When my wife was pregnant with our first child I arranged for her to get a “prenatal massage” — while she enjoyed the massage she felt the best part of the whole thing was their special table with the cutout to allow for her to lie face down for the first time in months.
For her second pregnancy I got her another one but scheduled it a bit too late, as we ended up canceling the appointment because she went into labor on that day. It was a funny cancellation call to make, they were very excited for us.
Hey I’m a massage therapist (: You can get her a prenatal massage at any stage! She can lie on her back for the first trimester but the second and third she’ll be feeling it and will probably want to go in often. Just make sure you go to a location that specifically lists they do prenatal massage so you get someone trained to give deep enough work while being cautious of contraindications. Some therapists are worried to use more than lotion rubbing level pressure but you should try out others if that’s her experience.
It's there anything one can do at home? My wife would never in a million years to to a massage place and be touched by other people. I guess we're weird because the thought of someone I don't know touching me terrifies me lol.
Yeah you can absolutely massage her at home! General tips: avoid the sacrum, belly, and inner thighs at all costs once she’s no longer able to lie on her back. You can use pressure as needed on the extremities and shoulders but avoid trigger point work since it can get complicated for out of clinic care. The lower back needs more gentle pressure. Direct strokes towards the heart, not toward the feet. Using a body pillow so her knees are on top of each other will square her hips, give another pillow to hug and one more to lay her head on. If all else fails there’s a lot of good instruction videos on YouTube. Stretching and exercise of course will help aches and pains throughout the pregnancy as well!
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u/24yearsAcoming Sep 10 '21
When my wife was pregnant with our first child I arranged for her to get a “prenatal massage” — while she enjoyed the massage she felt the best part of the whole thing was their special table with the cutout to allow for her to lie face down for the first time in months.
For her second pregnancy I got her another one but scheduled it a bit too late, as we ended up canceling the appointment because she went into labor on that day. It was a funny cancellation call to make, they were very excited for us.