not induce labor when it is ready, on its own. However, this view is not borne out in the research, which has shown that women will labor when the time is right. (see midwifethinking for a more holistic view of birth and labor)(Also see the article on Clinic Advisor located here )

Many times when a woman has an induced labor, there are unintended consequences. The rates of caesarean sections after an induction are twice those of non-induced women. For many women today, this type of birth is undesirable. Additionally, for conditions like gestational diabetes where the baby is assumed to be very large based on ultrasounds and other monitoring, when born the baby is often underweight or premature.

Thus, many inductions were unnecessary. The problem here seems to be one of a missing feedback loop. In other words, a feedback loop would mean that: a hospital performs a certain number of inductions, many of those inductions turned out to be unnecessary or even dangerous for the baby or mother, thus fewer inductions would be performed in the future. However, this feedback loop is actually missing in most hospitals since most of them continue to perform just as many inductions, and the number is on the rise.

All of these facts are aside from the actual dangers to mothers and babies from inductions. When a woman is induced to have labor, it is an unnatural event. Thus, there is an actual risk of rupturing or tearing the uterine wall because the contractions are unnaturally strong. This leads to a higher rate of C-sections, and can also cause long term incontinence. (See this website for more information) A higher risk of post-partum bleeding has also been observed with the use of these drugs. (Belghiti J, Kayem G, Dupont C, et al. Oxytocin during labour and risk of severe postpartum haemorrhage: a population-based cohort-nested case-control study. BMJ Open 2011;1:)

With regard to the infant, brain damage, increased fetal heart rate (leading to a C-section), permanent CNS, as well as fetal death have all been reported. The rates for these conditions in the infant are higher than in those born to mothers who are not induced. In addition to these issues with newborns, they have been generally underweight or premature when born through induction, even though their ultrasounds had indicated a larger than appropriate for gestational age baby. See the pages here and here for more information.

It should also be remembered that a due date is a guess at best, since most women do not know the exact date on which they conceived. They may know the date of their last period, from which the due date is estimated. These possibilities have actually caused the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to state on their own website that caution should be used when inducing labor, as quoted in the bellybelly webpage above. However, hospitals and obstetricians continue to use these procedures regularly.

In addition to the reasons mentioned, it is also helpful to note that when a woman is admitted to a hospital as being in labor, there is a time limit for that labor, regardless of what her body believes is the time limit. When that time limit has passed, the OB will generally insist on induction. When the induction occurs, if the fetal heart rate drops, or the fetus appears to be in distress, an emergency C-section will be performed. For further reading on this topic, see Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, a midwife practicing since the 1970s.

It is also useful to remember that most independent midwives do not perform labor inductions. They prefer to consider the woman’s body as wise enough to know when the baby is ready to be born. The normal labor of a pregnant woman releases small amounts of induction hormones into her blood, so spontaneous uterine rupture is rare. A midwife will generally allow a woman to labor until the baby is born. Many midwives have the experience to know when a fetus is in distress, and have a hospital birth contingency plan in place before the birth takes place. (See Ina May’s book above, as well as current and past issues of Midwifery Today for further details)

Massage therapy in the prenatal period has also been shown to reduce the incidence of prematurity, as well as the incidence of complications during labor. This is another factor to consider when creating your prenatal care team. A doula is also helpful to have with you at birth, as they are another educated care provider, who can help you to be informed about the decisions you are making with your body and your baby.

The best time to learn about labor induction, using chemical or mechanical methods (such as breaking waters, which often leads to chemical induction if ineffective), is before you are scheduled to deliver your baby. Researching the possibilities will give you the best chance of having the birth experience that is best for you and your baby.

Choosing A Home Birth – Your Pregnancy Can End At Home With Proper Preparation

When you are pregnant, you have many different people offering you so many suggestions that it can be confusing to know what the right choice is for you and your baby. Most of your friends and relatives have given birth in a hospital, and they argue that this is the safest way. However, more women than ever in the United States are choosing to have home births, and most of those births are uneventful in terms of complications. They also create a deeper bond and a more lasting memory for the woman giving birth.

