Some of my friends were surprised by the fact that despite having given birth a few times, I have not done any form of prenatal and postnatal massage. Until now. Many of them have given their positive feedback on how it helps to dispel wind, aids in womb recovery and tones the body back into shape.
I would say that it was mostly due to the fact that I first became a mum in Europe which made me see it more of a luxury than a necessity. However, now that age has caught up with me and I am also deeming this fourth childbirth as my last one, I figured out it was the right time to pamper myself while boosting my recovery process so I can better take care of four kids and a home.
Thanks to Postnatal Massage Singapore (PNSG), this time round, I managed to complete one session of prenatal massage (and I gave birth 4 days after!) as well as seven sessions of postnatal massage, yay! There were people asking me how I managed to do it since I am the sole caretaker of my kids and the answer is:
1) I did the prenatal massage when the kids were in school and I was alone.
2) I did the first postnatal massage when the hubby was on leave so that he could help with the baby who was one-week old as well as take some photos for me.
3) For the remaining sessions, half were done when the older kids were in school and I timed it such that it coincided with the baby's nap time, making sure he was changed and fed before my therapist arrived. The other half were done in the afternoon due to lack of morning slots and all the kids were home (gasp!). I had instructed them not to disturb us, which is actually quite an impossible task, but we managed to complete the sessions with all eyes on us even though I had to nag at the kids (eat lunch, go do your homework, go bathe etc) every now and then.
So yes, I do think it is possible to carry out massage sessions even if you do not have an extra pair of hands at home. It might be tougher but not impossible, in my humble opinion. In this post, I will share more about my experience with you so that you can have a better idea of what goes on and I will showcase the results at the end of the post too, so read on!
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First and foremost, why should any mum do prenatal or postnatal massage? That was the first question on my mind too so I checked with PNSG and these are the benefits stated on their website.
1) Relieve soreness and leg cramps
2) Reduces lower hip and back pain
3) Improve blood circulation and reduce swelling
4) Promotes relaxation and reduces stress
1) Tones your body and helps to get back to pre-pregnancy shape
2) Promotes better sleep
3) Improves lactation
4) Reduces post surgery swelling
5) Improves womb recovery
Is this true and was I able to experience these benefits at the end of my journey? I'll let you know below.
THE SETUP
I was happy to learn that PNSG is able to provide a foldable massage bed at a small top-up fee. This is because since my boys co-sleep with me, I didn't want to do it on our bed and would prefer to have a separate one which could be set up in the living area instead. Before my first massage session, a delivery guy sent over the massage bed, which is a little heavy but compact when folded, and it was kept at my home till I completed all the sessions before they collected it back.
The foldable bed feels sturdy and comes with strong leg support and an adjustable headrest. In fact, it looks every bit like the kind I see in spas, not that I've been to many. Even when I was heavily pregnant at 34 weeks, I still felt comfortable lying on the bed and was able to turn over to face up or down with ease.
It took only a few minutes for my therapist to set it up and she made sure to wipe it clean before and after every use too. For hygiene purposes, she would also put a disposable sheet over it followed by a big towel. Oh, for every session, you are to provide two large towels and two small towels which would be used to wrap around yourself or cover parts of your body.
I would definitely recommend using the portable bed so that
you can do the massage anywhere in the house and not worry about having
any lingering scent in your bedroom. I would also advise that you turn off the fans during the massage and instead switch on the air conditioner without it being too cold, around 23-24°C worked best for me.
THE EXPERIENCE
Prenatal
For the prenatal massage, it was mainly to allow me to relax while reducing any soreness, cramps or pain that I had. I think my pain was more apparent in the back area and it did feel much better after the session. What felt even better was having all my tight knots, especially in the shoulder and neck area, loosen as my therapist slowly helped to release any tension that I had.
Personally, I prefer having my massage done with force and strength, kind of like Shiatsu massage which applies deep pressure. However, I totally understood why this was not possible for the prenatal one since I had a little one growing inside of me! So, I appreciated the fact that my therapist went easy on me and was gentle from start to finish.
I also liked the part where she did a head massage for me because I admit there must be a million things on my mind every day and it was nice to just lay down and relax a little for that one hour, without having to think about all my worries and fears.
Postnatal
As for the postnatal massage, unlike the prenatal one, this could be done with more force, especially on the back, thighs and abdomen, which was why I loved it. The aim is also more of helping the body to recover, toning the body back into shape, reducing water retention swelling and aiding the womb to contract and heal.
