So often, people are misinformed about the safety of massage during pregnancy. Spoiler alert: It’s Safe! Are there some exceptions? Of course! There are always exceptions to every rule.
High risk pregnancies are sometimes exceptions, depending on what the cause of the high risk is. However, massage is not unsafe in all high risk pregnancies. It’s extremely important to discuss this with your ob/midwife/provider.
The biggest myth of all regarding massage during pregnancy, is that massage is unsafe during the first trimester of pregnancy. This is 100% untrue and causes a great deal of stress for women in the first trimester who do want to get a massage.
While massage is safe during the first trimester, there is a reason for this myth. Essentially the myth comes from the reality that the vast majority of miscarriages occur in the first trimester. The concern, which led to this myth being so widespread, is that if a miscarriage occurs in the first trimester, the mom-to-be may blame the massage for the miscarriage.
This makes a lot of sense considering that emotions are heightened during pregnancy, thanks to those pesky hormones! Where this becomes an even bigger problem is that she might not just blame the massage for the miscarriage but she may blame the massage therapist or worse, blame herself.
So, while massage is perfectly safe in all 3 trimesters, it is imperative that if there are any risk factors at all, to discuss a potential massage with your provider to keep yourself and your unborn child as safe as possible.
Read the full episode transcript here.
