Yesterday I was at the mall and used the massage chair for about 30 minutes. I was fine until about 15 minutes after leaving the chair. At that time my whole stomach cramped up and has been shooting pains ever since. This morning it slowly starting to fade until my morning sickness kicked in, now ithe cramps and shooting pain are back again. What I wanted to know is this normal? Has this ever happend to anyone else? Hs anyone else heard of massage chairs being bad for unborn babies?I now know that I can't use them during pregnancy, but I was wondering if anyone else found this to be true? If not, I was thinking that their might be something more that is wrong with me.
Since you can not really control the pressure, the chairs are a bad idea. The number one goal of prenatal massage is comforting mother/child. An automatic chair can not do that. The mechanical motions of most of those chairs can jar a person and creates a sensation similar to 'shaken baby', but the baby is protected in the placenta. Though it will not damage the baby, it is too much movement for the pregnant body. Massage during pregnancy is wonderful, but it does depend on the mother. It is much debated whether or not one should receive any massage during the first trimester, since that is the time most women miscarry. Also, if the pregnancy is considered high risk, a doctor may not advise massage. But otherwise, massage benefits all the body systems, including increasing circulation, relieves muscle tension, and increases red blood cell count.
You would think it would be good for you AND the baby. Massages are good for you because it relieves the stress on your back and good for both becvause it can increase blood flow. Ask your doc. Maybe you pinched a nerve?
If you can't use them during pregnancy, that is the time period you have an unborn baby! So it probably isn't a good idea, but I am not a medical professional.
I have a shiatsu massage chair at home, but I haven't used it since I've been pregnant and my back is killing me. I'm afraid to use it because it gives a really deep tissue massage and I'm not sure if that's ok. I have, however, gotten a pregnancy massage at a spa. Getting a massage by hand is safer because the masseuse can control the pressure of the massage and you have special pillows to lay on.
Two things: first, yes, stress is bad for unborn babies. It's hormones and heart rate, remember, and those chemicals travel up the umbilical cord. Second: if you're shouting at your 4-year-old all the time, that tactic probably isn't working. At 4, he's old enough to have a conversation about why he's misbehaving. Maybe he's worried about you or his place in the family with another baby on the way. Find a way to have some alone time with him (with 2 other kids in the house and another on the way, that won't be easy, but even if you sit in the car for a moment, or on the porch with no interruptions, that will be fine, just give him some undivided, undistracted attention). When he knows you're interested in listening to him, he'll probably be honest about what's going on in his head. You'll help him feel better, and that will help you feel better. If you feel better, Baby will feel better. Good mojo all around. Good luck, and congratulations--
