The RMT’s pressure for belly massage during pregnancy is very light and is not meant to palpate the baby as her midwife or obstetrician does. during pregnancy. I recently read a study from the Miami School of Medicine in the Touch Re -search Institute, where researchers found that after receiving pregnancy massage, “only the massage therapy group . . . re -ported reduced anxiety, improved mood, better sleep and less back pain by the last day of the study. In addition, urinary stress hormone levels (norepinephrine) decreased for the massage therapy group and the women had fewer complications during labor and their infants had fewer postnatal complications (e.g., less pre -maturity).” (Field et al., 1999) how they got pregnant so that I can get a clearer picture of what they have been going through physically and emotion -ally for the last year or so. the latter tell me that now, lying on their side, they realize how they were so tense on those tables, or lying prone, how they couldn’t fully relax. The supine position can be done by placing pillows behind her back, to create an incline, and un -der her knees, while supporting her right hip with a wedge pillow to avoid supine hypotensive syndrome. Sidelying is most recommended to patients by their mid -wife or obstetrician because it is safe, fa -cilitates sharing, avoids sinus congestion, decreases edema, maximizes maternal cardiac function and fetal oxygenation and avoids intrauterine pressure. FERTILITY AND MASSAGE The childbearing years for women can be exciting and stressful at the same time. For some, getting pregnant is easy. For others, the cost and stress of fertility procedures can make getting pregnant emotionally, financially and physically draining. A massage therapist can help a pregnant woman decrease stress, help nurture her body as it undergoes medi -cal treatments, and help her to reconnect with her body. I usually ask my patients 20 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | MAY 2013 POSITIONING FOR A SAFE AND COMFORTABLE TREATMENT It is not up to the pregnant patient to know what positions are safe for mas -sage. As her RMT, we can educate her on safe positions and make sure she is comfortable on our table. Often, new pa -tients ask about the massage tables with a hole for her belly or pregnancy pillows that allow her to lie prone in her second and third trimester. It is not OK for your patient in her second or third trimester to be prone for any reason. The prone posi -tion on a table with a hole puts too much strain on the sacrouterine ligaments and the prone pillows increase intrauterine pressure. These positions actually make some patients feel more stressed out. I splurged on an ergonomic pillowing system. It is well worth the money and I get asked by patients where they can buy the pillows for sleeping at home all the time. Patients who have experienced THE RMT AS A TRuSTED RESOuRCE Appointment booking times are a lot longer for massage therapy treatments than for any of a woman’s other health-care treatments. An RMT can become a practitioner she sees often, and with her appointments lasting from 30 to 90 min -utes, the relationship we create allows the patient to feel safe receiving massage during such an important time in her life. The Internet is a powerful tool, full of ideas and comments about pregnancy www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor May 2013: Page 20
