Prenatal massage is one of the many things that pregnant women crave during the months that they are carrying their unborn child.
This specific treatment is made to cater to the needs and wants of a woman's pregnant body.
There are specific areas where the masseuse should touch but at the same time there are areas where they can concentrate to ease the aches and pains of impending motherhood.
The burgeoning belly can prove to be an obstacle that many innovative spas have tried to overcome by providing pillows and wedges to make the mother more comfortable.
The woman can still lie on her stomach for the first two months of pregnancy but may find this uncomfortable due to her tender breasts.
Halfway through being pregnant, the budding belly should not be pressed and some spas have provided tables with holes strategically cut out to accommodate this.
Some also provide pillows and wedges for the woman to lie on her side at ease during the massage.
Some massages are done in the water to promote buoyancy for the mother.
It is definitely more relaxing to be buoyant with no heavy feeling combined with the relaxing feel of the tension and anxiety being rubbed and massaged away.
Spas often recommend regular treatments like these for the mother.
These can be accompanied by hair and nail treatments that can help the mother feel more appreciated and loved.
She will also feel less stressed out by the changes in her appearance if she makes herself more presentable.
Getting beauty treatments will help her feel less awkward and haggard.
Many spas accommodate soon to be mothers by using treatment ingredients, which are safe for both mother and unborn child.
Benefits The benefits of massage are mainly for the well-being and ease of the pregnant woman.
As her body changes with impending childbirth, the bones and muscles contract and move to accommodate it.
The usual places that feel the aches and pains are the back, hips and the legs.
Shoulders and the neck may also feel achy because of how she sleeps.
Getting a massage can basically ease these aches and pains as well as allow her to sleep during the period.
Easing these discomforts can actually allow the woman to be more relaxed and promote better well-being and stability on her part.
The father of the baby can also benefit from the relaxation that the mother feels because she will be less demanding and less irritable towards him.
The fathers are usually the targets of the mothers' ire when they feel anxious or irritable during pregnancy.
On the part of the unborn child, he or she benefits from the massage by being enveloped by the feelings of content and well-being that the mother feels.
The hormones and chemicals that the mother's body emits will be readily brought to the infant and these will benefit him or her.
If they are negative feelings, studies have shown that the infant can also react to these negatively.
Physical growth may be slower as well as emotional and mental growth.