If you read stories about home births online (such as on the forum located here), you will find that almost universally, women were extremely happy with their choice. If you think about it, it is easy to see why. A birth at home is in the most comfortable environment for you. You can shower if you would like, and you can move around your home freely. The lighting is the type of lighting that you like best (no harsh overhead fluorescent lighting), and you bed is there for you right after you have given birth. In addition, it is going to become the most familiar place for your baby once he is born, so why not start him out in the place where he will be spending most of his time and life.

So, if a home birth sounds like a good choice for you, there are some things that you can do to ensure that you are able to have one. Of course, it is not possible to prepare in advance for every eventuality, and some women are not able to have a home birth even if they want one. Conditions such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and placenta Previa are certain to prevent a home birth, since they are complications that are much more likely to require the intervention of a hospital medical team.

However, for those women who are having a normal pregnancy, with no complications, who are at low risk, there are a number of things that you can do so that your wishes can be honored. First, be sure you are getting adequate nutrition. Following the basic food groups, having good portion sizes, and eating whole grains and healthy fruits and vegetables can help ensure you are having good nutrition. The baby’s weight is also a good indicator, so be sure your doctor agrees that your weight gain and the baby’s are appropriately progressing.

Second, you should ensure that you are taking the proper pre-natal vitamins. For the most part, doctors and midwives today have been recommending pre-natal vitamins based on the favorable results of many studies, including those performed by the March Of Dimes. Certain vitamins have been definitively shown to prevent birth defects, and increase fetal health.

Third, you may wish to consider having a pre-natal massage session or a series of sessions before you give birth, and then continuing after you have given birth, preferably in your home. Due to limitations to mobility, getting yourself to a spa may become impossible, and massage therapy can be crucial for your pregnancy. Rather than allowing the lack of mobility to stop you from having one, it is best to have one in your home. Evidence is mounting with each passing month and year on the incredible benefits to both mother and baby of prenatal massage therapy.

Fourth, it is advisable to sign up for a pre-natal yoga class, or to obtain a prenatal yoga video, such as can be found on amazon by clicking here. Pre-natal yoga has demonstrated beneficial effects for every stage of pregnancy, and many physicians and midwives heartily recommend the practice. Like massage, it can help your body be prepared for labor by loosening and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles, making pushing during labor easier.

Fifth, it is strongly advised that you hire a doula, in addition to a skilled and experienced midwife. The doula will help the laboring woman with emotional support, as well as helping to calm the laboring woman and her partner. Having a doula is almost certainly a must if one wants to have a natural childbirth at home. You can check the links here and here to help you find a certified doula in the New Jersey area.

While there are risks of a home birth, the risks are generally small. Usually, the risks involve complications during the birth that were not foreseen, leading to the need to be transferred to a hospital. Prior to the 1900s, nearly all births were home births. Advances in modern medical treatment have made even home births safer, with midwives generally bringing fetal monitoring equipment with them, along with oxygen for the mother or baby. With proper preparation, it has been found that home births are nearly as safe as those in a hospital or birthing center, and their popularity is on the rise. Research for this article was performed on The Mayo Clinic's home birth page, the American Pregnancy Association’s page, and a recent Huffington Post article detailing the results of a study of home births in America.

Since more and more modern women are choosing to insist on a natural childbirth, feeling that their decision matters and that they have a say, it is only natural that home births are following in the footsteps of this growing trend. Just as C-sections come with many risks, but are performed routinely, perhaps there will come a time when births are routinely performed at home even though there are some risks to this. If you are considering a home birth, then you are paving the way for future women just like yourself to make the same decision. You are treating pregnancy and birth as a natural process rather than a medical condition, and this is to be applauded. We can only hope that more women in the future will follow in these footsteps toward a more integrated approach to their own labor and birth.

Tactile Massage During Pregnancy To Ease Symptoms of Morning Sickness

A study conducted by Annelle Agren and Marie Berg, which can be viewed by clicking here, both registered nurses, in a clinical setting, found that there were positive benefits received by women who had tactile massage during their pregnancy. The women were suffering from nausea, vomiting, and other morning sickness symptoms. The morning sickness symptoms were severe enough to be classified as a condition in themselves, called Severe Nausea and Vomiting During Pregnancy (SSNVP).

