Importance & Benefits of Prenatal & Postnatal Massage for Mums

Making a new life within your body is a wonderful yet taxing phenomenon. Weight gain, organ rearrangement, hormonal changes, new sleeping patterns — these are just some of the many changes a woman undergoes when she is pregnant or recovering from giving birth. A mother will feel varying levels of discomfort and pain in her body while her baby continues to grow inside her womb or when the little one comes out into the world. For a mother’s relief, there are prenatal & postnatal massages in Singapore that can be explored. These massages are therapeutic and targeted to ease the body, helping in relieving body aches during pregnancy and aiding in recovery after delivery.

I personally found these massages extremely helpful and relaxing. In this post, I will be outlining the benefits of pregnancy massage & postnatal pampering, and also be sharing my own experiences on both prenatal & postnatal massages with PNSG. 

What is a prenatal massage?

As mummies, we know that there are times when our body becomes uncooperative and feeling all achy when we’re pregnant, especially so during the last trimester. With the added weight that our body needs to carry, backaches, muscle tensions, and leg cramps, among many others, are inevitable. I suffered from all of these (and more, a.k.a. morning sickness!) during my pregnancy, hence I scoured the internet and consulted my doctor for ways on how to relieve these body aches. Thankfully, I came to know about PNSG and their services.

A prenatal massage targets the pain and discomfort that you experience while pregnant, such as muscle cramps, excessive swelling, and joint aches. Each session that I had with my therapist made me feel so relaxed and rejuvenated. I just wished that each session could go on and on!

So, how does prenatal massage work? It’s not just a regular massage that you usually experience in spas — this massage is tailored by therapists especially for pregnant women. The prenatal massage’s purpose is to: 

• Bring relief to soreness, back pain, and leg cramps
• Reduce lower hip and back pain
• Improve blood circulation and reduce swelling
• Promote relaxation while reducing your stress levels

A good prenatal massage also helps mummies have a smoother delivery during childbirth.

What is a postnatal massage?

After childbirth, mothers experience another wave of physical and emotional changes. Some examples of challenges that a new mother goes through are post-surgery swellings, body pains, lactation, body dysmorphia, and postpartum depression. Thus, it is immensely important that you get good emotional support and postnatal care or pampering after childbirth! This is where postnatal massage comes in, involving massage techniques that relieve post-childbirth issues and pamper mummies to the fullest.

Just like prenatal massage, a postnatal or post baby massage is not your regular spa’s pampering massage. It is also a carefully tailored massage for recovering mothers that is done during the postpartum period to help the body recuperate faster within the comfort of their own home! Postnatal massages helps to:

• Efficiently relieve water retention and tones the body
• Promotes better sleep
• Improves lactation
• Reduce post surgeries swellings
• Speed up womb recovery

Where to get a pre/postnatal massage in Singapore? Try out the well-reviewed Post Natal Massage Singapore (PNSG)

Pregnancy and childbirth are topics that are important to me since I’ve experienced both firsthand. We always want only the best for me and my child, and so we consulted both friends and doctors to help us find the right massage therapist. PNSG is one of the best that we found when it comes to prenatal and postnatal massage, especially with their incredible reviews on Facebook. 

Their packages are reasonably priced and their massage therapists are well-trained. What’s even more convenient is that the therapists will head down to your home for the massage. The company also promises that all precautionary measures against COVID-19 are done regularly (proper washing of hands, use of face mask, & monitoring of the body temperature) — this is what I appreciate the most amidst the pandemic. It was greatly reassuring, and it allowed me to relax even further because the whole process felt safe. 

I also love all their freebies, inclusive of the postnatal massage package, consisting of a customised binder, telon oil for my little one, rejuvenating lotion, grapeseed oil, pilis (herbal mixture for headaches, excess wind, and blurry vision), and tapel. 

Importance & benefits of prenatal massage (and how it is done in PNSG)

So, how does prenatal massage work? First, the therapist will warm up your body with soothing oil and massages to ensure that there is no risk of injury. Next, pregnancy swellings and leg cramps will be addressed by massaging your legs, with a focus on calve muscles. This will also help reduce the water retention in your thigh area, thereby reducing excessive swelling and improving blood circulation.

A full body massage comes next, targeting the muscle tension and back pains that pregnant mummies experience due to the added stress on the weight-bearing joints. Each swipe of the therapist’s hands soothes the aches on the spine area and relaxes the back muscles, resulting in reduced lower hip and back pain. At this stage, I was comfortably lying on my side and experienced no added discomfort aside from my preexisting body aches. I only grew even more comfortable as the massage continued on!

The last step of the session is aimed to achieve relaxation and lower stress. The massage focuses on unwinding the other parts of the body, massaging the arms, shoulders, neck, and head area to gently soothe away the tiredness and soreness that mummies feel during pregnancy. I enjoyed the light temple massages to the fullest as I almost fell asleep with how relaxed it made me feel, and I felt my dull headache melt away towards the end of the session.

