There are many benefits of massage during the different stages of pregnancy, as well as during labor and the post-partum period. A woman's body goes through many transformations during pregnancy - from changes in her hormones and posture to changes in her joint flexibility and emotions. Massage can provide relief from a lot of the discomforts during pregnancy - neck and back pain caused by changes in posture and weight distribution as the baby grows and increases the strain in all the muscles of the body, trouble sleeping and problems with digestion, it decreases stress hormones and feeling of anxiety or depressions, increases blood circulation to the internal organs ( including the uterus), which provides more nutrients and oxygen to the growing baby. Studies with pregnant women receiving massage showed reduces pain levels ( back and leg pain), reduced anxiety, depression and the stress hormones cortisole and norepinephrin and increased relaxation hormones dopamine and seratonin. The study also showed that women, who had prenatal massage also had less obstetrical complications during birth, less post natal complications including lower birth weight and premature births, as well as better performance of their newborns on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment.