Pregnancy is a blessing to be sure, but it also has a few--er--side effects that women might not love. A little pampering during pregnancy is key to a new mom to be's happiness. Between my skin going berzerk and a weird shooting pain in my hip, I felt less than glamorous throughout the nine months. Take my advice and invest in beauty and spa treatments--think of it as a Valentine to your body.
Related: Pregnancy Safe-Skincare and Beauty Products
For me, pregnancy massage was an incredible investment. I headed off for monthly sessions at Manhattan's Maternal Massage and More. I came in hobbling and left blissed out. My advice is to look for a massage therapist that makes use of the bodyCushion support system. The bodyCushion alleviated the pressure on my neck, breasts, and lower back and let me rest on my belly (oh how I missed that when I was pregnant). I'm not making this up.
Benefits of Maternity Massage
According to a study done by the Univ. of Miami, pregnancy massage can help:
* Lowered anxiety
* Decreased back and leg pain
* Improved sleep
* Decreased levels of the stress hormone norepinephrine
* increased levels of the "feel-good" hormones serotonin and dopamine
* decreased levels of cortisol, an indicator of stress
* an overall improvement in mood
More about Maternal Massage
Janet V. Markovits has been a NY State licensed massage therapist since 1997. A graduate of the Swedish Institute of Massage, Janet is Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and is a member of the American Massage Therapy Association.
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