Pregnancy Massage
Supporting you throughout this transformative time…and beyond.
What is pregnancy massage / maternity massage?
Pregnancy massage or maternity massage therapy is the most common complementary and preventative therapy recommended during pregnancy. Prenatal massage treatments have been scientifically proven to ease a wide-range of pregnancy-related aches and pains, alongside supporting the mother-to-be by providing a safe space to help you, alongside providing some pampering ‘me’ time.
Our highly-experienced experts in pregnancy and post-natal massage, manual therapy and movement, provide a safe, non-judgemental and neutral environment to support, educate and guide you on your pregnancy journey.
Whether you’re seeking treatment to ease tension, reduce pregnancy-related pain conditions and improve sleep, or simply looking for to switch off from the world, our pregnancy massage is for you.
Alongside our prenatal massage and movement treatments, our passion and knowledge for pre-and-post natal, means we can point you in the right direction with guidelines on exercise during pregnancy, and provide additional support and advice to our pregnant clients and their partners.
What are the benefits of pregnancy massage / maternity massage?
Numerous scientific studies have shown that massage during pregnancy has a host of positive effects for both mother and baby.
No two pregnancies are the same, so no two pregnancy massages are either. Our bespoke prenatal massage treatments are designed to relax, de-stress, reduce aches and pains, and help improve sleep quality.
We tailor and adapt our treatments during each trimester – and at each visit – so you and your baby will always be safe and comfortable, and both of you can reap the health and wellness benefits of treatment.
Which pregnancy conditions can be treated?
Our experienced practitioners can help with a wide range of pregnancy-related conditions across the second and third trimesters, in the run-up to birth, and post-natal.
Typical conditions we treat include:
• Back, neck and shoulder pain
• Joint pain
• Morning sickness/nausea/vomiting/heartburn
• Carpel tunnel syndrome
• Headaches/migraines
• Sciatica/pelvic girdle pain
• Support with fatigue, insomnia and stress-related tension
• Oedema
• Promotion of milk supply
• Labour preparation & post-birth treatments
And if you’re seek treatment near to your due date, then treatment typically focuses on labour preparation – scientific papers have shown that massage near birth can help reduce labour by up to 3 hours, and help reduce post-natal depression.
What sort of pregnancy massage techniques are used?
Our degree-level Advanced Clinical Massage and Movement practitioner will use a variety of highly-safe, effective and gentle pregnancy-focused techniques, to get you results.
Our pregancy-specific training across bodywork, preventative healthcare and movement modalities means that pregnant women, at all stages of pregnancy, will benefit from an expert who has a deep-rooted interest in antenatal and post-natal care. Bodywork techniques will typically involve comfortable side-lying positions, soft and deep effluerage, focused trigger point therapy to reduce pain, stretching to improve range of motion and myofascial release therapy.
Do you use wax/oil/essential oils?
We either use unscented or pregnancy-specific organic massage beeswaxes (organic vegan options also available) – all are safe to use during pregnancy and post-natal.
We do not use massage oil, nor do we use essential oils in our products.
Our range of massage waxes are beautifully hydrating and nurturing: great for nourishing stretch marks, or helping to prevent them (if you’re lucky enough to not have any!).
Do I need to be referred by a GP/midwife before getting a pregnancy massage?
You don’t need to be referred by your GP or midwife team to receive pregnancy massage treatments or labour preparation massage treatments.
However, for some women, pregnancy can be an emotional and anxious time.
You may have got pregnant via IVF and/or experienced miscarriages in the past. Your pregnancy may been classed as higher-risk, and you may be taking medication, such as progesterone.
Perhaps you are experiencing anxiety or depression. We understand and respect that you may have mixed feelings about your pregnancy right now.
In these more sensitive cases, we always recommend getting the okay from your antenatal team or GP before starting massage treatment. We have the highest possible training, with many additional hours of CPD in pregnancy, women’s health and post-natal preventative healthcare – you are in safe hands.
All of our degree-level practitioners understand the stress – and complexities – of having a higher-risk pregnancy (and all that entails). If you’ve been given the okay from your healthcare team to commence pregnancy massage, then we will always go at your pace. We welcome questions during and after treatment from all our patients.
Did you know?
Recent scientific papers have shown that postpartum depression and cortisol levels were decreased in women who had been massaged during pregnancy.
The newborns of the massaged mothers also had lower cortisol levels than the newborns of the control mothers.
From the first, second and third trimester, through to birth and beyond…
Our pregnancy and post-natal experts are here to support, help and guide you during you pregnancy. We love helping women during this transformative time.
Whether you are in your first trimester, second trimester, third trimester, in the run-up to your due date or post-natal, we tailor a bespoke set of antenatal and post-natal techniques to get you results: from advanced massage and movement and c-section myofascial scar-work, to lifestyle advice for you and your birth partner.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT MY FIRST APPOINTMENT
We are delighted to support pregnant women and new mums with our range of bespoke pregnancy massage/movement, labour preparation massage, and postnatal massage/movement treatments. Our bespoke treatments are specifically designed for those going through this physically and emotionally transformative time in a woman’s life. Let our highly-experienced, friendly perinatal practitioners support you, your baby, and your birth partner, during your second and third trimester.
Initial appointments are 60 minutes, providing your perinatal practitioner sufficient time to address your unique needs and concerns during this amazing time in your life.
For those in their first trimester
First trimester massage treatment:
Many women, the first trimester can be one of the most exciting, yet worrying of times in your pregnancy, and brings about a huge range of symptoms as your body rapidly adapts and adjusts whilst growing your baby.
