myths & misconceptions ...and other things you should know
What is a Prenatal Massage Specialist?
First - what is Prenatal Massage? simply defined, Prenatal Massage is - massage therapy specifically tailored to meet the needs of pregnant women.
However, it’s much more than that!
Massage therapy during pregnancy is safe and beneficial for healthy, low-risk moms. High-risk moms can benefit too, and skilled prenatal therapists are typically quite happy to work with your prenatal care provider to make sure you get the benefits of massage with any special considerations. Since prenatal massage is their specialty, such therapists know which precautions to take and they know how to handle the many changes that can arise during pregnancy.
Don’t trust your body and your baby to just any massage therapist – come to the prenatal massage experts.
Do you only work with pregnant women?
Many prenatal massage specialists have a range of skills and are happy to work with women throughout their childbearing years and even beyond. Although the focus is massage during pregnancy, Prenatal Massage Specialists may also:
- help support conception (yep, it’s called Fertility Massage)
- support you during labor and birth (Doula Services)
- work on you after you have given birth (Postpartum Massage)
- work on you at any time thereafter, whether you are pregnant or not - we are, after all, massage therapists.
We’ve also given many massages to moms while their newborn infants sleep next to them in bassinet!
We even make trips to homes or hospitals to give massage therapy to women in recovery or on bedrest.
We love pregnancy and birth and we are here to support YOU!
Massage during pregnancy can help in the following ways:
- Ease general aches and pains, including chronic low back pain, hip pain, neck/shoulder pain, headaches, and aching feet.
- Help you get better sleep, get some rest
- Help balance your ever-changing posture
- Relieve normal swelling of hands, legs, feet, ankles
- Relieve crabbiness/moodiness
- Ease emotional stress
Not only does prenatal massage feel good, but it actually creates a chemical shift in the body by suppressing the release of negative stress hormones and increasing the production of positive, feel-good hormones. This means that your baby also feels the benefits of nurturing touch during pregnancy.
Pregnancy is physically, emotionally, and spiritually demanding. Proper diet, exercise, and yoga are helpful, but regular massage during pregnancy is the ONLY thing a woman can have done for her during pregnancy that is totally supportive and nurturing.
Our clients tell us that regular massage during pregnancy is what “gets them through” to the end. It’s the only time they get relief from the aches and pains!
Our Members
Our members are licensed, certified, or registered massage therapists as required by their city, state, country, or territory.
While most massage schools do not include special training in massage for childbearing women, our therapists have done post-graduate trainings, and/or workshops or internships that give them the skills and confidence to work on pregnant women. Many of us have had children of our own!
How is prenatal massage different from regular massage?
Massage during pregnancy will feel similar to massage that you receive when you are not pregnant, with a few major considerations:
1. No deep work on the legs – but that’s usually not what you’re craving anyway! Most women need the deep work on the back and hips. We avoid deep work on the legs simply because during pregnancy, your body has nearly 40% more blood circulating, and this leaves pregnant women more susceptible to blood clots which usually appear in the legs. Deep blood clots and massage can be a dangerous combination, so we just take extra precaution. We will work on your legs gently, and save the deep work for those areas of your body that really need it.
2. Positioning. Because you have a little belly growing there, our options for positioning you on the massage table change trimester to trimester, week to week. Since NO body is designed to lay flat, we are trained to use side-lying positioning, or orthopedic body support cushions (“bodyCushions”) that allow you to rest face down, comfortably, without any pressure on your belly or breasts.
For massage in a side-lying position, you’ll have minimal pressure on your shoulders and hips, and you won’t feel like you’re falling over. You’ll be supported, cradled, and relaxed … so much that you’ll probably fall asleep.
Aren’t there certain acupressure points or areas of the body (feet, belly, etc.) you are supposed to AVOID touching during pregnancy because they’ll cause contractions?
Ummm, no. Well, yes and no. It’s not that simple. Yes, there are acupressure points that should be avoided during pregnancy (unless you are intentionally trying to encourage the onset of labor, which is something we do when that is appropriate). NO, nobody can make your body go into labor by accidentally pressing an acupressure point. Acupressure points and massage are not magic buttons. To create changes in the body with acupressure requires focused attention and intention. It is a total, complete myth that a foot massage, for example, will cause a woman to go into labor.
Belly massage is wonderful too, and conditioning for the skin as it stretches and stretches. By the way, we will always ask you if you’d like us to do the gentlest of work on your belly. It’s personal, and it’s totally optional. All we do is gently rub Vitamin E oil on your belly for about a minute – nothing that would cause internal changes to the uterus.
Many of us are happy to work with moms in all ages and stages of pregnancy. It’s never too early or to late in pregnancy to have a massage. Whether you are low-risk, first time mom, fifth-time mom, scheduled c-section, natural birth, home birth, high-risk, twins, triplets – you name it – we are happy to support you with our skilled hands and loving hearts.
Just let us do all the work so you can relax and feel wonderful!
