The Importance of Postpartum Bodywork
If you explore the way humans have traditionally taken care of their postpartum loved ones and community members, you’ll see a few similarities come up no matter where you are in the world. This is ancient wisdom that would have been the cultural norm for thousands of years, and still is in some places globally! These traditions focus on warmth, the feeding of nourishing foods and drinks, support in doing household duties like cooking, cleaning and minding older children, and bodywork. Unfortunately, we here in the west have nearly abandoned these practices in favour of productivity and the average support a person receives after giving birth is nowhere near as much as they need.
So why is massage important? Birthing babies is hard work! The body goes through an enormous amount of stress during the process of birth, regardless of the type of birth it is (vaginal or c-section, homebirth or hospital birth, live birth or stillbirth, to name a few examples). Aches and pains aren’t uncommon as the body adapts to rocking and feeding and bouncing, not to mention the lack of sleep making it harder to recover.
But beyond that, please consider the emotional needs of someone who’s just given birth. They have just journeyed somewhere far away to bring that baby here and they have come back a different person. Their lives have changed forever. They’re experiencing the biggest drop in hormones a human will ever experience, and some of these hormones won’t level out for several more months. And did I mention the lack of sleep? Bodywork in the immediate postpartum is intended to soothe the nervous system and ground the birthing person back into their body after this tremendous experience. The pace is slow and thoughtful, the pressure as light or deep as you want it to be. An emotional release is a normal response.
There are so many benefits to being massaged during the postpartum season. And I’m not just talking about professional massage either! Having your partner massage you (or your own mother, or a sister or friend) will have the same effects. Humans are social creatures who need the touch of other humans in order to thrive. Because of this, our bodies are wired for all sorts of positive responses to touch. For example, a massage will increase the hormone prolactin, which is one of the hormones involved in milk production. Our bodies are so wise! Massage also leads to an increase in serotonin and dopamine, which puts us in a better mood. It lowers cortisol level, which leads to better sleep and digestion. And it releases endorphins, which block pain signals from the brain. All of these benefits seem especially important if you’ve just given birth and are now taking care of yourself and a baby.
