What is a pregnancy massage or prenatal massage? Pregnancy massage or prenatal massage are generic terms used to describe a variety of conditions and treatments performed to help alleviate the signs and symptoms associated with pregnancy.
Conditions like: Sciatica, headaches, low back pain, swelling in the extremities, muscle tension and sleep disturbances can all be part of being pregnant.
An RMT can work to address all these conditions.
Why use an RMT for pregnancy massage or prenatal massage? A BC RMT has 3000 hours of training.
They have specific training in the physiology and anatomy of pregnancy.
There are specific techniques that are used for different stages of the pregnancy cycle.
The bigger question is, "What RMT is a specialist in pregnancy massage?" Technically, RMTs cannot say they specialize in any one treatment or technique.
This is a regulatory requirement of our governing body, the CMTBC .
To work with this regulation you will see RMTs use words like: "focus", "area of treatment" or "training in".
To find an RMT that works best for you I suggest looking for a personal referral and research that RMT online.
Here are some questions I suggest asking: 1.
Do you do pregnancy massage or prenatal massage? 2.
Do you have body pillows, electric table, etc...
? 3.
Can I read more about you on the web? 4.
How many pregnancy or prenatal treatments did you do last week? 5.
Can I talk to any of the women you treated for pregnancy? 6.
Are you a Dr.
Voder licensed Manual Lymph drainage therapist? (These RMTs have post graduate training and should be used if you have swelling in the extremities) The answers to these questions will give you enough information to make a decision.
What are the benefits of a pregnancy massage? There are so many benefits to having a pregnancy massage.
At no time in your life will you undergo so much change in your body over such a short period of time.
Aches, pains and body changes can be greatly decreased when you consult an RMT.
Treatments that respond well to pregnancy massage are: Sciatica , headaches, muscle tension, swelling in the extremities and low back pain .
Clients report better sleep patterns and over all feeling of being relaxed and more connected to their body.
When receiving a pregnancy massage, how should I be positioned? Positioning is the most important part of a treatment.
You want to take in account how far along the pregnancy is, the further along it is the more you will need to look at supporting the body.
In general, sideline is best.
This is because it allows the most amount of modification to the body position.
Resting on your stomach puts too much pressure on your abdomen and breasts.
There are pregnancy tables that have a hole cut where the abdomen is and this is replaced with a stretchy fabric that makes a hammock for your growing belly to rest on.
There is some controversy about these tables because depending on the tension on the hammock it can lead to not enough support for your belly.
This can put undue stress on your abdominal and pelvic ligaments.
This can be very serious depending on how far you're a long and if it has been a difficult pregnancy or not.
I highly suggest consulting with your massage therapist to discuss this issue.
Resting on your back can position your uterus to put pressure on the returning veins from the lower extremity.
This again needs to be discussed as your pregnancy progresses.
Precautions for pregnancy massage.
Make sure the RMT does a thorough history and assessment before the treatment begins.
Clients tend to want to rush to the treatment and they sometime over look very serious contraindications for treatment.
Please make sure to discuss everything about your pregnancy with your RMT.
Some precautions for pregnancy massages are: diabetes, miscarriages and varicosities in the lower extremity.