The study was conducted on women who were suffering from SNVP, who had come to feel that the condition was ruling their life. The study findings were in the form of a post-treatment interview, and the results were subjective. The results of this study indicated that tactile massage is a useful therapy for women experiencing morning sickness. As a non-pharmacological alternative, it helped the women feel more in touch with their bodies, as well as more relaxed and less enslaved to the nausea they had been experiencing.

The results of this study are very encouraging, considering that many women do not necessarily want a pharmacologic alternative because of their pregnancy. Pregnancy is a time of caution always, as the fetus is in a delicate state during the first trimester, when most women experience morning sickness. Many alternative treatments that have given good results for this condition would be welcomed for women suffering from SNVP.

Certified pre-natal massage therapists could be called upon in the medical setting to provide this type of massage to women suffering from SNVP, with good results. The knowledge of this study would likely be very useful to both obstetricians and midwives, to assist them with patients suffering from this condition. In short, massage therapy could easily be recommended and integrated into the alternative health care practices of women with SNVP to help alleviate some of their suffering.

Some of the Strange and Fun Experiences and Facts About Being Pregnant

An interesting slideshow on the Australian Mother and Baby website, which can be linked to here, talks about some of the stranger aspects of being pregnant. Some of them are very cute, so I will share some of them here.

The first interesting fact that is not widely known is that you only need 200 extra calories a day when you are pregnant in order for the baby to have enough nutrition. A normal healthy woman should gain only about 25-35 pounds, so if you are adding this amount of daily calories, it is easy to stay within the normal range. This extra caloric need can be satisfied by, for example, an extra slice of toast and a banana with your breakfast meal.

Something else not many people know is that when you become pregnant, and especially when you find out you are pregnant, it takes a very long time for your pregnancy to be noticeable. Then, if you don’t tell people, no one will ask you for quite a while, because they do not want to offend you if you are not pregnant.

Something that most people do know is that when you are pregnant, your hormones are totally crazy. You may burst into tears over nothing, or start fights with people over some perceived offense, when you normally would not act that way.

Another great article about fun and interesting facts of pregnancy can be found by clicking on this parents.com link. The first interesting fact they mention is that you will stop traffic whenever you cross the street when you are pregnant. Also, many people will look at your growing belly and smile, since your being pregnant has made their day brighter somehow. Of course, we all know this doesn’t happen with everyone, but it does happen sometimes.

When you are pregnant, you might notice that you can eat a whole pint of chocolate ice cream without feeling guilty. And you can repeat the same thing every night. You can also eat pickles with the ice cream, and think it tastes great! Or some other food combination that when you are not pregnant would thoroughly disgust you, but when you are pregnant, it sounds like heaven on earth.

You also take lots of naps when you are pregnant, and again, you don’t feel guilty or lazy when you do this. You also get to watch your husband turn into a daddy when “he kisses your belly goodnight, reads to the baby in utero, and stays up until 3 am putting the crib together – just in case the baby decides to come eight weeks early.” :-)

You don’t feel quite so embarrassed in a bathing suit, since you want to show off your belly instead of hiding it. You also get to imagine the possibilities. And my favorite from their list is the incredible anticipation. It is the most exciting anticipation of your life waiting for the baby to be born.

So these two lists had some really cute and interesting fun facts about pregnancy, and I hope you enjoyed reading them. For more cute and interesting pregnancy facts, you can visit our twitter page, where we tweet about pregnancy pretty often, as well as our facebook page, where more fun and cute pregnancy facts are often shared. Click here for our twitter account, and here for our facebook page. You can also visit our pregnancy massage page by clicking here.

Pregnancy Products Every Mom To Be Should Have

This article will present some of the best items for moms-to-be to have during their pregnancy. Some products are available on Amazon, Babies R Us, and other websites. Pregnant women can also benefit from a pre-natal or post-natal massage to help with the aches and pains that pregnancy brings, as well as to balance their hormones to make the birth easier and promote healthy lactation and nursing.