The whole 60-min massage was such a calming experience, and it was made even better by the massage bed they provided. It was an extremely comfortable premium massage bed that was very soft and cool to the skin, so I never felt overheated despite lying down on it for an hour. At times I also opted for my own orthopaedic-approved mattress due to the lack of space in my home – that works fine for the masseuse too!

Importance & benefits of postnatal massage (and how it is done in PNSG)

Much like prenatal massage, a postnatal massage starts with warming up the body to avoid any risk of injury. Next, the legs are massaged thoroughly, removing the water retention and relieving leg swelling and cramps. This aids in better body movement for mummies, which is a great help especially when you have to be swift on your feet when taking care of your baby. Then, a full body massage follows, aimed to relieve back pains, muscle tension, and lower hip aches from the body, which can become worse after childbirth due to frequent handling of your baby and breastfeeding. Also, the massage helps reduce post surgery swellings that are usually present in the abdomen, lower back, and hip areas.

The two special steps of the  postnatal massage are next, which are focused on aiding muscle and organ repositioning and to aid in better lactation—these are probably the benefits of postnatal massage that I appreciate the most. A specific care for the abdomen area is done, improving the uterine (via encouraging a natural discharge of lochia) and helping position the pelvic muscle and abdominal organs back into place. Overall, this helps in improving womb recovery.

A breast massage follows, which is a great help for improving lactation because it helps with engorgement issues. Furthermore, the relaxation brought upon by the whole massage session helps in lowering stress hormones and increasing blood circulation, and this decreases the swelling that might disrupt the flow of milk. What’s great is that the masseuse also helped to open my nipple holes (I didn’t know that there were multiple holes!), which helped with the milk flow. As a first-time mom, I deeply appreciate this because it helped me breastfeed my baby seamlessly. 

Another wonderful benefit of postnatal massage is that it helps improve sleep; relaxation is induced as the arms, shoulder, neck, and temples are massaged, which helps a lot in reducing stress and headaches. Then, the therapist will apply pilis on the forehead, an herbal mixture that prevents migraines, blurry vision, and tension headaches.

What’s also great is that this postnatal massage helps in toning the body. The unique massage technique, coupled with the ingredients of the free oils and lotions that they use, can reduce water retention in areas like tummy and thighs. This also enhances blood circulation to help you burn fats faster. 

Furthermore, a binding session takes place once all massages are complete, which helps in straightening the posture and aid in slimming the body. This is a big help for mothers struggling with body dysmorphia and/or postpartum depression to overcome the mindset of not being able to go back to their pre-pregnancy body. Nevertheless, please do not stress over attaining your pre-pregnancy body. After all, it varies for each individual, and sometimes being a bit fuller can be nicer too!

Are prenatal and postnatal massages worth it?

My answer is a resounding YES! My takeaway after the whole experience is that every mother should get pre and postnatal massages to help alleviate pain and discomfort and improve lactation and recovery. I highly recommend booking for a postnatal massage in the comfort of your own home because it helps in recovery a lot. I cannot stress even more on how helpful each session had been for me and how convenient their home service was.

All of the massage therapists that I encountered were skillful and kind, but Mdm Ida was one of the best therapists I’ve had! She was very attentive and proficient; every movement of hers was skillfully measured and controlled, and she knows very well when to be incredibly soothing and gentle and when to exert enough force to unravel the knots and tension from my muscles. She expertly & gently rubbed out the knots from my breasts and helped with “opening up the nipple holes” for better milk flow. She’s also the one who helped with the binding, teaching me how to properly adjust it myself.

I also appreciated the session I had with Mdm Sue, another wonderful therapist who rubbed out the wind from my abdomen—I felt a lot better after that session. I am also extremely thankful that Mdm Sue taught us how to massage our baby girl! We used the free telon oil inclusive of the package, which prevents bloating and stimulates my baby’s nerves for better sleep and digestion. She was gentle and careful with how she handled my baby and explained each step in detail. My baby girl thoroughly enjoyed the massage!

Guaranteed customer satisfaction with PNSG

I hope this encouraged you to try out the pre and/or postnatal massage for yourself! Based on my experience, you’ll certainly be satisfied with PNSG’s services. If you’re still having doubts, I think their 5/5 rating on Facebook, package rates, free baby massage (with tutorial), and their free request for replacement of therapist will probably entice you further. What’s even better is that they offer more freebies upon signing up, such as free baby bottles, a discount on newborn photoshoot packages, an ebook on cord blood banking, and two vouchers worth $20 and $125 for swimming class and baby products, respectively. Honestly, each dollar spent on their services is worth it.

PNSG: Postnatal Massage Singapore admin@pngsingapore.com | (65) 6417 9690 167 Woodland Street 11 #02-23 Singapore 730167 Hotline hours: Monday-Sunday | 9 AM – 6 PM Facebook | Instagram