Contains a wealth of information for pregnant women, massage therapists, students and others who want to learn about pregnancy and how massage impacts pregnancy to prevent problems
Table of Contents
Anatomy and Physiology of Pregnancy
Discomforts of Pregnancy and What to do About Them
Psychological Adjustments to Pregnancy and Motherhood
Labor and Birth
The Postpartum Period
Massage Therapist as Doula
Massage of Infants and Children
Research
Frequently Asked Questions
Bibliography
Index
Excerpt
From Chapter Three - Psychological Adjustments.
First Trimester
To a large degree the first three months (trimester) for the pregnant woman is a period of emotionally adjusting to the face that she is pregnant. If completely honest with herself, she is upset and happy at the same time. Some of her emotions will include anxiety, disappointment, rejection, depression, and unhappiness, along with the happiness of being pregnant. More than likely she has said to herself that she did not want to be pregnant. This includes those women who have planned for and even struggled to become pregnant
Along with all this she will feel guilty for having the sad feelings. She may believe that a good mother should not experience negative feelings. She may think she is the only one who ever had these negative thoughts and feelings. She may hide these feelings especially from her family. The negative feelings usually end when she accepts the pregnancy somewhere around the end of the first trimester.
Most miscarriages take place in the first trimester, so this can be an anxious time of waiting for the pregnancy to be well established. This is particularly true of the woman who has had a previous miscaarriage.
Her weight is also important at this time. Weight gain will be seen as proof of the pregnancy. If she sees her belly growing, it is physical confirmation of the pregnancy. On the other hand a pregnant woman who is trying to hide the pregnancy such as a young teenager, may starve hrself to prevent showing while trying to cope and made decisions to resolve her sitution.
Women will vary widely in their sexual desires beginning even in the first trimester. A woman's desire for sex can be reduced by fatigue, depression, sore and enlarged breasts, worries, anxieties and concerns. All of which may be a normal part of her emotioal adjustment to the pregnancy.
Most women throughout pregnancy will have an increased need for love and loving without sex. She may choose the therapist as an audience for her anxieties surrounding these events. Reassuring the client of the normalcy of her feelings is appropriate. It is risky behavior, however, to get into counseling or advising her about sexual issues.
SECOND TRIMESTER
The second trimester is often referred to as the period of radiant health. The fatigue, nausea, breast tenderness, and other discomforts are greatly diminished. She feels good. She is free of the discomforts that will come later when she is large with child.
During the beginning of this trimester, she undergoes a reliving and re-evaluation of all aspects of her relationship with her mother. She will examine and analyze any relationship problems they may have had.
The goal of this examination is to come to an understanding and acceptance of her mother's qualities that she values and respects. She will reject as unwanted the qualities of her mother that she does not value. This rejection of her mother my cause guilt as well as anxiety and conflict unless she is able to reach the undertstanding that this process is normal and natural. It is not the rejection of her mother. It is part of how she develops her own identity as a mother, how she adopts and adapts her mothering skills.
THIRD TRIMESTER ...
Professional Reviews
Paul St. John
The kind of book that makes a difference ... wonderful reading for the mother to be as well as the massage therapist
Sharon Burch
The best source I know of for working with pregnant women ... an outstanding reference
Massage Message
The best book on the market dealain with massage and the pregnant woman.
