Pregnancy Massage

NATURAL WAYS TO RELIEVE THE STRESSES & STRAINS OF THE BIRTHING YEAR.

Massage therapy during the birthing year is not intended to replace pre-natal care by your physician, obstetrician or midwife. These professionals ensure vital monitoring of gestational progress and maternal health. As your massage therapist, I am able to work more effectively when working in collaboration with your healthcare provider.

Please remember that even when you're not pregnant, that massage and aromatherapy are a wonderful way to relax and release tension. Your own special time away from the stresses and strains of everyday life. Please ask for a separate brochure.

Specialised pregnancy massage

Pregnancy creates significant physiological, structural, psychological, relational, and spiritual changes in a woman's life. Massage therapy and bodywork are particularly effective forms of adjunctive healthcare during this time, offering a wide range of benefits to the expectant mother and her baby. Massage therapy during pregnancy reduces stress and promotes relaxation, relieves muscle tension, cramping and other soft tissue discomforts as well as supports the physiological and emotional needs that naturally arise during pregnancy.

As a massage therapist I am fully qualified and experienced in Pregnancy Massage. I am committed to providing specialised care to you during your pregnancy and postnatal period. You will receive an unprecedented level of specialised care bringing you warmth, comfort and highly effective techniques with a thorough understanding of the physical effects of pregnancy.

It is my policy to follow conservative therapeutic guidelines so that you feel safe comfortable and in good hands at all times. The ergonomic bodycushions used to position your body during pregnancy and for the short period after having given birth, when your stomach and breast areas may still be tender, are so comfortable, that many women wish they could take them home.

Videos and books are also available for those wishing a deeper knowledge of the birthing process.

Massage during pregnancy

• Reduces stress and promotes relaxation
• Reduces oedema and blood pressure, relieves varicose veins, and increases blood and lymph circulation
• Reduces muscle and joint strain and pain including back aches, cramps and carpal tunnel syndrome
• Facilitates hormonal, respiratory, gastro-intestinal, urinary, and other physiological processes during pregnancy
• Contributes to developing flexibility and awareness to better participate in the birth process
• Fosters nurturing maternal touch

Trials performed by the Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of medicine, published in the journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology (March 1999) confirmed that massage therapy during pregnancy had very positive results:

• Reduced anxiety and improved mood
• Better sleep
• Less back pain
• Reduced stress hormones
• Fewer complications in labour
• Babies with fewer postnatal complications
• A lower rate of prematurity

Massage during labour and birth

The statistics on labour support are excellent, having been confirmed in extensive studies, including those by M Klaus M.D. in the British Medical Journal, J Kennel M.D. in Paediatric Research and E Hodnett in Birth.

• Reduced need for induction, epidurals and episiotomies
• Lower stress levels
• Fewer cesarean births
• Shorter labour times

A two hour hands on tuition is available, designed to teach your birth partner ways to help during labour. This includes instruction in the use of massage and bodywork including pressure techniques for relaxation and contraction relief. This is an extra level of care for the mother in labour, providing additional physical and emotional support.

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Ronnie Allan, 21 Trenchard Court, South Harbour Street, Ayr, KA7 1JU
Telephone: 01292 880 442 Email: info@ronnieallan.com

All content copyright© Ronnie Allan, 2003. All Rights Reserved.