Experience The Best in Pregnancy / Prenatal Massage, Pre & Postpartum Care in Boston's Back Bay

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Welcome !   I created this page to help you find and learn about my my Prenatal and Postpartum Massage work.

If you are looking to find the best Massage Therapist in Boston's Back Bay, or recommendations for Pregnancy Massage Therapy in Boston, I am happy that you found us here.

Massage for Moms-to-Be

There is something so special, so thrilling, about massaging a pregnant woman. It is an honor and a privilege. It also comes with tremendous responsibilities. Competent and appropriate training in this specialty is essential for the safety of mother and baby. And creating a nurturing, nonjudgmental working environment is paramount to achieving your desired treatment outcomes.
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Since stress has negative effects on pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery, one of the main goals of a prenatal massage practitioner is to control and lower maternal stress and anxiety. Common pregnancy-related physical discomforts—such as backaches, nausea, swelling—and any emotional concerns may add to maternal stress levels. Long-term exposure to heightened stress levels can lead to potentially serious health problems, such as suppressed maternal immune function, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Massage and bodywork, when appropriately administered during pregnancy, can have a powerful influence in mitigating the effects of stress. Massage sedates and restores the nervous system. Proprioceptors of the deeper soft tissues relay messages to the central nervous system about muscle tension and blood pressure. The heat produced by massage signals both the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems to balance, correct, and restore these self-regulating mechanisms.

Effects of Stress on Pregnancy
• Dampened effectiveness of oxytocin
• Delayed infant neuromotor development
• Elevated maternal heart rate and blood pressure
• Higher incidences of miscarriage
• Increased stress hormones
• Increased labor pain
• Increased likelihood of (maternal) unhealthy lifestyle habits
• Low fetal birth weight and premature labor
• Maternal depression
• Obstetrical complications
• Prolonged labor or failure to progress
• Uterine vasoconstriction

Effects of Stress on Fetal Development
• Behavioral problems, such as ADD
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Cognitive delays, such as autism and autistic spectrum disorders
• Diabetes later in life
• High blood pressure and cardiovascular disease later in life
• Hypersensitivity
• Low birth weight
• Neuromotor delays
• Obesity later in life
• Premature labor
• Slowed brain development

Relaxation is further enhanced by the pain-reducing, or analgesic, effect it provides. Blood vessels dilate, waste products get reabsorbed and excreted, tissues become oxygenated, and pain is diminished. Beta-endorphins and serotonin (a neurotransmitter) are secreted during massage and work together to inhibit the central nervous system and produce that “feel-good” response.

Prenatal massage also addresses many of the musculoskeletal discomforts expectant women experience—abdominal pressure, backaches, hemorrhoids, sinus congestion, and swelling can all be relieved or reduced by appropriate prenatal massage. In addition, the emotional and psychological effects of prenatal massage cannot be overlooked or underestimated. The nurturing and respectful touch given by a qualified practitioner helps the expectant mother achieve a sense of peace during an unsettling time. A woman who feels validated and affirmed through someone’s loving touch is also more likely to display better parenting skills, be more attentive to her baby, and touch her child in a loving, supportive manner.

If you are considering a prenatal massage, its useful to remember the loving work you will be receiving has a positive impact on both you and your growing baby.   Everything the mother feels is transmitted to her baby through biochemical agents. The experiences she has while pregnant, and the type of birth she has, leave lasting patterns in her baby.

Physical, Emotional, and Psychological Changes of Pregnancy
Pregnancy and becoming a mother is a defining and life-changing experience for many women. It can be an emotional roller coaster ride, especially for first-time moms who may not be aware of all the dynamic changes pregnancy causes to the body and psyche.

Many of these changes are brought on by hormonal shifts, particularly the elevated levels of estrogen and progesterone, which are increased to nearly 10 times their normal levels. Emotional liability, or the ups and downs of pregnancy, and conflicting feelings are part of the experience. But it can be disconcerting for women who expect to feel one way, but actually feel another.

For some women, their growing bodies bring tremendous satisfaction and pride, while others dislike their shape and have a poor self-image. The aches and pains from the common discomforts of pregnancy add to their malaise. Fears and concerns about the pregnancy and impending childbirth, parenthood, and relationships with their partners, families, and friends are also factors in this richly emotional, sensitive time. The support a woman has—or doesn’t have—has a tremendous impact on her pregnancy and labor.
Past traumas can also leave indelible scars on the pregnancies of some women.

Maternal stress has a direct impact on the baby’s health. A study on the effects of maternal stress on the baby indicated that fetal heart rates of stressed mothers stayed higher longer, suggesting a heightened reaction to stress. These responses to stress have been linked to delayed or stunted fetal development, low birth weight, preterm labor, and higher incidences of cardiovascular disease and diabetes later in life for the babies. The study went on to say that the women who regularly employed relaxation techniques—such as massage, meditation, and yoga—had lower blood pressure and fostered a healthy in utero environment, thereby producing calmer babies.

Stress can affect blood flow to the uterus by as much as 65 percent, denying the growing baby essential nutrients and oxygen, which in turn may lead to low birth weight, preterm labor, and a long, difficult labor for mom. It is important that, in addition to relieving your aches and pains, the massage provides a safe haven of comfort, nurturing, respect, and stress reduction that impacts both you and your baby.

I apply the appropriate modality: soothing, calming, nurturing Swedish massage in a nonjudgmental environment of safety, respect, and support that addresses her physical and emotional needs.

Abridged from text by Elaine Stillerman.

I offer a prenatal / postpartum massage package which is ideal for moms to be. It covers 3 crucial appointments, 2 prior to delivery and one up to 10 weeks postpartum. Often overlooked, a postpartum massage may be the most important massage you ever receive.                                                                     To order, simply click on the link below