A Pregnancy Tip that I Wish I had Known Sooner

by Pallas Hutchison

Massage school gave me an education on pregnancy that personal experience couldn't provide. My own experiences with pregnancy were mildly uncomfortable. Towards the end of my nine-month sentence, I felt gigantic and couldn't see my feet. My back ached from the extra weight and my boobs leaked constantly. My job, as a massage therapist, is to relieve those discomforts for other expecting mothers. I am very good at my job.

One thing I do during a pregnancy massage stands out. Because I don't have the expensive body pillow system, the pregnancy massages I provide are, by necessity, sidelying. Halfway through the massage, they need to turn over so that I can massage the other side of their body. It's the turning process itself that makes a huge difference to the majority of my pregnant clients. I ask them to turn under, not over.

The natural inclination to roll over in bed is to turn over, keeping your chest facing the ceiling. This has you fighting gravity to heft the baby belly and puts strain on the lower back, one of the common areas of complaint for pregnant women. Instead, let the weight of the baby fall towards the bed, go to all fours, then roll to the opposite side.

As part of every pregnancy massage, I explain this process and assist my clients as they awkwardly go through this motion for the first time. Then, as they settle themselves for the second half of their massage, a look of astonishment crosses their face. They just successfully rolled over without hurting themselves. With one small trick, life just got easier.

Do you have a pregnancy tip you wish you had known sooner? Comment below to share!