Expert condemns act of massaging pregnant women

Expert frowns at massaging pregnant women.

A Physiotherapist with Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa, Mr Popoola Olugbenga, says giving massage to pregnant women is not right and harmful to the babies.

Olugbenga, said this to newsmen on Friday after a two-day physiotherapy outreach that local massaging was not an alternative to ante-natal care.

He said the Physiotherapy outreach held in three communities in Bayelsa State, was aimed at educating the people on how to live a healthy life.

He said, “women should know that pregnancy is not a disease that they should be going out from the routine antenatal care; moreover, not even every health challenge needs massaging.

“Pregnant women should know that the native massagers have limited knowledge about antenatal care; they have limited knowledge about other related diseases like stroke, cerebral palsy, facial nerve palsy, among others.

“Obviously, these diseases can be preventable if people begin to give proper attention to their health.”

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He therefore, advised pregnant women to steer clear of native massage because it is detrimental to their health and the baby in the womb.

Olugbenga added that regular exercise, good lifestyles, eating balanced diet, regular check up with medical experts, especially on blood pressure could prevent stroke, saying stroke, cerebral palsy and facial nerve palsy, could occur when blood circulation from the brain to other parts of the body was poor.

Another Physiotherapist, Mr Francis Iyado, said that many stroke-related issues occurred due to negligence to one’s health.

He said “stroke could be in form of blindness and one may not know that it was stroke; sometime, it could make one unconscious and you begin to loss memory.

“We must always give proper care to our health, exercise regularly, avoid excessive alcoholic drinking, maintain healthy lifestyle, among others.”