Pre-Natal Massage Therapy, what is it?

When I first became a massage therapist, if you would have asked me if I thought that as a man in this industry I would ever be working on pregnant women I would have thought, absolutely not, and why would a pregnant woman want a male massage therapist?

In a series of rather ironic events, the universe pushed it upon me!

I had countless enquiries about if Pre-Natal massage or Pregnancy massage was a service that I offered. At the time I actually had no idea how it differed from a ‘normal’ massage just that I didn’t really have much training if any related to anything pregnancy. After countless messages & phonecalls about it, I caved.

I sought out some pregnancy massage training which is pretty much just a crash course about positioning of the body and how it changes & also some of the contra-indications during the different trimesters of pregnancy. Technique wise, the massage itself is actually similar to regular ol massage, the angles are just different. Some pregnant women are more sensitive to pain than others and so less pressure is used as a rule of thumb but this is different person to person.

Pregnancy massage as a whole is just that. Massage for pregnant people. Some places are more equipped than others for this task however, there are special pregnancy pillows and bolsters which take a huge amount of pressure off the hips, belly & shoulders allowing for a much more comfortable massage than just lopping pillows together and making do.

The key thing is making sure that after the first trimester, you don’t have a massage where you lay on your back for an extended period of time. As the baby grows this extra pressure will compress your abdominal aorta which is rather important for you & the baby. Aside from that you just need to be comfortable.

Pregnancy puts major strain on many different areas & muscles over the body because of the extra weight around the front (Not the extra donuts you ate for lunch) & so keeping yourself in peak condition will help you feel physically & mentally nourished. Pregnancy massage is just an added way to do that which helps keep your stress levels down & tension low.

Feel free to book in a Remedial Massage during your pregnancy if you struggle with any aches and pains in the back or hips & just let me know if you’re pregnant in the notes section & I can take it from there.