Prenatal Positioning

Side lying vs. prenatal cushion

When you come into Massage Hope for your prenatal massage you are not limited to just one way of laying on our table. We have two fantastic ways to support your constantly changing body and not sacrifice our great massage technique.  

The first is side-lying, or as I like to call it, the classic. We use a series of 2-3 pillows to support your neck and shoulders, back and arms, and hips and legs. This is also the position that we will go to if the prenatal cushion is uncomfortable, or if laying face-down with a pregnant belly is too scary. From this position we are able to work the body in a different, but effective method. Instead of doing the back of the body and then the front, we focus on the right side and then the left with no more effort than one uses to switch sleeping sides in the middle of the night.  

It isn’t uncommon for us to have to wake up our clients at the end of these sessions!

Our prenatal cushion is in one word, awesome.  If you’re wishing you could lay on your stomach again, this is how we do it. It’s soft and supportive with ample space for breasts and a growing belly.  It allows you to lay face down in a completely safe and comfortable way.  Now you may be thinking, “that’s great for the back of my body, but what about the front?” This is where our magical tables come in. We have you lay on your back while we raise up half of the table to put you into a semi-reclined position. This way we can work on the rest of your body without skipping a beat.  

Between these two positions, one is not always better than the other. It’s only a matter of what is most comfortable for you.  If you want to try the prenatal cushion but when you get into it, it doesn’t feel quite right then it is important that you let your therapist know. In whatever way you choose to be positioned for your massage, know that we aim to make you as comfortable as you can be. When that happens it allows the benefits from the massage to be more effective and for you to feel even better!

Thanks for reading this weeks post, and if you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!