Pregnancy massage - What to expect from Bristol Pregnancy Massage

Sessions

1 hour ~ £60
1 ½ hour ~ £85
Reflexology ~ £60
Couples workshops for labour ~ £88
Closing the Bones ~ £120

What to expect from a pregnancy massage

Being a fully qualified Well Mother practitioner, I am passionate about delivering excellence within the pregnancy massage field and believe that receiving massage in your pregnancy can help connect you with baby, promoting relaxation. A relaxed mother makes for a relaxed baby, through every stage of pregnancy.

Treatments are tailored for your individual needs and take into account what you need at the specific moment in time and will generally include postural advice, gentle exercises, breath work, stretching and massage, incorporating the use of specific acupressure points, that can support and alleviate many of the symptoms related to being pregnant such as lower back and shoulder pain, pelvic girdle pain, Sciatica and restless leg syndrome.

After taking a client history and ascertaining what you need from the massage, and your expectations for the birth, treatments will take place in a comfortable position on the floor, generally side lying, but sometimes over an exercise ball, or seated. I feel that floor based work helps promote greater connection between mother and baby and therapist and mother. You will have the extra comfort of pillows, support and blankets should you need them.

These sessions can really give you a sense of your ever changing body and empower you from the moment you find out you are pregnant, through to preparing you for the impending birth.

When can I have a pregnancy massage?

You can receive a massage from the very first time you find out that you are pregnant, right up until the moment you go into labour.

1^st trimester (0-13 weeks)

A relaxed mother makes for a relaxed baby in utero. (Yates)

Pregnancy massage in the first trimester offers support, a friendly ear and reassurance at a time when emotions can be overwhelming. It can connect you whole heartedly with what is going on for you at that very moment. It is a great way of being in the present and can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of pregnancy: nausea, swollen breasts and extreme tiredness.

A session at this stage of pregnancy is aimed at connecting you with your baby and can leave you feeling amazed by what is taking place within your body and can give you the confidence to be able to cope with the changes to come.

It can be a vulnerable time for you as your body undergoes profound changes. Excitement and anxiety are high. Given the correct information, help and guidance, massage can be invaluable at this time.

2^nd trimester (14 – 26 weeks)

Pregnancy massage at this time can help with heavy legs and tightness in your back. Weaknesses in posture tend to show up now, as extra baby weight puts strain on your body and this can be addressed through bodywork and advice on posture and different exercises, specific exercises for pelvic floor and awareness of the abdominal muscles. You may be suffering with SPD, if so, I can tailor treatments specifically for this and we can explore different ways of working with this.

Massage in this trimester helps promote the connection with your baby, your changing body and helps enhance the positive aspects of your pregnancy. Sessions offer a friendly ear, when you can talk over any concerns or fears. It helps engage you with your changing body shape, working with it, getting to know it and what it can do for you.

3^rd trimester (27-40 weeks)

Sessions at this time tend to focus on the birth and motherhood. This is the most physically demanding part of the pregnancy. Good posture is key and I have found most clients love their legs being massaged which relieves them and leaves them feeling ‘lighter’.

This a time when you need to begin to think about birthing your baby, connecting and talking. Sessions can incorporate visualisations for birth and can also include work for optimal fetal positioning. Given space, babies in the back to back position can move to ROA after massage work.

I can incorporate some great stretches in this trimester, literally giving you more space in your body. A great time to work into tight gluteals, hips and legs. Massage at this time can focus and relax you, helping to open up the pelvic area and start to let go. I incorporate visualisations to help with this. so you can place trust in your body for this whole process

Tiredness tends to enter into the latter stages during this trimester. Knowing when to slow down helps, and massage can help you engage with this.

It’s a really valuable time to receive bodywork in preparation for birth, for the body and the mind. Clients that I have seen have felt the knowledge and relaxation gained during these sessions have proved invaluable and added to their readiness and preparation for their labour.

36 weeks plus?

Many women really appreciate bodywork at this stage of their pregnancy and feel it is a really beneficial time to receive some focussed attention for mother and baby. Heavy legs, tiredness and anxiety can all be helped with a session incorporating specific labour promoting acupressure points, positions for labour, opening up of the pelvic area, breathing and relaxation techniques along with visualisations.

Acupressure for labour session 36 weeks +

A relaxing 45 minute session working specifically on the labour promoting acupressure points. This takes place seated and includes a relaxing head, neck, face and jaw massage with focus on the acupressure points used for promoting labour. This session is only available after 36 weeks. You and your partner can also practice the points at home and you can use them during your labour.

Reflexology

Reflexology is a natural non invasive healing therapy based on the principal that there are reflex points in the feet, hands and ears that correspond to every part, gland and organ of the body. By massaging these parts of the feet and legs reflexology stimulates the reflex zones in the feet which send messages along the nerve/meridian pathways to the various organs in the body to help break down the blockages and restore the free flow of energy to the body, tension is released, circulation and elimination improve. Reflexology can help to restore the body’s natural balance and encourage the body to heal itself. Reflexology does not diagnose or prescribe.

Reflexology can be received by young and old alike. As a reflexologist I acknowledge that people are unique and individual and so each person will respond differently.

In my experience reflexology can support your body’s health and healing. It can help you maintain an equilibrium in times of stress. It can be particularly useful in pregnancy and sessions can be focused for impending labour.

Sessions are an hour and a full consultation is taken. Conditions that may benefit from reflexology include fatigue, headaches, thyroid disorders, constipation, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, back pain, sciatica and PMS.

Couples massage for labour workshop

The power of massage and touch in birth is key to helping you experience an embodied birth.

During birth, we want to feel safe, safe enough for our bodies to open, safe for our bodies to soften, safe enough to become instinctual. Safe enough to be able to drop down into our feminine intuitive body, to move inwards, away from our thinking reactive brain. If we have never operated in this state before how can we do this in birth?

This couples massage for labour workshop will help you and your partner feel prepared for birth, give you and your partner the practical hands on techniques to create a safe holding container for birth and experience an embodied birth. You and your partner will learn the practical tools to help orientate your body into feeling safe and relaxed, including effective acupressure points to help open and relax your body, to let go of your mind, using touch, breath, connection and drumming to soothe and relax your body, to encourage oxytocin.

In this 2.5hr hands on workshop you will learn:

Embodied practices to regulate your nervous system
Acupressure points and massage techniques
Positions for birth
Womb/Hara connection and breath work
Rebozo techniques for optimal positioning and working with your partner
Using a birth ball
Experience a relaxing drum journey

Who is this for? This workshop is suitable for women who are 36 weeks plus pregnant and their partners. If you are interested and will be almost 36 weeks, please get in touch.