Pregnancy Massage
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.
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.
Did you know?
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.
What to expect at my 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.
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 up 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. Treatment
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Supporting you throughout this transformative time…and beyond.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!).
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 from all our patients during and after treatment.
Advanced Massage Therapy offer by:
Therapists with BTEC Level 6 (degree-level) qualification in Advanced Clinical and Sports Massage Therapy from the prestigious Jing Institute for Advanced Massage.