The first and most important product every pregnant woman should have is a maternity or pregnancy pillow. There are many to choose from, but some are much better than others in terms of support, firmness, and areas addressed. The most popular maternity pillow is the Boppy pillow. This link will take you to Amazon's Boppy pillow offering. This is the pillow I have used on many pregnant women. It has removable pieces, so that you only use what you actually need. The same pillow can be found at Babies R Us by clicking here. You can read reviews of this pillow by following this link or this link

Some people do not like the Boppy pillow, because it might separate at night if you are a toss and turn type of sleeper. Then you have to search for all the other parts when you wake up in the middle of the night. The concept is sound though, since some people are not comfortable sleeping on their sides, but that is all they can do when they are pregnant. So, for those who want a one piece pillow, the Snoogle might work for them. The Snoogle is a full body pillow with a part that goes behind the back to keep you on your side, as well as between your legs and next to the belly, and a separate part that goes under your head. Click here to buy it on amazon. Here is a similar product made by Babies R Us that might be slightly less expensive than the brand name Snoogle. Here are some reviews about this pillow from Babies R Us. You can also read some reviews on babycenter comparing the two pillows here.

Another must have item that has come highly recommended from both older and newer moms is the maternity support. This straps around your back, and helps to hold some of the baby's weight in a more evenly distributed manner. It can help somewhat with leg and back pain, as well as with your posture. You can find it by following this link. You can check out the reviews for this product here. Some people who used it found relief, and some just found it uncomfortable. Purchasing from Babies R Us or Amazon would give you a pretty flexible return policy if you don't like it.

This next item is by far the cutest in this article. It is a pre-natal listening system made by Summer Infant. It allows you to hear your baby's heart beat, coughs, hiccups, and any other sounds that they make. It even comes with two sets of earbuds, one for dad and one for mom! It gives you a similar effect to an ultrasound, except without the visuals. You can purchase it from Babies R Us here. You may want to buy a higher quality set of headphones than the ones included in the package, since that was the most common complaint of the reviewers.

A really cute and creative product also offered by Babies R Us is the ProudBody do it yourself pregnant belly painting kit. This kit includes everything you need to paint your rounded belly in all sorts of pretty and symbolic designs. The paints are FDA approved, water based, and non-toxic. They will not harm the mother or the baby by using them. There are eight paints in this kit, and it is a great idea for an activity your other kids can do to help them bond with the new baby before it arrives. You can find the item on Babies R Us here. You can also find it on Amazon by clicking here. The same company makes a belly casting kit, which also includes paints for after the cast has been made. This is great if you don't want to paint your belly, but still want to be creative with your growing belly, or if you want to always remember what your belly looked like as it grew. These can be linked to in the similar products area of the links above.

Psi bands acupressure wrist bands are also a mommy to be must have! They can help to relieve nausea, from motion sickness or morning sickness, or just general pregnancy nausea. The kit contains two bands, which are meant to be worn at the same time. They are no more cumbersome than a wrist watch, and have a similar design. You can find them on Babies R Us at this link (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12448402&prodFindSrc=prodCrossSell).

Another alternative to help with morning sickness are the Organic Preggie Pop Drops. They are drug free with all natural and organic ingredients that have helped some women to find relief from morning sickness and general nausea. You can find them by clicking here.

And, of course, there are the ever important pre-natal vitamins. Pre-natal vitamins can also be prescribed by a doctor, but sometimes a woman needs more of a boost in the vitamins she needs during pregnancy. Some vitamins may have less of certain nutrients and more of others, so it may be a good idea to supplement with another pre-natal vitamin. A good one to try are the vitamins made by FoodScience Laboratories, and listed on Amazon's website here. You can also try Deva Vegan Prenatal Vitamins if you are a vegetarian and would like a supplement that is not sourced from animals. You can buy them from amazon here

Many times, the vitamins prescribed for you are sourced from animal products, and also contain other fillers that you might wish to avoid. The March of Dimes has found through their research that many birth defects are caused by vitamin deficiencies, particularly folic acid and other B-vitamins. Their research has played a role in gaining acceptance in the medical community for pre-natal vitamins for all women who are pregnant.

