Hi and welcome to the hormonal mama podcast. I am your host Cara Drescher. Today on the show, I wanted to dispel the myth that you can’t get a massage during pregnancy. It’s a really common myth, and I want to break down why it’s a myth, and why it actually is safe. So, stick with me and I’ll tell you all about it.
It’s a really common myth that you can’t get a massage when you’re pregnant. But the more common myth is that you can’t get a massage during your first trimester. I’ve heard this my entire career. I’ve been a massage therapist for over 18 years, and since the day I started school, I’ve heard this common story that it is unsafe in the first trimester to get a massage. “Pregnant women can’t get massage in the first trimester it is absolutely unsafe.” “You’re going to cause a miscarriage.” “You’re going to do this, you’re going to do that.” “Do not touch women in the first trimester.” That’s what I’ve heard from everybody. I’ve heard it from massage therapy instructors, I’ve heard it from customers, I’ve heard it from massage therapists. I’ve heard it from anyone and everyone, and it’s simply not true. Let me break down for you why this is a myth.
Is pregnancy a little complicated? Well, yeah! You don’t have to have a high risk pregnancy in order to have a complicated pregnancy. Pregnancy is difficult. If you listen to any of my episodes or read my blog, then you’ve heard me talk a bit about hormonal changes. That’s one of the big things. You have all these hormones racing through your body going up and down and up and down. It’s like a roller coaster… all the time. I think that’s the part that everybody gets. I mean, you’re pregnant and your hormones are going nuts trying to maintain this pregnancy. Trying to keep the baby healthy, trying to keep you healthy, trying to do this, trying to do that. What people don’t always think about is all the other things that happened during pregnancy. A lot of changes happen in the body, it’s not just that your body is growing another human which I mean, it is, and that’s probably the biggest thing about pregnancy and where this myth comes from. It’s hard to explain, so let me sort of back up a little bit and talk about miscarriage which is a very difficult topic.
I, myself went through a miscarriage in my pregnancy with my twins. They had a triplet sibling, and I miscarried that third baby. Even though my experience was very different than many women; every woman who has experienced a miscarriage experiences it differently. So I can’t speak for everyone, but it’s very important to understand that the vast majority of miscarriages occurr during the first trimester. More than that, the vast majority of miscarriages occur for no apparent reason. There’s no clinical or medical explanation in many cases. I’d say in most cases, there’s no real explanation as to why you miscarried. This can be extremely difficult to understand and process, emotionally. I can relate on the infertility side because I went through years of infertility. A lot of women go through infertility. What a lot of people don’t really understand, is that recurring miscarriages are a type of infertility, and going through miscarriages whether it’s one or four, or 12, it is devastating at any time. And not only that, it’s devastating whether you lost the baby in the first two weeks, or at 20 weeks. Losing that pregnancy is a very big deal. I’m talking about it because this relates 100% to this myth that it’s not safe in the first trimester. Now, the reason why this myth really started was because of the concern that the vast majority of miscarriages that occur, occur in the first trimester. But taking into account what I said a before about how usually there’s no medical explanation for it. The other part of that, is that there’s not much that’s going to cause a miscarriage. So, the myth is sort of rooted in the fear that massage is going to cause the miscarriage. That was the impression I was under for the vast majority of my career, until I took a prenatal massage course in 2008.
This was the very first prenatal massage course that I ever took, and it was a continuing education course. It was taught by a really well known continuing education provider in prenatal massage. One of the very first things she said was, “It’s perfectly safe to give a massage in the first trimester”. This blew my mind! I spent the first six years of my career believing that this wasn’t safe and that something that I did could potentially cause a miscarriage for someone else. So, I stuck to that rule. First trimester of pregnancy? Nope, not gonna touch you. Nope not gonna happen.
When I took this course and she broke it down for us, I realized I didn’t know enough about pregnancy and I didn’t know enough about miscarriages. I’ve taken a lot of prenatal & postpartum continuing education courses in massage therapy over the years. I started teaching prenatal massage and advanced prenatal massage because I felt like so many massage therapists were being misinformed, which in turn is misinforming the public and that’s not fair. It’s not anyone’s fault, it’s just the circumstances. That’s what I want to talk about; why you’re being fed this misinformation and why it’s not the truth. So, let’s break that down even more.
