CHAPTER 1: PREGNANCY MASSAGE BASICS This book covers massage for every stage of bringing a new baby into the world, from the massages leading to pregnancy to the baby massages so important to parental bonding and baby thriving. This chapter begins with the basic strokes and equipment you will need. Chapter 2 helps you learn massage techniques for each trimester of pregnancy, and chapter 3 suggests specific massage treatments of some of the most common conditions in pregnancy. Chapter 4 deals with labor and delivery, and chapter 5 gives massage for the physical and emotional needs of the postpartum phase. Chapter 6 explains how to massage for the challenges of breastfeeding, and chapter 7 gets you set up for the most fun of all: massaging your new baby! Role of Massage in Pregnancy In a typical healthy pregnancy, there is much to treat with massage therapy, from the discomfort of prenatal headaches to flat feet. Low back pain, digestive troubles, and respiratory tension are the most common complaints in the body of a pregnant woman. Added body weight and extra fluid in the extremities give rise to carpal tunnel syndrome and numbness in the fingers. The lower extremities sport the conditions of sciatica, contracted iliotibial bands, knee problems, spasms in the calves, swollen ankles, and foot cramping.

Massage is the best way to get feedback from your body even before you are pregnant. I always encourage couples to look at the year of getting pregnant as preparing for a major sports event. Signing up for the race is a commitment to be as strong as possible for the event. Anyone can train for success if they have enough time and a good team to help keep them on track. The Maternity Team The most common maternity team is made up of the core players that make the event happen in the first place: the couple working to get pregnant. But there are others to invite into this inner sanctum at the beginning of the marathon. Usually, the people we inform first become important players on our maternity team. When I found out I was pregnant, I told my husband first, and then our parents and best friends.

I knew my team would be these people, those who would be there for me, hands on at every stage. Over the years, I have worked with an incredible variety of birthing teams. One patient, a single mother having her fourth child, had a wonderful family and mother who all showed up to the labor room. When I arrived, it looked like a family reunion with seven adults and three children talking and laughing in excitement. I quickly got the mob under control and focused by giving them each a hands-on job to do. To this day, that is still my biggest team. I''ve had a transgender couple, gay couples, single moms, adopting parents, giving-up-for-adoption moms, and surrogate moms; they all had their own special teams of people. I once had a best man massaging his friend''s wife in the final month of her pregnancy.

I''ve also had many lesbian couples, who sometimes involve their other single lesbian friends; for many, this is the only birth they may ever experience. When my patients Selena and Julie had Dénali, there were so many female couples at that baby''s celebration, it seemed like a women''s festival. Although the people on your team might not be instinctively good at doing massage, they share your joy and enthusiasm for the new baby. I am always surprised at the efforts families make to become comfortable massaging the pregnant woman. With the right feedback about their touch, even the most ungifted tactile types can be taught to listen and feel with a touch that is not only therapeutic but also relaxing. Never underestimate the power of family for helping throughout the pregnancy and then through the miracle of labor and delivery. My mom was very good with her hands. My father was also a hands-on person.

Together they gave me the gift of touch. Even though she couldn''t be with me when I gave birth to my daughter, my mom came to mind when I was in the throes of despair in my labor. I talked with her on the phone from the bathtub; I cried for her as I was wheeled down the hospital corridor; from across the country, she was with me in my moments of pain. She was still on my team, even from a distance. Just last year, I taught my daughter''s fiancé, Joel, to do the massages for her second trimester in a tandem massage tutorial. He has a natural touch. I felt inspired and confident that I was leaving her in good hands when I saw how quickly he picked up her feedback and adapted his strokes to suit her. So many pregnant women could benefit from daily massages but don''t have people with available hands to work on them.

Sometimes pregnant partners are working away from home or simply are not the helpful hands-on type. I would like to see a buddy system for pregnancy involving volunteers, especially in the senior age group, who would be available to regularly massage moms-to-be. The latest reports from Statistics Canada show there are, for the first time, more seniors than youth in the country. Let''s put those experienced hands to work as partners in maternity massage. Whatever the maternity massage team looks like, this book will help them be more comfortable being hands on during the pregnancy. Everyone is capable of learning basic massage skills. Conceiving in Good Hands The most important massage in the pregnancy story is the conception massage that gets everything off to a good start. Those marathon massages are ways to make the getting-pregnant session extra special.

There is never too much massage for getting babies started! The massage techniques used for pregnancy are also good for encouraging conception. I encourage couples wanting to get pregnant to make some changes to their normal bedtime massaging by checking in with each other about favorite massage strokes. Usually couples, young or old, think they know how to work with their partner because they are so used to each other. I ask them to pretend they are not that familiar, that they are fresh and new to the touch. This freshness is usually, for most, a marriage-enriching idea. How can we get better at pleasing each other, at relaxing each other, and attending to each other''s everyday aches and pains? This is the phase of maternity massage that is as creative as the two people making love. Opportunities for bonding, loving, and procreating are right at the tips of our fingers. The power of touch is also useful in the disappointments that accompany many couples through months and years without fertilization.

I don''t use the word unsuccessful with the sometimes painfully long process of trying to get pregnant. I have worked with many couples who are infertile and never experience childbirth. I am inspired by their level of commitment to massaging each other and, in effect, softening the harshness of those continual disappointments. Their power of touch for each other helps them thrive as a couple and stay emotionally healthy throughout a difficult time. The Maternity Training Program We should have a workout program for conception. It would look like a training program for any other athlete. People would sign up for the event, grab a bag of massage gear, and head out to the training field. In this case, training would include massage, special baths, and lots of yoga and cardio exercise, especially swimming.

I highly recommend swimming before and during pregnancy as a way to keep fit and be gentle on joints like the knees. A good program to strengthen the abdominal muscles would also be key. Some pregnant women work to develop their abdominal muscles during pregnancy even though they didn''t before they became pregnant. There is such a rush to achieve a flat tummy postpartum that many women start early. Working on abdominal strength is great for those with low back pain. Abdominal exercises help strengthen and stabilize the low back and reduce the risk of developing back pain. Women would get a coach or training partner and would set some goals and a timetable to achieve the strengthening needed in time for the big event. The training partner could be a pregnant friend or someone who just wants to be on the birthing team.

Best yet, the woman''s conception partner would go running, go swimming, do yoga, and attend weekly pregnancy-massage classes, just to be in shape for new parenthood. Massage Gear You don''t need much in the way of special equipment for massage. You probably already have most of what you need. Lubricant Almost any viscous substance will do as a lubricant, as long as it is healthy: choose one that is edible and nourishing to the skin. Almond oil and cold pressed virgin olive oil are excellent, although they can stain your linens. Nonstaining oils, such as walnut and coconut, are also excellent. I''ve used coconut oil throughout my massage career. I used to find it only in health food stores, but today it''s readily available at nearly every grocery store.

If the mom likes fragrances and doesn''t have any allergies or sensitivities, you might want to try aromatherapy oils and lotions. Table Massage tables are easily available from retail stores and online, but they are not a prerequisite to doing a great home massage. Your bed is fine. The bed is the place most pregnancies start and the place where many babies are born. I have the stature of a twelve-year-old, so I find it easy to move around on the top of a bed to do a massage. However, you might find it easier to stand beside the bed. Some beds today are so high that only a pole-vaulter can access them easily. But these high beds do make it easier for tall people who find it hard to squat or kneel on the bed while massaging.

If the bed s.