Top Ten Signs You are About to Get a Bad Pregnancy Massage
by Rebecca Overson, LMT, Maternity & Fertility Massage Specialist, Birth Doula, Founder & Director of Salt Lake Prenatal Massage (2009-2018) - Originally published on Salt Lake Prenatal Massage blog in 2017
Just because you CAN get a massage during pregnancy from any licensed massage therapist does not mean you SHOULD.
Think first for a minute about what your reasons are for wanting a massage.
Do you just want to be “pampered” and “relax”? Do you just want a short, 15 minute spot-treatment? If so, you’re probably fine to go anywhere for a massage. If your expectations are very low, you probably won’t be disappointed.
However, our experience tells us that most pregnant women really DO need SO much more than “pampering”! They are emotional. They aren’t sleeping well. They are constantly uncomfortable. Some are actually under a lot of stress. Some are anxious about birth. Some are nervous or shy about their changing, unfamiliar body. They need so much more than a “gentle massage.”
There is a vast difference between a massage therapist who “will” work on pregnant women, and a massage therapist who has worked on HUNDREDS of pregnant women.
You should know that most massage schools do NOT cover massage during pregnancy except a brief, maybe 1-2 hour overview of basic precautions.
You should also know that there is no “real” certification for prenatal massage. Here in Utah, to practice massage, you have to hold a license issued by the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. You get this after going to an accredited massage school, graduating, and passing a couple of tests, applying for a license and paying a fee every two years to keep your license current.
So, regarding pregnancy massage specifically – there are a handful of national pregnancy massage experts out there who offer continuing education to licensed massage therapists and massage therapy students on the topic of maternity massage. Those classes might be online only, or they might be as many as 50 hours or more of instruction time, and anywhere in between. There is no “authority” in other words, that determines that a person is qualified and expert and experienced in massage therapy for pregnancy and beyond. Someone who takes such a course receives a certificate of completion. They may or may not have to pass a test. They may or may not have to demonstrate their skills and knowledge. But they will call themselves “Certified in Pregnancy Massage.”
Are you with me?
It is therefore up to YOU, the CONSUMER, to understand what you are purchasing when you schedule an appointment for a prenatal massage. At worst – it can be downright dangerous to you and your baby if you go to a massage therapist who does not have a clue. At a minimum, more often than not it is a disappointing experience with someone untrained. Even if the therapist took a class on pregnancy massage, you might be the first pregnant woman they have touched. Experience counts.
We offer this article as a way to help you to understand that there is a difference – many times, a VERY BIG DIFFERENCE – between a massage therapist who will work on a pregnant woman, and a massage therapist who SPECIALIZES in it.
Here are the top ten signs you are about to get a bad Pregnancy Massage:
1. You booked it at a spa, or at a massage chain, or with a massage therapist that does not specifically do prenatal massage. Trust me… you are probably only the fifth pregnant client they’ve ever worked on. Pretty good chance they will rub lotion on you gently and if you are at a spa, you will pay way more than you need to for that kind of favor. (Keep in mind that Prenatal Massage at a spa is likely to be more of a novelty – definitely not a specialty.)
2. They tell you that prenatal massage is a very light-touch massage, that they have to be very gentle with you, and no deep pressure work is allowed anywhere on your body. (This is simply not true.)
3. They are scrambling around looking for piles of towels and pillows with which to prop you up on your side. (This is a sign that they are NOT prepared, experienced, or equipped for this job.)
4. Even though you don't want to lie on your side, they insist you lie on your side, even though you are only 12 weeks along, or aren’t even showing. (This is a sign that they don’t really know much about pregnancy.)
5. They tell you that foot massage can cause a miscarriage, and explain that they can’t massage your feet… or your hands…. or your lower back for that matter. (This is a sign they are not savvy about pregnancy, are confused, misinformed, lack experience, and are afraid of hurting you.)
6. They won’t let you book an appointment in your first trimester, nor will they book you too late in pregnancy in case you go into labor. (This is a sign that they don’t know pregnancy, and are informed more by liability issues than by what is factual. You can totally have a massage WHENEVER YOU WANT in your pregnancy.)
7. They confidently claim the ability to INDUCE or PUT YOU INTO labor with acupressure at the end of your pregnancy. (There’s SO much more to it than that… sorry, there is no magic eject button that puts women in labor.)
8. They seem nervous about working on you. Or – clearly overly confident to make up for their true lack of experience. (This is a sign that they are not experienced.)
9. They have a “pregnancy massage table” – a table with a hole in it for your belly as if one-size-fits-all. (This is a sign that they haven’t invested in proper equipment.)
10. They advertise pregnancy massage in a way that seems like pure fluff and “pampering”. (This is a sign that they think you are fragile just because you are pregnant.)
Bonus: if anyone has you lie flat on your back after 16-18 weeks of pregnancy, they also lack pure common sense.
This article is likely to leave you with a lot of questions…. stay tuned for a follow up article. Comments and Questions Welcome!