At that point, which was less than two weeks after delivery, I was facing stress because of how the baby had severe jaundice and had to go for phototherapy, increasing his risk of dehydration which meant I had to pump out more breast milk. Since he had a poor latch, I was having a case of sore and cracked nipples and my supply had not been properly established. So when my therapist asked if I wanted to massage my breasts, my first question was "Will it help in lactation?". Her answer was "Yes" and I went for it without any hesitation. Her techniques were good and she was able to help me clear some of the blocked ducts, something which I appreciated. She was also encouraging which made me more confident to carry on in this breastfeeding journey.
After every session, I did realise that my discharge of lochia increased significantly and that my womb was contracting. I believe that the massage helped to improve blood circulation and also aided the uterus to cleanses itself by dispelling the unwanted blood, mucus and uterine tissue.
One of the best things I liked about the massage was that I had my own customised binder! I have always believed in binding since my first pregnancy and I think it is one of the most effective ways to slim down and get our body back into shape. It also helps to improve our body posture too which might in turn reduce the aches and pain. I wore the binder for at least eight hours after every massage session and even though it was tight, I didn't find it hard to breathe nor did it interfere with my breastfeeding. I would definitely recommend to continue wearing the binder for an extended period of time each day for weeks and even months ahead if you are determined to have a flat looking tummy.
One thing to note, unlike the traditional Jamu massage that uses a mixture of spices and dehydrated mud in the wrapping, this modern one uses an essential oil called Tapel. Not only does it smell nice without being too overpowering, it doesn't create a mess and I loved that it is so easy to clean myself up after.
THE SERVICE
My prenatal massage therapist is called Lynn and I really liked her because of how friendly, approachable, helpful and professional she is. She was nice to talk to from start to end, she regularly checked to make sure I was feeling okay with the amount of strength she was exerting, and she was also very patient and understanding when I had to take some videos and photos. In fact, I requested for her to continue to be my therapist for the rest of the postnatal massage sessions. However, we were unable to match our schedules so I had to switch to another therapist instead.
It was evident to see that she is a very skilled, down-to-earth, hardworking and experienced therapist, and I particularly liked how she was able to locate all my knots and worked her way to loosen them one by one. She is also extremely polite in the way she spoke to me and I liked that we were able to chat heartily. Her binding skills were fantastic and she made sure I was feeling comfortable every time before we ended the session.
During our last session, she also gave me some baby massage tips and I appreciated the gesture, even though my boy didn't seem too cooperative at that moment. I ended our final session somewhat reluctantly because I had enjoyed each and every massage session more than I thought I would. So if you ask me whether doing postnatal massage made me feel better and more relaxed? I would give a definite yes.
Now, for the moment of truth! Just so you know, I gained about 10.5kg for this pregnancy, which is actually less than the previous ones because of the premature birth at 35 weeks and because I had been controlling my diet due to gestational diabetes. After completing the postnatal massage sessions, I had lost over 6kg in total so now I am just 4kg away from my pre-pregnancy weight.
As for the slimming and womb contraction part, take a look here and I think the pictures speak for themselves. Yup, you can definitely see the difference midway and at the end of my treatment. Of course, I have to say that it cannot solely be credited to the massage because breastfeeding plays a strong part and I also made sure I ate healthy confinement food (will share my review of Tian Wei Signature next month!) and got the nutrients I needed to boost my recovery.
However, I could definitely feel and see how my tummy got smaller with each massage and binding session so I do believe that it is an effective way to tone our body back to our 'normal' shape. I would, however, like to emphasise that I don't think the massage is a way to slim down and burn fats drastically but more of getting back to your pre-pregnancy shape, so don't see it as a miracle way to get the perfect figure you have always dreamt of but be realistic about what you can achieve.
In conclusion, I think it was a positive experience for me and not only did the results benefit me physically but mentally as well. Every mum definitely deserves to feel good about herself after going through this incredibly amazing but absolutely exhausting process called childbirth and we ought to pamper ourselves with a good massage, or rather, many good massages afterwards. Because we truly deserve them.
Thank you, PNSG, for showing me what I've missed out on for the previous births and making me more confident to carry on in my motherhood journey.
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Postnatal Massage Singapore
167 Woodland Street 11 #02-23 Singapore 730167
Phone: +65 6417 9690
Email: admin@pnsingapore.com
Website: https://pnsingapore.com/
To view their package list, go here.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored collaboration between PNSG and A Happy Mum. All pictures and opinions are solely my own.
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