While some of the items in this list are more important and essential than others, I hope you have found this list to be helpful in determining what items you might need for your pregnancy. One thing that is often overlooked is self care for the pregnant woman. Your body needs help relaxing, and could also use some help in balancing hormones, among other things. A pre-natal massage can help with both pain and hormone balance, both during the pregnancy and after.

It has also come to be more accepted among physicians when a woman is complaining of aches and pains, or when she has a hormone profile that is not ideal. With the products listed above, as well as several pre-natal and post natal massages, a woman can have a happy, healthy pregnancy with fewer new pains developing, and with much greater ease in both the birthing and nursing process. When planning for your needs during pregnancy, these are definitely some things to take into consideration. If you found this information helpful, or would like to contact me, I would appreciate your feedback on this topic. Feel free to suggest other items that every mom to be should have that have not been mentioned in this list.

Pre-Natal Massage is Widely Recognized For Its Many Health Benefits

In recent years, many studies have been published about the benefits of pre-natal massage for all pregnant women. Some of these studies have indicated that massage therapy can bring a reduction in depression, anxiety, as well as the well-recognized pain benefits of massage. There is an article that was posted on americanpregnancy.org that talks about these benefits.

A lesser known benefit to massage therapy, but extremely important for pregnant women, is its hormonal benefits. These benefits tend to be twofold. First, it reduces the amount of norepinephrine and cortisol, which are the stress hormones. Second, it increased dopamine and serotonin levels, which are the feel good hormones which are lacking in depressed individuals. When these hormonal changes occurred, there were fewer complications during the actual birth, as well as a lower incidence of newborn complications than among the general population.

Another benefit that was described in the article was that some of the swelling associated with pregnancy (which is actually a normal part of pregnancy that is caused by some of the hormonal changes) was reduced by regular massage. The swelling that occurs in the lower limbs can often become painful when it is caused by the pressure of the uterus on vessels that supply and remove blood and lymph from the lower extremities. Massage therapy was shown to help "reduce collection of fluids in swollen joints, which also improves the removal of tissue waste, carried by the body's lymph system."

Another great benefit of massage therapy for pregnant women is the reduction of sciatic nerve pain. Anyone who has ever experienced this pain for themselves is aware that it can be excruciating. Anything that can help reduce or remove this pain would be welcome, and it has been shown that massage can do just that. While it is caused by the pressure of the uterus on the pelvic muscles and lower back, which then spreads pain to the surrounding tissues, causing nerve impingement, it can be significantly reduced during pregnancy with regular massage therapy.

In addition to these benefits, massage may also help to improve sleep in the last trimester of pregnancy. This is notoriously a time when sleep is difficult, because of the increased pressure and size of the abdomen, as well as being required to sleep in a position that is uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Regular massage therapy, likely through the same hormonal changes described above, can help improve sleep.

Unlike with other modalities and forms of massage, it is especially crucial to have a massage therapist that is specially trained in prenatal massage, for the safety of the pregnant woman and her baby. Post-natal massage is also extremely helpful, and studies regarding that will be covered in another article.

Post-Natal Massage: Helping the New Mommy to Unwind

Being a new mom is rough. You don't get very much sleep (three hours or less becomes the norm), you are always tired, and care for the baby is non-stop. The baby will want to be fed every three hours or more, and eventually your energy reserves, which were already somewhat drained by the last trimester of pregnancy, can feel completely used up. You feel burnt out and just want to some time to relax and unwind.

Post-natal massage can help the new mother to deal with some of the stress and anxiety that comes with a new baby. Our certified post-natal therapist is used to being interrupted by, or being delayed by, the feeding cries of the newborn, and it is always OK. Even if there are a few extra minutes before the massage starts, it does not come off your time. We have allowed for the extra time when we set up the appointment.

You will have the full hour to become fully relaxed, thus preparing you for the continued demands of the new baby. Although, as we all know, caring for this new bundle of joy is and will be one of the greatest joys in your life, and it is really short lived. Breastfeeding does not go on forever, and once it is over it does not start again until you have another new baby.

So this is a time that you want to savor as much as possible, but if you are completely exhausted and drained, it can be difficult to do (and even harder to remember if you are half asleep). So, a post-natal massage can help the new mom to relax and be strong and awake, thus being better prepared to become fully present to these first few months of her new babies life.

