Did you know that once you become pregnant your “fight or flight” system is dramatically altered?

Stress in pregnancy is unfortunately really common, whether it’s due to hormonal shifts, pregnancy pains, just good ‘ole anxiety or something else, there will be stress at some point in your pregnancy.

When you experience things like high stress for extended periods of time, this can cause health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease and more. In pregnancy it can increase the chances of preterm labor or low birth weight, which puts baby at risk for other health problems once they are earthside.

Though we can’t eliminate stress entirely, reducing it can make a world of difference. Massage of course is my go to, as it can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping to balance endocrine and circulation imbalances. But what if massage with a professional is not something readily accessible to you? This may be due to budget or schedule or a variety of other reasons.

Well today I’m going to show you a few super simple techniques that specifically target reducing stress and activating the parasympathetic nervous system. You will need someone to perform the massage on you so grab a partner, spouse, friend or family member and lets get started!

Positioning

Find a bed or a couch and lay on your side. Your back should be at the edge of this surface, so your partner can easily reach your back. You can use your pregnancy pillow for extra support, or you can place a pillow under your head and then use an additional pillow to support the legs/hips. You can do this by extending the bottom leg out long and placing the bent top leg on a second pillow (check out my side sleeper blog post to see what this looks like around 0:40 seconds in). Your partner can sit on a chair, or stand, whatever is most comfortable on their body. You will want to rest on your side at the edge of a bed or your couch.

You can also be completely clothed for this technique.

Calming Atmosphere

I’ve said this in previous blog posts, and I stand by it. Be sure to engage all of the senses to help set a calming atmosphere. This will help to remind the body to get ready for rest. Start by dimming the lights, or turning off any overhead lighting and just use a lamp. Diffuse some lavender essential oils or other pregnancy safe oils, even a candle will work. Turn on your favorite calming music, or use my Prenatal Massage Playlist on Apple Music, for some relaxing sounds. Set up that calming atmosphere before you get started, and it will make all the difference!

Whats the 3-1-1

This technique is called the Autonomic Sedation Sequence 3-1-1. This technique helps to induce a sedative, calming state. It can help lower blood pressure by stimulating the vagus nerve, sacral plexus and spinal parasympathetic nerves.

We’ll breakdown each step or you can follow along in the video down below. This technique is 5 minutes long, and should be done in this order.

Paravertebral Raking

1. Stand or sit, behind the mama at her waist with your body facing towards her head. Rest your inside hand on her side to stabilize and spread the fingers of your outside hand like a rake.

2. Start at the crown of the head or at the base of the neck and using your relaxed flat hand with slightly raked fingers, stroke down the spine all the way to the sacrum, or the triangular shaped bone of the pelvis. The spine should be in between the index finger and middle finger, sinking just into the skin. This is not super deep work. Your fingers at most should extend about 2 inches on each side of the spine. One complete stroke should take about 3 seconds from head to sacrum.

3. Repeat this rhythmically for 3 minutes.

Sacral Friction

1. Stand or sit just below the sacrum with your body facing towards mama’s head. Rest your inside hand on her side to stabilize.

2. Use your outside hand to gently rub or “scrub” the entire sacral bone. Be sure to use finger pads of about 3-4 fingers to rub through the skin, working to cover the entire sacral bone. Do this for 1 minute.

3. Be sure to avoid any pointed pressure on the sacrum, keeping the work skin deep, so as not to stimulate uterine contractions.

Rib Raking

1. Stand or sit behind mama’s upper back with your body facing her feet. Use your outside hand (opposite of what you have been using) and spread the fingers like a rake. The inside hand can gently rest on the top of the shoulder.

2. Place the outside hand on top of her ribcage, gently placing your raked fingers between each rib.

3. Gently stroke down from the top of the ribcage (or her side) and follow the ribs path toward the spine, careful to stop at the spine. This is not deep work, and should only be about skin deep. One complete stroke should take about 1 second.

4. Reposition and repeat this for 1 minute.

5. If you and mama feel comfortable you can reach beneath the bottom side ribs to do the same rib raking for another minute of time.

Watch the video below to see what this looks like and for 2 bonus techniques you can try!

Here are the two additional techniques you can add to your gentle massage routine. I recommend starting off with the Paravertebral Compression, to the 3-1-1 and then ending with the Breathing Enhancement.

Gentle Paravertebral Compression

1. Stand or sit behind mama’s upper back with your body facing her’s. Use your outside hand (what you used for rib raking) and create a loose fist, making sure the thumb is outside of the fist. The inside hand can rest on mama’s side, following along as you compress down.

2. Starting at the upper back, gently place the loose fist at the top of the spine and lean the body in and then out. Using gentle, light weight to rock onto the spine and then off. Every time you rock off the spine, slowly bring the loose fist down a bit. Continue this until you reach the sacrum.

3. Do this for at least a minute, working in a rhythmic motion.

Breathing Enhancement

Breathwork is so important, and this simple technique helps to increase kinesthetic awareness, to help re-educate mama’s body into better more diaphragmatic breathing.

1. Place your hands on mama’s lower outside ribs. She can be in the sidelying position, upright or standing position.

2. Ask mama to take a long slow inhale into your hands, and a long slow exhale. You can use visualization techniques if that is helpful. For example:

   • “Imagine that your torso is a unopened umbrella. As you inhale, see the umbrella opening. As you exhale, imagine the umbrella closing. Continue to open and close the umbrella as you breathe.”

3. Continue these for at least 3-5 breaths.

These massage techniques are so simple and easy on the body, but can make quite an impact on mama’s stress levels. You can do these as often as you like, especially when in a state of stress. The best part is, it isn’t just for pregnant women either! If you are suffering from any type of stress try this out and see how you feel.

These techniques are something that I routinely do in my sessions because I know they work and are beneficial to my clients. If you are pregnant, suffering from stress, I encourage you to seek out massage from a licensed massage therapist who specializes in perinatal work. You can book your next appointment with me by clicking the book button below.