Postpartum Massage is Key for Postpartum Recovery

Malay confinement dictates that new mum should have regular postnatal massages to help her recover from the rigours of pregnancy, labour and birth. In fact, several hospitals in Malaysia offers these traditional postpartum massages as part of the overall midwifery care.

If you think the benefits of massages are just purely relaxing and with a baby that demands 24×7 care and attention, you may be interested to know the Malay’s have one of the lowest rate of postpartum depression. There could be several contributing factors, but how a professional postpartum massage could benefit your postpartum recovery is one that many may neglect.

The American Pregnancy Association has listed the following benefits:

a. Relaxes muscle tension by increasing blood flow and oxygen to sore spots and eliminates toxins build up.
b. Excellent stress buster and mood elevator – massage encourages body to release endorphins, our body’s natural painkiller and feel good hormones
c. Encourages your body to release oxytocin, the hormone responsible to trigger release of milk from your breast. Oxytocin is inhibited with lack of sleep and massage aids in relaxation for its release.
d. Speeds recovery of Caesarean-section through gentle massage around the area to increase blood supply and aid internal healing. (There should be no direct massage on the wound and abdominal massage is prohibited until at least 4 week post caesarean section)
e. Improve well-being by stimulating lymph flow.