A postnatal massage facilitates women who have just a delivered a baby to get her body back to its condition after pregnancy. A relaxing massage, beginning from the soles of your feet to your forehead is beneficial for reinstating and revitalizing the energy and wellbeing of a mother with a newborn. This type of massage is best experienced or utilized within the first 40-day period after the newborn has been delivered. It typically begins with a traditional bath with indigenous herbs and natural remedies, before proceeding with the confinement massage.
In this article, we will explore 5 reasons why mothers should undergo postnatal massage after delivering their newborn.
1. Helps to Restore the Uterus to its Pre-Natal Condition
After a woman has given birth, a nurse or midwife will give the mother of the newborn a fundal massage. The fundal massage helps with uterine contractions, eliminating fluids, blood or other discharges from the body – and therefore, acts as a natural cleansing process and also aids in restoring the uterus back to its original pre-natal form and size.
Take note, however, that the risk with uterine massages comes when too much pressure is applied to the massage. Remember to consult of a medical professional or doctor before attempting abdominal massage at home or with a massage therapist.
For mothers who have delivered via cesarean, it is not recommended that they undergo abdominal massage after delivery for 6 weeks.
2. Helps to Mitigate Postpartum Blues
The weight of responsibility that a mother with a newborn carries may be insurmountable – therefore causing her to be sleep deprived, anxious, stressed and nervous. This may lead to postpartum depression.
Therefore, postnatal massage helps to relieve them off their stress and also helps with getting better sleep. It revitalizes their senses and good massage techniques helps with improving their overall moods.
Postnatal massages also help in recovering the body strength and muscles of a mother. This helps them to pay more attention and assist with their child’s needs.
3. Improves Breastfeeding
Postnatal massage involves special massage techniques that assist with the creation and stimulation of breast tissue. It also helps with boosting prolactin levels – the hormone responsible for lactation.
This helps to stimulate milk production which can be beneficial for both the mother and the newborn as well.
4. Better Coping Mechanism to Handle Post-Delivery Pain.
According to an article published by the Confinement Nanny Agency, during the later stages of pregnancy, a woman will undergo several changes to her body which includes an increase in the lumbar curve due to weight gain and pelvic shift.
The result of the change is joint tenderness and muscle pain. As mothers begin to breastfeed, she may find herself beginning to feel pain at her neck, back and shoulders.
A massage is therefore therapeutic in relieving the pain and tensions, helping mothers to enjoy a comfortable postnatal period.
5. Postnatal Massages Help to Make the Skin Glow.
Postnatal massages help to improve a person’s blood flow and to soothe stretched tissue. It may even help to reduce stretch marks often gained during pregnancy – to give you a blossoming post-natal glow.
When can mothers proceed with postnatal massages?
Mothers can proceed with enlisting the help of a massage therapist as soon as they get back from the hospital. The earliest would be five days after delivering the baby. However, take note that mothers who deliver by c-section can only undergo postnatal massage once all of their bodily wounds have sufficiently healed.
