HOLISTIC HEALTH Massage therapy helps ease pregnancy

Chiropractics and yoga techniques can also be beneficial to mothers-to-be.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
For many women, pregnancy can be a time of great excitement and anticipation. But even the most prepared mothers-to-be can suffer periods of physical pain and discomfort, depression and emotional anxiety.
Chiropractic care can be greatly beneficial, not only to the mother, but to the developing baby. Drs. Rich Rogan and Heather Haverfield, of Back to Health Chiropractic in Boardman, have a special table to accommodate pregnant women. "We have a table that breaks away, and allows a pregnant woman to lie on her stomach," says Dr. Rogan. "If a woman has chiropractic care during pregnancy, research has shown that labor will be less painful and of shorter duration because the pelvis is in better alignment. Many women have come to us when they were in their second pregnancy and given testimony to the difference they felt with chiropractic care."
Objectives
And chiropractics can also help with basic discomforts. "One of the most common causes of pain during pregnancy is due to the sciatic nerve," says Dr. Rogan. "It originates in the lower back and travels down the leg to the feet. During pregnancy, women often feel numbness, tingling, burning or weakness in this area. The forward weight of the growing fetus shifts the pelvis and impinges the nerve. Many pregnant women experience general skeletal complaints, from lower to upper back and neck. When the spine is out of alignment, it creates a domino effect."
Studies show that chiropractic care can bring the pelvic bones into balance to allow expansion of the uterus to fully accommodate the baby. Restrictions can adversely affect the baby's proper development.
Intrauterine constraint, or any force that keeps the fetus from moving freely inside the uterus, can result in a breech position. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics says that "86 percent of all infants with breech presentation are delivered by cesarean section." The normal position for a healthy vaginal birth is head-down. In 1978, Dr. Larry Webster developed a chiropractic technique to relieve intrauterine constraint and allow the fetus to move into the normal position.
Studies also suggest that after birth, chiropractic care of the newborn can relieve many effects of birth trauma.
Specialized massage
Many women find massage helpful during pregnancy. Cathy Baret of Canfield, who received basic massage training at Tri-State College of Massotherapy, did special training in pregnancy massage in 2002, a three-day course at the Healing Arts Center in Sandusky with a teacher from Nashville, Tenn., Sandy Venura Gordon.
"There are two positions I use for a pregnant woman," Baret said. "She will either be on her side or in a half-sitting position, with wedges under her legs and behind her back. The side position is most comfortable for the woman but more difficult for the practitioner. In the sitting position, I can work on her face, neck, shoulders, arms and legs."
Baret says there are certain precautions to be taken. "If there is a condition called deep vein thrombosis, blood clots could develop during pregnancy," she said. "If toxemia is present, which is swelling in the hands and face, massage therapy should not be done."
When a woman receives massage during pregnancy, it helps create bonding for everyone. "I will do a gentle stroking of the abdomen," Baret says. "This creates activity -- the baby will start to move. It not only helps the mother bond with the baby but reduces tension, anxiety, depression, enhances alertness and reduces labor pains."
And the bonding continues after birth. "Women can have massage right up to delivery time," says Baret. "After the baby is born, I work with the mother to show her how to gently massage the baby. We do a light touch on the arms, legs -- touching is so important."
Advantages of yoga
Boardman yoga instructor Victoria Davanzo says that yoga practice, with its focus on body, mind and spirit can be very beneficial for moms-to-be. "A woman goes inward during this period," says Davanzo. "She is getting in touch with her body, with the baby and with emotional changes. Yoga creates inner calmness. We do breath work that helps on a day-to-day basis and also helps ride the waves of contractions during labor. Yoga training enables the woman to learn to visualize. During labor, she can create a peaceful, relaxing scene in her mind."
There are certain yoga moves that are particularly beneficial during pregnancy. "The base of the pelvis needs to be strong, so we work on pelvic tilts and squatting," Davanzo said. "We also work on strengthening the inner thighs and do shoulder stretches because the breasts get heavier during this period. Side bends are helpful to relieve tight muscles as the baby pushes against the rib cage. And yoga posture relieves compression in the lower back and aids circulation in the legs."
Davanzo stresses that it is important to work with a qualified yoga instructor during pregnancy. She says that all exercising should be gentle, and after the fourth month, the woman should avoid pressure on the abdomen and not lie flat on her back.
Carol Gottesman, a Touch for Health practitioner from Hubbard, says that this modality is good for bringing a woman's system back into balance during pregnancy. "Rebalancing can also help reduce nausea during the first trimester," she said. "I work with stress release points on the forehead, and teach the husband techniques for pain control that can help the woman during labor."
XLaughing Crow is a practitioner of holistic healing. She may be reached at laughingcrow@neo.rr.com.