The final three months of your pregnancy have started - how do you feel? Now it is obviously for everybody that you are pregnant. Your belly is bigger and your body has to carry more weight. There are women who are feeling fabulous at the end of their pregnancy others may suffer from back pain, restless legs, cramps or swollen feets and legs, exhaustion and insomnia.
I addressed to the issue backpain, restless legs and cramps in my earlier blogs. Today I would like to focus on the frequent problems of edema, insomnia and exhaustion, which can occur in every stage of the pregnancy, but are more common in the third trimester and if you have already little children.
For all three issues I can highly recommend an aroma massage. I did my course at Joy-of-Essence based in Guelph, Ontario Canada: ''An aroma-massage treatment is light, rhythmical and soothing. It is especially beneficial in relieving the effects of stress related complaints as it helps to balance the system and acts as a tonic to the flow of blood and lymph''. I did further training at SELA in aroma massage for pregnant women.
I offer aroma massage at Pilates Bern. Visit www.pilates-bern.ch for more information and book your appointment today!
Edema - swollen feet and ankles
Swollen feet and ankles are a common issue in the pregnancy. As long as it is not accompanied by high blood pressure and / or protein in your urine it is nothing to worry about. In case you experience swollen feet, ankles and or hands and a huge gain of weight within a few days and not in context with hot weather or busy days, contact your obstetrician immediately.
The best way to minimize swollen feet and ankles is to elevate your legs for about 10 minutes per day. With little children around that is not so easy to do. Rosemary, Geranium and Mandarin are the perfect essential oils to help against swollen legs.
Prepare a blend of 20 ml of carrier oil in example Jojoba oil and add 2 drops of Mandarin, 1 drop of Geranium and 1 drop of Rosemary. Add 4 drops from this blend to a bowl of cool water, stir them in and place your feet inside. You can also put a piece of cotton tissue into the bowl, squeeze it our and apply it around your feet, ankles and legs while elevating your legs.
Exhaustion
As mentioned before, exhaustion is a common issue in pregnancy and it can occur in any stage of the pregnancy. Often you feel more tired in the first trimester, due to all the hormonal changes in your body and in the third trimester due to the additional weight you have to carry. As a first mom to be it is easier to take your time and rest during the day or to catch more sleep during the night. If you already have children this is not as easy. Night are usually still rough and you can not make up for the lack of sleep through the day. Prepare your diffuser with 100ml of water and add 2 drops of Lavender, 2 drops of Grapefruit and let it run for up to 1 hour. If you need something more energizing and stimulating add 1 drop lemongrass.
Insomnia
The majority of pregnant women have issue with falling asleep or stay asleep during the night. Often you have to go to the toilet several times, you might feel uncomfortable with your belly or your thoughts are circling. Put a maximum of total 5 drops of Lavender, Neroli and Mandarin in 100 ml of water into your diffuser and let it run in your bedroom. I also recommend to put pillow between your knees. It helps support your lower back and can reduce back pain.
A personal experience I would like to share is the opportunity of hypnobirthing. I had the pleasure to meet Jessica Soldati and we did one session of hypnobirthing. I got a USB stick home and I could listen to the session whenever I want. It really helped me to relax and to fall asleep.(https://www.hebammenstunde.ch/angebote/geburtshypnose/).
Hypnobirthing is also a great way to prepare for labour. My next blog on February, 17 2019 is all about essential oils during labour! Who ever is due soon should not miss it!
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