In the first trimester, if you miscarry, there may be a reason, but most of the time there isn’t. Massage Therapy is not going to cause a miscarriage. The reason why is basically because there’s nothing specifically that that can pinpoint what caused that miscarriage. Now, sometimes there are chromosomal abnormalities or other clear issues, so the miscarriage was going to occur no matter what. That’s really difficult information to process when you’re the person going through it and you’re the one experiencing the pain of loss. Now, in understanding why massage is safe, there are a couple of things to talk about and understand. First of all, massage is wonderful. Massage is such an excellent way to take care of your body but also to take care of your mind. A few episodes ago I talked about wellness, specifically massage therapy and all of the amazing benefits, both mentally and physically that massage provides. In that first trimester you’re going through so many changes every second. Every day is different. I mean, all of pregnancy is like, that but in that first trimester, especially if it’s your first pregnancy, and you’re dealing with all this crazy nausea that you didn’t expect, among other issues. Prior to my pregnancy, I thought, “I’m not gonna deal with nausea!” but I did. I dealt with it every single day. I was nauseous all day, every day for the first 15 or 16 weeks of my pregnancy, and it was horrendous. I didn’t expect that. Now, in my case, I wouldn’t have wanted to get a massage because I was so sick every day that getting a massage would have probably made me feel worse, especially laying on my belly. That wasn’t gonna happen. But if I hadn’t dealt with that nausea or if I had been on medication sooner to combat the nausea, I would have gone and gotten a massage for sure.
Here’s the thing you’ve got to keep in mind though. I am a firm believer in continuing education, which means that you are learning more and more about your particular subject. My subjects are massage therapy and skincare. But, we’re talking about massage therapy today. If you want to go get a massage during your pregnancy, I think it’s really important to make sure that you’re going to someone who’s trained in prenatal massage, and not just someone who learned about it in school. I’m not putting down any massage therapists who do prenatal massage, who learned about it in school. But, having further knowledge of what exactly is happening in the body, and breaking down every little thing, can make for a better massage because your massage therapist, knows how to figure out what areas are a problem for you. I think it’s really important to understand that if a massage therapist says that you can’t have a massage in the first trimester, they’re wrong. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not an excellent massage therapist, they’re just misinformed. So if they say, “Okay, well, you can’t do that, I don’t do first trimester.”, keep going to them if they’re a good therapist. That doesn’t mean that that this misinformation changes that, so keep that in mind if you’re pregnant and you want a massage and they don’t offer it. Go to someone else for prenatal massages but that doesn’t mean leave that therapist. That therapist is still going to be a great therapist, if you loved them before you were pregnant. I hope that makes some sense.
The other side of it, is understanding that if you’re going to get that massage in the first trimester, make sure that the person who is doing it is well informed, because there are certain things that you shouldn’t do in the first trimester. For example, abdominal massage (or belly massage when you’re pregnant), it’s not really a good idea to do in the first trimester, you’re not really going to cause a miscarriage. So the way we look at it is, if you do abdominal massage, and then your client miscarries, they then may put the blame on themselves, or you. The bigger deal for me, is them putting the blame on themselves because they didn’t do anything wrong. They didn’t cause their miscarriage, but it’s very easy to believe that something you did was the cause of it. The other side of it is the legal jargon and the concern that they’re going to come sue you because you caused it. But that’s that’s not as big a deal to me. To me, because of what I do for a living, the client’s mental health is most important. Their physical health is important as well, but when it comes to pregnancy, mental health is a really big deal and if you are putting your client in a position where they could blame themselves for something then you’re not doing them or yourself any good. That’s me speaking to the massage therapists who are listening. To anyone listening who’s not a massage therapist my advice to you is to remember that getting a massage during your first trimester, is not going to cause miscarriage, or put you at higher risk for a miscarriage that’s probably a more important thing for me to say. So keep that in mind. It’s perfectly safe. Just make sure that they have some knowledge, preferably training, specifically in prenatal massage.
Now, let’s talk for a minute about the second and third trimester. They’re perfectly safe and in fact, I highly recommend getting a massage during your second and third trimester as well because, again, your body is going through so many changes. There’s so much happening inside of your body and your mind. Pregnancy changes you. It does. Many things change you in life and pregnancy is one of these things. It changes your body dramatically, but it also changes your brain, it just does. And one of the best things that you can do for yourself, is get on that massage table. Get massaged. Tell your therapist what areas are bothering you. I’m not a big fan of massage therapists who tell you, “Okay, just lay on the table and I’ll find all the spots.”, because even though we’re trained to figure out what parts of your body need the work, it’s your body. You’re the one who is inside of your body, you know what you’re feeling. So as a client, I highly recommend that if you’re going to get a prenatal massage, tell your therapist, “These are the areas that are bothering me…” But, keep an open mind and allow them to use their training, and use their intuition as they’re massaging you to find those areas that need more attention that maybe you didn’t think about. That’s just my opinion here as a massage therapist. I think one of the best things that you can do during a pregnancy is getting a massage. First trimester, second trimester, third trimester.
