Massage, carried out by an expert practitioner, can be nothing short of a godsend during pregnancy. Nikki offers specialist or adapted massages for pregnancy using gentle, relaxing strokes to help soothe aches and pains, improve your mood, and even help with labour.

What is prenatal massage good for?

Prenatal massage can help to:

• improve circulation, and increase the flow of oxygen to soft tissue and muscles
• reduce back, leg and joint pain
• reduce oedema (water retention) and swelling
• improve sleep
• improve mood and lower anxiety
• regulate hormones, such as helping to decrease levels of stress hormones and increase “happy” hormones such as serotonin and dopamine
• reduce muscle tension and tension headaches

What to expect from a prenatal massage

The first step of a prenatal massage is to get comfortable. The vena cava is a large blood vessel to your heart, which lies along the back wall of your abdomen, next to your spine. Lying on your back in the later stages of pregnancy can put undue pressure on this area, so it is more comfortable to lie on your side, both when you sleep, and when you have a massage.

During pregnancy, your blood volume can increase by up to 50 percent and, in turn, anticoagulant levels increase. This means that you are more at risk of blood clots, particularly in your thighs and calves. For this reason, a specialist pregnancy massage will not include any deep-tissue massage strokes in areas such as the legs.

Swedish massage techniques are sometimes used as this form of massage employs gliding strokes and gentle kneading designed to improve your blood and lymphatic circulation, soothe your muscles and make you more relaxed.

Nikki can also offer some useful advice in your treatment time, such as tips for better posture, or tips for getting through labour more comfortably.

It is worth remembering that most massage treatments take an hour or more. Feel free to let Nikki know if you need the loo during a treatment, as it isn’t exactly relaxing if you are focussed on your bladder rather than your breathing!