Baby Bellies Post Natal Massage – Review

My huge belly deflated drastically after delivery, but the stretch marks (now even more wrinkled without being stretched out) and the fat lingered rather unflatteringly. Most part of it was also probably water retention. I was a little apprehensive when I signed up for Baby Bellies’ Post Natal Massage package during the pregnancy, because I didn’t quite know what to expect with the massage. What if I had to have C-sec and my wound is really raw? Would I be able to take the pain with the message? (That was fortunately not something I had to find out since I delivered naturally)

According to its website, post natal massage assists to:

• Improves circulation throughout the body
• Reduce the post-partum swelling that many women experience
• Proper stretching of tight, sore muscles, easing muscular tension
• Reduce the appearance of stretch marks due to pregnancy (too late for me then!)
• Pushes up the uterus and help uterus to shrink to original size
(For normal delivery only)
• Hasten the reduction of fluid retention, wind and spasm
• Reduce cellulite and help to tone up the body
• Relaxation
• Reduces migraines and headaches
• Reduce post natal depression

What I really like about this post natal massage is the fact that the masseuse comes to my house. It has to be done 5 days in a row (or 7 days, depending on the package you take up) for the best effect and luckily for me, I was assigned a senior massage therapist Mdm Tini!

What I had to prepare prior to her arrival was:

• Breast feed or feed the baby so that I wouldn’t be distracted during massage
• Shower, or at least wipe the body down
• Prepare a towel that can cover the whole body, and a small towel (to cover the boobs)
• Prepare a small pillow for neck support

Here’s the guest room that I converted to my post-natal massage room:

The batik cloth was given to me when I signed up for the package. The 2 wraps in the middle of the picture were brought along by the masseuse on day 1; she uses these wraps to wrap the belly (very tightly) to assist the uterus to shrink back to its original size.

Sounds incredulous? Well it works for me. There was another benefit to my utter delight – after delivery, somehow my waist and back felt really sore and I couldn’t seem to be able to support myself to sit/stand upright. I found myself having to hunch (lower and lower) throughout the day because my back muscles were sore/weak. With this tight wrap as a support, I sensed an improvement in my back muscles after day 1! The improvement continued from there and now I don’t really have much trouble sitting/standing up straight (today is day 3 as I type this).

The whole massage can be summarised in one word – shiok. For all the benefits listed, what the website didn’t mention was that it is actually a full body massage – starting with the feet up the calf, to the thigh etc. She even included a face, neck and head massage as part of the routine. It was so comfortable that I dozed off every single time (and my close friends know that i’m really not into massage, because some masseurs just make me feel more tensed/stressed up during the process)

The wrapping of the belly has to be kept for at least 6 hours, and i probably wouldn’t find it too intrusive except for the fact that I had rashes prior to the start of the package (probably started from the itch as a result of the epidural at the hospital).

What I have to highlight here is the professionalism of the masseurs and the management team. Madam Tini was the one to suggest that I take 2 days of break from the massage/wrapping so that there would be more time for the itch on my belly to go away. When 2 days were up, I called the office to request for another week’s break because I needed more time for the itch to totally subside. The management was very supportive and compassionate, and there was no pressure to rush me through the package. Definitely a thumbs up in terms of professionalism and service!

(Disclaimer: this is not an advertorial)