If you would like to learn more about post-natal massage, or to book an appointment, please visit our website by clicking here.

Post-Natal Massage: The Many Benefits of A Post-Natal Series

As women from India have long realized, post-natal massage is totally essential to every woman. In India, massage therapists travel to the home of the new mom to provide massage therapy every couple of days for several weeks after she has had her child. This helps the new mom in a variety of ways.

First, and perhaps most importantly, massage can help the new mom produce enough milk. Very often, when it is a woman’s first child, her body is not capable of producing enough milk. This often leads to supplementation with store bought formula, since regardless of the mom’s capacity to produce; the infant’s needs are ever present. So, to avoid this, post-natal massage can help the mother’s body to produce more oxytocin. This hormone is responsible for stimulating the production of milk, so this can help to increase the amount of milk she is producing.

Second, this same hormone stimulation is well known for facilitating the bonding between the mother and her new baby. It is the bonding hormone, in addition to being the milk production hormone. Every new mom should have at least one post-natal massage session to help her body adjust to its new job of producing milk for the newborn.

A third benefit of post-natal massage is in reducing the amount of stretch marks, and the severity thereof. While one massage may not help much in this area, several massages over the course of the few weeks following birth can have a significant effect on stretch marks. Massage helps restore the skin to normal, and helps bring blood flow to the skin of the abdomen, conditioning it and restoring its suppleness and flexibility.

There are several other helpful benefits of post-natal massage that are only available when a trained certified massage therapist provides it. Restoring the uterus to its proper place in the abdomen is one of the most crucial benefits. If the uterus is not restored to its proper place, the abdomen will never return to its prior shape. Other massage techniques can be applied at the abdomen to help it return to its normal size and shape. All of these techniques are best applied by a certified peri-natal massage therapist, to have the best result.

There are other benefits of post-natal massage, many of which are enumerated in studies that can be found on our massage benefits page, linked to by clicking here. If you would like more information on post-natal massage, or to book an appointment, please click here to visit our website.

Abdominal Massage During Pregnancy: Helping Your Baby in the Womb

Abdominal massage during pregnancy is quite healthy, both for you and for the baby yet to be born. Pre-natal massage therapists have been practicing abdominal massage since pre-natal massage has been taught. It has been found that, in addition to the benefits it gives to the mother, there are also benefits to the unborn baby.

As far as benefits to the mother, it helps to relax the mom to be more so that just massage everywhere else. It can help relax the musculature in the abdomen itself, which can become tired from carrying the extra weight.

In addition to the relaxation benefits, there are also cosmetic benefits to abdominal massage. During pregnancy, the formation of stretch marks is normally a fact of life. While this is so, even in spite of interventions, sometimes abdominal massage can help to reduce the formation of stretch marks by making the skin more pliable and by increasing blood flow to the area.

Now, when it comes to the unborn child, abdominal massage can have some helpful effects. First of all, it can help to calm the unborn baby and reduce stress levels in both his and his mother’s bloodstream.

Perhaps the most important benefit to the unborn child is when the baby is in the wrong position. Several techniques of pre-natal massage are specially reserved for the time when the birth is drawing near, and can provide a non-invasive way to get the fetus into the proper position for the birth itself. These techniques can help to turn the baby around, or even sometimes to help the baby to turn from upright to upside down, so that his head is prepared to exit the birth canal. While it is rare that a complete turning upside down can be accomplished through abdominal massage, it has happened.

Most commonly, it is possible for the baby to be rotated into the correct direction if the rotation is simply from back to front. Abdominal massage is a non-invasive way to cause the fetus to be in the proper position for birth. Many midwives are already aware of these techniques, and have been using them for many years to turn the fetus to the proper position.

When abdominal massage does not work, the midwife will have other techniques in her arsenal to use to help the fetus come out in the proper direction. It is normally the desire of the midwife to do everything possible to ensure a natural birth rather than a c-section, so abdominal massage, along with other techniques, can be helpful for this. Of course, having a pre-natal massage therapist present during the birth is also very helpful, as there will be techniques specific to massage therapy that can help to reduce a woman’s pain, and accelerate the birthing process. These techniques are the specialty of every pre-natal massage therapist, and can be very effective and helpful.