Treatment will always differ from week to week depending on how you’re feeling. Your perinatal practitioner ensure that treatment is safe and gentle, and can include massage therapy, breath-work, craniosacral therapy, gentle myofascial release, and relaxing bodywork. All techniques used on you are safe, and we will always provide a confidential, supportive and caring space to connected with yourself and your body during this time.
We can also start to reduce, ease and improve a wide-range of symptoms commonly experienced during the first 12 weeks. These include:
• Easing cramping and pains
• Ease headaches & migraines
• Support with tiredness and fatigue
• Support with nausea/morning sickness
• Help with sleep issues
• Feel relaxed, replenished and supported.
You will always leave your treatment feeling relaxed, refreshed and revitalised.
For those in their first trimester
First trimester massage treatment:
Many women, the first trimester can be one of the most exciting, yet worrying of times in your pregnancy, and brings about a huge range of symptoms as your body rapidly adapts and adjusts whilst growing your baby.
Treatment will always differ from week to week depending on how you’re feeling. Your perinatal practitioner ensure that treatment is safe and gentle, and can include massage therapy, breath-work, craniosacral therapy, gentle myofascial release, and relaxing bodywork. All techniques used on you are safe, and we will always provide a confidential, supportive and caring space to connected with yourself and your body during this time.
We can also start to reduce, ease and improve a wide-range of symptoms commonly experienced during the first 12 weeks. These include:
• Easing cramping and pains
• Ease headaches & migraines
• Support with tiredness and fatigue
• Support with nausea/morning sickness
• Help with sleep issues
• Feel relaxed, replenished and supported.
You will always leave your treatment feeling relaxed, refreshed and revitalised.
For those in their second trimester
Second trimester massage treatment:
Many women, this second trimester means they can experience a new host of symptoms. Your perinatal practitioner ensures that treatment during this trimester is safe and gentle, and can include massage therapy, breath-work, craniosacral therapy, gentle myofascial release, and relaxing bodywork
Pregnancy massage and pregnancy treatments can help reduce, ease and improve a wide-range of these, including:
• Easing pains on the side of your bump (caused by your expanding womb known as “round ligament pains”)
• Headaches & migraines
• Bloating & constipation
• Indigestion & heartburn
• Leg cramps
• Dizziness
• Swollen hands and feet (oedema)
Some can still experience symptoms from their first trimester, including morning sickness and fatigue.
You will always leave your treatment feeling relaxed, refreshed and revitalised.
For those in their third trimester
Third trimester massage treatment:
During your third and last trimester, new symptoms can appear throughout these final months. Your perinatal practitioner ensures that treatment during this trimester is safe and gentle, and can include massage therapy, breath-work, craniosacral therapy, gentle myofascial release, and relaxing bodywork
Pregnancy massage at this stage of your pregnancy can help reduce, ease and improve a wide-range of symptoms, including:
• Sleeping problems (week 19 has information about feeling tired)
• Pains on the side of your baby bump (caused by your expanding womb “round ligament pains”)
• Backache
• Headaches
• Indigestion and heartburn
• Bloating and constipation
• Leg cramps
• Dizziness
• Swollen hands and feet (oedema)
Some may still experience symptoms from their second trimester.
You will always leave your treatment feeling relaxed, refreshed and revitalised.
For those near their due date/labour preparation
Labour preparation massage:
Getting a series of massages around your due date, can be highly beneficial for both mother and baby. Recent scientific health studies have concluded that getting massaged around the time of your baby’s birth can reduce vaginal labour time by up to 3+ hours.
We recommend x3 weekly 1hr treatments in the run-up to your due date. We will start to incorporate acupressure points that can help prepare your body for labour: whether vaginal or via caserian.
We also welcome birth partners to attend these sessions. If partners do attend, we typically show some effective massage techniques and acupressure points to use during labour.
1. Listen
Your Advanced Pregnancy practitioner will attentively listen to your goals, and enquire about any concerns, general health, birth plan or ongoing medical treatments/medications. We want to ensure you that you will receive the best tailor-made treatment; allowing us to properly address any issues you’ve come with..
2. Assess
For those experiencing sciatica, headaches/migraines, carpal tunnel syndrome or pelvic girdle pain, we will assess the joint and surrounding muscles, in order for your pregnancy practitioner to continue to fine-tune the hands-on section of the treatment you’ll receive. This will be done with your clothes on.
3. Treat
Only the area being massaged will be exposed, and you will feel safe and comfortable in series of fluffy towels covering your body.
Your pregnancy practitioner will tell you which clothes to keep on of take off (normally we recommend keeping pants on, but taking bra off so we can work your back with ease). They’ll then give you privacy by leaving the room so you can take your time getting on the treatment bench. We will recommend the best position to lie down on the bench. Bolstering and extra pillows will always been on hand to ensure that you – and bump – are in a safe, comfortable position during treatment.
4. Reassessment & Aftercare
We will reassess your pain, discomfort and/or range-of-motion after each treatment, for those seeking pain-relief treatment.
At-home self-care forms an important part of treatment. For all our pregnant patients, we want to empower and encourage them to continue the good work made in clinic with simple at-home exercises and advice. This is also a fantastic time to ask additional questions you may have.
Should we feel a block of treatment would be best to support you and your pregnancy, then we will review and fine-tune treatment plans accordingly at each visit. Treatment is always bespoke to you and your needs.
Supporting you through the highs and lows of pregnancy
For many women – and their partners – pregnancy is a rollercoaster of physical and emotional change. This may be your first pregnancy, your rainbow baby, your miracle IVF baby, or your fourth uncomplicated pregnancy.
We provide a fully-confidential, safe and caring environment to support and guide you on your pregnancy journey.
Treatment offered by:
