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.

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.

Craniosacral Therapy To Help Pregnant Women and Newborns

In a 2008 issue of Midwifery Today, the many benefits of CranioSacral Therapy to pregnant women and their newborn infants is discussed. The article I am referring to can be found here

CranioSacral Therapy administered during pregnancy can help to ease restrictions in the woman’s body that might hamper her ability for an optimal birthing experience. By healing the restrictions, especially those in the pelvis and hips, the birth can take place more easily in many cases. The relieving of these restrictions can also help to facilitate the mother infant bonding experience, which is critical to the infant’s health and well-being. CranioSacral Therapy can also help to promote the proper fetal positioning, and can be especially helpful if the baby is presenting posteriorly.

One of the most common complaints of pregnancy, low back pain, can also be alleviated by CranioSacral Therapy, as can ligament pain. Ligament pain often occurs in pregnancy because of the loosening of all of the joints in the body due to the hormone newly secreted, relaxin. This causes pain because one must still walk and do all other activities, albeit with less properly tense joints. Even though CranioSacral Therapy works through a very light touch, it is surprisingly effective. Many case studies over the years have shown dramatic improvements in a variety of conditions, even those that have no medical treatment, and no known cause.

The ideal time for the application of CranioSacral Therapy for a pregnant woman is during the actual phases of labor. This is why midwives and doulas that are certified in this therapy can be invaluable to a woman while she is giving birth. They can help to unwind the pelvis, sacrum, and uterus, and when this is occurring during the birth process, the effects can be profound. Each time the pelvis goes out of alignment during labor, the skilled therapist can help to bring it back into balance.

In the postpartum period, this article discusses the great benefit to the mother of this therapy. It assists with musculoskeletal reintegration, emotional balance, and pelvic health, along with helping to alleviate the stresses on the mother’s body of newborn infant care.

With regard to babies and children, CranioSacral Therapy can help with general health, as well as to eliminate the lasting effects of birth trauma. When a baby has had a natural childbirth, intense forces have acted on the cranium and body during the passage through the birth canal. These forces can create lasting problems for the infant, which CranioSacral Therapy works to correct. Another issue that newborns can have which this therapy has shown effectiveness for is the ability to properly nurse. This therapy can help with the sucking reflex and latching.

In addition to the reasons stated above, there are many other benefits that CranioSacral Therapy has on newborns, children, as well as adults and pregnant women. The author has offered numerous resources for midwives and doulas, as well as other health care practitioners, to learn more about, and become certified in, CranioSacral Therapy. I believe, as she seems to, that all providers of maternal and pre-maternal care can offer greater benefits to their patients through training in CranioSacral Therapy. It is a very useful and helpful modality for all women, and especially to pregnant women.

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.

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.