If you would like to learn more about pre-natal massage therapy, or to book an appointment, please click here to visit our website.

Pre-Natal Massage and Circulation: The Dangers of An Untrained Therapist

There are many incorrect views and mis-conceptions about the practice of pre-natal massage. The first view is that all pre-natal massage is dangerous and should be avoided. As with many things, this is a popular mis-conception. The second view is that all massage therapists can give pre-natal massage. This mis-conception is made stronger by the fact that many massage therapists will provide pre-natal massage when they are not certified.

When a woman becomes pregnant, there are many changes that her body goes through that must be understood by her massage therapist. Especially when it comes to circulation, there are many critical changes that take place that do indeed make massage therapy by an untrained therapist dangerous. When a woman becomes pregnant, her body dilates all of the veins in her system. This is fine, but when receiving a massage, it can become dangerous if it is given in the wrong areas.

Most massage therapists who are not trained in this area do not know that certain areas on the legs should not be massaged on a pregnant woman for her own safety. If these precautions are not followed, there can be serious consequences to the woman. The most important and dangerous consequence is a pulmonary embolism, which can be caused by excessive pressure on the woman’s legs.

A pulmonary embolism can easily become damaging and potentially deadly if it is not treated. And since the symptoms of a pulmonary embolism resemble those of other problems, such as a heart attack, diagnosis may be difficult. In most cases, this condition does not lead to death, but if the clot is large and blocks a large portion of the lung, it can cause death.

Massage therapists who are trained in pre-natal massage and post-natal massage are familiar with these issues, and are able to avoid areas where a deep vein thrombosis may occur. While a deep vein thrombosis, or deep blood clot attached to the wall of a vein or artery, is somewhat common during pregnancy, it is when it is dislodged from its location that it causes a problem. For this reason alone, it is wisest to seek out a massage therapist who is trained in this area, for your own protection.

There are also other reasons to seek out a trained therapist as well. The more training a therapist has as it relates to your specific condition, the more techniques they will be aware of to specifically help you. For example, the aches and pains brought on by pregnancy can be better helped by someone who knows where they are likely to be. Also, a pre-natal massage therapist will be trained in abdominal massage, without fearing that she will hurt the fetus since she will be doing it properly, as trained.

For these reasons, among many others, a certified pre-natal massage therapist is a valuable addition to your pregnancy healthcare team. Mountainside On Site Massage Therapy has several trained pre-natal massage therapists available to provide massage to you during your pregnancy. Please click here to visit our website for more information, or to contact us to schedule a pre-natal massage.

Post-natal Massage: Helping to Restore Your Flatter Tummy

Most women who have had their first child are very disappointed with the speed at which their stomach returns to normal. In a normal situation, the stomach starts to flatten in a couple of weeks, and becomes more or less normal in a few months or more. I say more or less because without certain interventions, the tummy will not return to completely normal.


The interventions that I am mentioning specifically relates to reconditioning of the rectus abdominis so that it joins together again. Most women are not aware that the main muscle in the center of the stomach, the rectus abdominis, actually splits in half during pregnancy. If it did not split in half, it would become stretched and distended, thus becoming non-functional after the baby was born. Instead, our intelligent bodies preserve the form of the rectus abdominis by splitting it right in half down the middle, and sending half to one side of the body and the other half to the other side of the body.


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Post-Natal Massage: Preparing the New Mom’s Body for the Busyness of Motherhood

Post natal massage therapy is a great way to prepare the new mother’s body for the brand new task of motherhood. Motherhood is a very demanding job for anyone, and young mothers especially have a hard time of it, since it can be extremely taxing to care for a newborn.

Continuous nursing of the new baby, picking up and putting down of the new baby, as well as changing and carrying, are very demanding on the new mother. Aside from nursing, these same activities are very demanding on the new father. New fathers are expected to perform these same activities, and are always trying to decrease the burden on their wives, as well.

