Perineal Massage – It’s a Expected One from a Expecting Mother!
Posted on April 20, 2008
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The perineum is the area of skin between your vagina and rectum. Perineal massage involves gently stretching the tissues that surround the opening to the vagina. Perineal massage may offer you several benefits. Some of are as follows:
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Make you less likely to tear or get an episiotomy.
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Cause you to experience less stinging sensation during crowning.
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Familiarize you with the stretching sensations of birth so you can more easily relax these muscles at birth.
Instructions for performing perineal massage
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Sit or lean back in a comfortable position. (A warm bath or warm compresses on the perineum for 10 minutes before massage may help you relax.)
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Put a water-soluble lubricant like – KY Jelly, olive oil, vegetable oil, on your thumbs and perineum.
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Place your thumbs 1 to 1 inches inside your vagina.
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Press downward towards the rectum and to the sides at the same time until a slight burning, stinging, or tingling sensation is felt.
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Hold the pressure for 2 minutes until the area becomes numb.
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Breathe deeply and slowly and try to consciously relax the muscles.
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Keep pressing down with your thumbs and slowly and gently massage back and forth over the sides of your vagina in a U shape movement for 3 minutes.
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Relax and repeat once.
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This massage technique is performed 10 minutes daily beginning at week 34.
The better you prepare your perineal tissues for the stretching of birth, the less they will tear, and the better they will heal. Like training muscles to perform at their best in an athletic event, conditioning the tissues around the vaginal opening with massage prepares the perineum to perform. Midwives report that women who practice perineal massage daily in the last six weeks of pregnancy experience less stinging sensation during crowning. Mothers with a more conditioned perineum are less likely to tear or get an episiotomy. An added value of perineal massage is that it familiarizes a woman with stretching sensations in this area so she will more easily relax these stretching muscles when stinging occurs just before the moment of birth.
Perineal massage is the gentle stretching and massaging of the perineum (skin between the anus and vagina) during the last few weeks of pregnancy. This has been shown to reduce the incidence of episiotomy and perineal tears during childbirth. Perineal massage does not “lengthen” the tissues of the perineum. However, it does increase the stretch in two ways.
First, perineal massage is done with cold pressed oil, which lubricates the tissue making it softer, suppler and improving is flexibility. This makes it easier for the tissues to stretch as the baby is born.
Second, perineal massage familiarizes the mother with the stretching sensations she will feel as the baby is born. This helps her learn to keep her perineal area relaxed during the stretching of crowning which can help prevent tears.
Try this technique:
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Scrub your hands and trim your thumbnails. Sit in a warm comfortable area, spreading your legs apart in a semi-sitting birthing position. To become familiar with your perineal area uses a mirror for the first few massages (a floor-to-ceiling mirror works best). Use massage oil, such as pure vegetable oil, or a water-soluble lubricant, such as K-Y Jelly (not a petroleum-based oil) on your fingers and thumbs and around your perineum.
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Insert your thumbs as deeply as you can inside your vagina and spread your legs. Press the perineal area down toward the rectum and toward the sides. Gently continue to stretch this opening until you feel a slight burn or tingling.
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Hold this stretch until the tingling subsides and gently massage the lower part of the vaginal canal back and forth.
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While massaging, hook your thumbs onto the sides of the vaginal canal and gently pull these tissues forward, as your baby’s head will do during delivery.
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Finally, massage the tissues between the thumb and forefinger back and forth for about a minute.
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Being too vigorous could cause bruising or swelling in these sensitive tissues. During the massage avoid pressure on the urethra as this could induce irritation or infection.
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As you become adept with this procedure, add Kegel exercises to your routine to help you get the feel for your pelvic muscles. Do this ritual daily beginning around week 34 of pregnancy.
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Many midwives and obstetricians believe that perineal massage is neither useful nor necessary as long as the mother’s perineum is supported during crowning, her pushing is properly timed, and the baby’s head and shoulders are eased out. Discuss the value of perineal massage with your birth attendant.
Try some sample perineal massage techniques:
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The mother may perform perineal massage as part of her daily bathing routine, before her bath or shower.
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The mother and partner may enjoy the stimulation of perineal massage before intercourse.
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The mother may perform perineal massage as part of a nightly relaxation routine before going to bed.
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Perineal massage is exactly necessary for a woman that is expected to give birth her baby shortly. There are several benefits of perineal massage that we have already discussed in this segment. Still there are many that we need to know. Perineal massage is the technique that can certainly off the expected mother ease on her problems during pregnancy. In some part of the world professionals are there to perform it otherwise with proper knowledge about the massage technique you can perform it of your own. Sometimes as we mentioned your partner can also perform the task on you. It solely depends on how you look towards the aspect and how you perform it? But it?s always advisable to go for a practitioner if you really want to accomplish the perineal massage in an absolute way. This massage has got the reputation in the recent past as many have discovered its benefits on the use. Now people all around the world are applying it when it is necessary.
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