Mother’s Day is Over, But Motherhood Never Stops

Emily Brown
2 days ago
5 min read

I've been a massage therapist for years, and I've had the privilege of working with pregnant clients at every stage. From the first trimester nerves, through the third trimester exhaustion, into the tender, complicated weeks after birth. I've also watched friends and family navigate pregnancy up close, and what I know with certainty is this: the women who move through it with the most grace are not the ones who have optimized every variable. They're the ones who have people in their corner.

Pregnancy is remarkable. It is also a lot to carry, physically, emotionally, and mentally. The good news is that you don't have to carry all of it alone.

A Word On The Noise

We live in a world that has endless opinions about how to be pregnant. Every app and comment section has something to say about what you should eat, how you should look, and what a "healthy" body does at 20 weeks or 30. I've watched friends spiral not because anything was wrong, but because the internet suggested something might be.

What you actually need is not more information, it's more support in the real world. Put the phone down when it stops helping. The most useful thing you can do for yourself is build a real, human care team and let them do their jobs.

The curated content, the tips, the warnings, they add mental weight to an experience already asking everything of you physically. Real support looks different.

What's Happening in Your Body, and How Massage Helps

First Trimester

One of the first hormones to surge in early pregnancy is relaxin. Its job is to loosen the joints and ligaments to prepare the body for birth. It’s brilliant biology in action, allowing a baby to fit through a space that otherwise would be unnavigable. Unfortunately, the body holding that space feels the effects very early on and can make your hips feel unfamiliar, your joints in general seem a little too open, and your lower back more vulnerable than usual. Early massage helps calm the nervous system through this shift, supports sleep, and gives the body a moment of genuine stillness. I've had first-trimester clients come in not quite sure what they were feeling, just that something was off, and leave feeling reconnected to themselves. That matters.

Second/Third Trimester

As the belly grows and the center of gravity shifts forward, the lower back and hips take on real strain. The lumbar spine curves deeper. The glutes and sacrum carry more load. The piriformis (a small muscle deep in the hip) can compress the sciatic nerve, causing that familiar shooting sensation down the leg. These things are common, and they are also very treatable. Regular massage work on the hips, sacrum, and lower back releases that tension, restores range of motion, and keeps the body moving well through changes that are genuinely significant. You don't have to white-knuckle it.

The upper back gets less attention but deserves more. As the posture rounds forward, the muscles between the shoulder blades stretch and fatigue trying to hold things in place. The neck compensates. By the third trimester, many pregnant people are carrying real tension there, often as the source of headaches they can't explain. It's addressable, and it responds beautifully to focused work.

The Ones Nobody Warns You About and What Actually Helps

Swollen feet and ankles. Increased blood volume and uterine pressure on the vena cava slows circulation in the lower body, leading to edema that can make a full day on your feet genuinely uncomfortable. Lymphatic massage and lower leg work moves that fluid effectively. Research in the Journal of Clinical Nursing confirmed significant reduction in pregnancy-related edema with foot massage. Your partner rubbing your feet at the end of the day is wonderful. A trained therapist working those tissues with intention takes it much further.

Sleep. Physical discomfort and a busy mind are a hard combination. Studies consistently show that massage reduces cortisol and increases serotonin and dopamine which translates directly to better, more restorative sleep. That's good for you and good for your baby.

Stress. Life doesn't pause for pregnancy. Work, relationships, finances, all of it continues. Massage activates the parasympathetic nervous system in a way few other interventions do as reliably. It is a genuine physiological shift toward calm, and it is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself during this season.

You Deserve a Real Care Team

This is the piece I feel most strongly about. Pregnancy is not meant to be navigated alone with a search engine. Think about what genuine support looks like:

Your OB or midwife managing the clinical picture

A Prenatal Physical Therapist:

someone who can address lumbago, rib flaring, round ligament pain, and pelvic floor discomfort before it becomes dysfunction

A Licensed Massage Therapist: one who understands the body's changes trimester by trimester and knows how to work with them

Your partner: present, attentive, and yes, hopefully willing to step up at the end of a long day

Women: who have been through it and will help advocate for you.

A good prenatal PT is genuinely worth seeking out. Pelvic floor discomfort, pubic symphysis pain, rib flaring - these are common, and they are also addressable. You are allowed to look for answers instead of just enduring. You are allowed to advocate for yourself. In fact, please do!

Safety note: Prenatal massage is safe in all three trimesters with a trained therapist. We use two different styles depending on preference. The one is a pillow nest that allows you to lay face down (for women who like sleeping on their belly, this is a special treat after weeks of not being able to lay in this position), or side-lying positioning with full bolster support in the second and third trimesters to avoid pressure points contraindicated during pregnancy. Always let your therapist know where you are in your pregnancy, and check with your care provider if you have any complications.

After Birth: Reclaiming Your Body

Cocoon after birth. Rest. Let the family find its rhythm. That instinct is right and important. And when you're ready, typically around six weeks, or when your care provider clears you, bodywork becomes one of the most supportive things you can do for your recovery.

Birth is a major physical event. The deep core (the pelvic floor, the abdominal muscles, the stabilizing system the body has relied on for years) has been profoundly stretched and reorganized over nine months. It doesn't simply bounce back. It needs to be consciously, carefully re-engaged. This is where postpartum PT becomes essential, not optional. Leaking, core disconnection, discomfort with movement - these are common but not permanent. They are signs that the body needs support, and that support is available and effective.

Postpartum massage work is also essential during this rehabilitation and relearning stage. Nursing posture, with shoulders rounded and head bent forward for hours, creates its own new pattern of tension. The lower back shifts again. The neck takes on new load. Massage helps recalibrate all of it, gives the nervous system genuine rest, and reminds your body that it is still worth caring for. A study in the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health found that postpartum massage significantly reduced anxiety and depression in new mothers, which is something I've seen reflected in my own practice more times than I can count.

The baby needs tender love and care. So does mom. That is not sentiment; it is how sustainable caregiving actually works.

Pregnancy and early motherhood are not endurance events you survive alone. They can be a supported journey. One where you have people paying attention not just to the new life you are giving all of yourself to provide for, but to your own body, your own wellbeing, and what you need to keep giving. That starts with giving yourself permission to be cared for.

We are honored to be part of that for you.