All of this is not even taking into consideration the extreme demands that a growing child will place on the new mother and father. Soccer practice, swim teams, and the myriad of other activities that the modern child is expected to take part in can all add to the stress of being a new mother.

Post natal massage therapy is an excellent way to restore the mother’s body as closely as possible to the state that it was in before the pregnancy ensued, especially with regard to the extreme demands placed on the body during the intense stages of labor. Labor causes a number of issues for the new mother’s body, including possible tears to the muscles of the pelvic floor, along with pain to certain muscles on the side and lower back of the body, especially the quadratus lumborum and the psoas muscles.

If you would like more information about post-natal massage, there are several other blogs specifically related to post natal massage therapy and the benefits thereof, and you can also check out our post-natal massage page by clicking here.

Pre-Natal Massage: An Under-Utilized Form of Help For The Future Mom

Pre-natal massage is a seriously under-utilized and misunderstood modality that most pregnant women are not aware of as an excellent form of preparation for their impending motherhood. Massage therapy has been shown to have numerous benefits for pregnant women.

One of the most important benefits of pre-natal massage is its helpfulness in preparing the body for the actual act of birth. By relaxing the muscles involved in childbirth, it can help to make the process of birthing slightly less painful, and it can also help reduce the trauma of labor on the new mother’s body, especially when employed during labor. Some of the more common muscles which can be hurt by the process of labor are the quadratus lumborum, the iliopsoas, and the muscles of the pelvic floor.

Certain techniques of pre-natal massage can help to prepare the pelvic floor for the process of birth, and these techniques are used in the last trimester or pregnancy. Other techniques can be used throughout the process of pregnancy to alleviate the muscular tensions created by the baby being formed within the pregnant woman.

Some of the most useful benefits of pre-natal massage are the techniques that can be taught to the pregnant woman’s partner, as well as postural lessons and teaching helpful breathing techniques to alleviate the anxiety that can occur when the baby starts to press on the lower ribs and take up some of the space normally reserved for the mother’s lungs. Suddenly being unable to breathe fully, where you had been previously able to take a complete deep breath from the front of the body, can cause unnecessary anxiety in the new mom.

Another benefit to pre-natal massage is the stimulation of the lactation hormone, oxytocin. This hormone promotes lactation, and also helps with the birthing process, as it stimulates uterine contractions when the baby is ready to be born. Massage therapy has been shown in some studies to promote the production of this important hormone.

Of course, one of the most understood forms of massage is post-natal massage, which is sought because of the extreme amounts of tension that the new mother is experiencing from the act of birthing along with the strain of having the weight of the baby pulling on her back. However, new moms should know that some of these tensions can be prevented through regular pre-natal massage before the birth of the baby.

Pregnant women can benefit from pre-natal massage in many ways. If you are pregnant and thinking about receiving a pre-natal massage, please visit our pregnancy massage webpage by clicking here.

Post Natal Massage For Healthy Mother and Baby Bonding

Post natal massage therapy has been recognized as an essential part of post-partum care in cultures around the world. In India, the mother and baby are secluded for a period of 40 days, with the mother receiving massage therapy and giving her baby regular massages throughout the day.

Oxytocin is a hormone that has been shown to facilitate the bonding between a mother and her baby, in addition to the widely known effects of increasing breast milk production and making feeding easier for the infant. A recent controlled clinical trial performed at UCLA determined that massage therapy, in contrast to a control group, was able to increase levels of oxytocin in a person’s bloodstream.

This is great news for first time mothers especially, but also for all mothers in general. Very often, first time mothers have a hard time producing enough milk for their infant, and are forced to seek out formula rather than underfeed. Since this hormone is known for increasing milk production, it makes perfect sense that other cultures have appreciated the effects of post-partum massage therapy.

An article published on parenting.com strongly suggests infant massage by their mothers are further facilitating the bonding between the mother and baby. Simple infant massage techniques can be taught to new mothers by massage therapists or by books readily available online and in bookstores. Massage therapy’s stimulation of oxytocin production in the infant and the new mother has also been shown to help the new mother and baby bond.

For more information about post-natal massage and how it can benefit you and your baby, please visit our post-partum massage page by clicking here.