Things are a little bit different in the second and third trimester, because as your belly begins to grow, you can’t lay on it anymore. You just can’t. It just doesn’t work. You can try, but it’s not safe and I mean, I know I couldn’t. And I know I had twins, so I was probably a little bit bigger than most women during pregnancy, but I mean, I couldn’t even lay on my side, I didn’t have a good pregnancy though, my pregnancy was very rough, but that’s besides the point. The point here is keeping in mind when you go and get that prenatal massage, they are likely going to give you two options really. You’re going to have either a sideline massage, which is what I highly recommend. Lots and lots and lots of pillows. I can’t emphasize that enough. Pillows, everywhere! A body pillow, a pregnancy pillow, pillows under your waist, pillows under your neck and your head and your arm, pillows between your knees… lots and lots of pillows. This is my preferred method of massage therapy as both a client and as a professional massage therapist. It’s just; it’s safer and it’s a lot easier.
The other option which I’m not going to knock and I’m not gonna say it’s terrible but it’s not my preferred method, is with something called the body cushion. The body cushion is a really really cool tool, don’t get me wrong. It’s awesome. But I believe at a certain point in pregnancy, it doesn’t work anymore. It comes in a couple of parts and that allows you to lay face down and it gives your belly room. It gives your belly the support it needs without squishing it. There are a couple of different versions of the body cushion. And there are massage tables that have cutouts for the belly. And again, these all are mesh or other supportive cushioned items where you’re laying on your belly, but you’re not laying on a flat massage table or a flat surface. It’s curved. It’s concave so that your belly can sit in it, if you will, with the support so your belly is not just hanging without anything underneath it. Personally, my opinion is that this works in the second trimester early on, but it doesn’t work so well when you get to the third trimester and you have this really large belly. It can feel great on the back, because, you know, you’re not engaging all these other muscles to try and hold the belly up. But the problem comes in, where it can strain ligaments. It can strain the round ligament, and all these uterine ligaments that are helping your uterus stay in place, and it can pull them and cause you more pain. So again, I’m not saying that it’s the worst thing, it’s not going to harm you. It’s not going to do anything to your pregnancy, but it might not be as comfortable as you think. Again, personal preference. My personal preference is side lying when it comes to massage during pregnancy. Except the first trimester, where you can lay on your belly and you don’t have this huge belly blocking everything you’re doing and preventing you from seeing your own feet or putting your own shoes on. There were plenty of times where I couldn’t put my own shoes on and I needed my husband to do for me. I mean, it just got to a point where I couldn’t get anything off the floor. It was not fun. Try moving when you’re pregnant with twins, and you are just unable to do anything. That’s what happened to us. It was not fun, but that’s a side note. And a story for another day.
Moving right along. When we talk about the third trimester, like I said, you want to make sure that you’re really doing the sidelying positioning, that’s usually best. What I’m getting at here, all in all, is telling you that massage is perfectly safe during all three trimesters of pregnancy. And what’s even more important than that, is understanding that not only is it safe, it’s so good for you. It’s good for your physical health, it’s good for your mental health. It will make you feel better. So, as I said in my title, it is a myth that any type of pregnancy contraindicates massage. What does that mean? Well, that means that it is a myth that massage isn’t safe during pregnancy. It is safe, and it’s good, and you should do it if you can! Get yourself a massage. I highly recommend it. I will continue to tell you that I think it is in your best interest to get a massage from a massage therapist who has training, specifically in prenatal massage.
Before I took my initial training in 2008 which is now what, 13 years ago? That math can’t be right! But I think it is because guess what, it is 2021, and that is crazy. I’m not a good math person but I think that’s the math there. It’s really interesting because before I took my course, my first course, I never massaged a pregnant woman. I was like, “No, it’s not safe in the first trimester, I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t want to hurt her…”, and even though, pregnant women are more resilient than you think, it can be really scary and intimidating, if you don’t have the knowledge and training to understand everything about pregnancy. That’s why I’ve spent all these years continuing my prenatal massage education and continuing to take courses that make me feel more confident. That’s why I started teaching prenatal massage. That’s why I created my advanced prenatal massage program for massage therapists because I felt so unprepared to massage pregnant women that I just didn’t do it. And it took me a while, even after I took my first training, it took me a while to feel more comfortable. So again, I highly recommend that you go to a therapist who has advanced training and if they don’t, you can still go see them. But that’s just my professional opinion, if that matters to you, which hopefully it does!
So that is kind of the basis of everything. Massage Therapy is good for you and when you’re pregnant, I mean it’s great for you. Yes, your blood flow is already like booming and you’ve got extra… maybe excess blood flow. And that’s one of the things that massage is good for, is helping with blood circulation. However, if you go to a therapist who is trained in massage therapy, you’re not going to get such extreme extra blood flow that’s going to make anything bad it’s only going to be good. So, again, highly recommend it.
So I hope that this episode was helpful for you in understanding why massage is so beneficial during pregnancy and that it’s safe perfectly safe in all three trimesters. First trimester pregnancy is just as wonderful, and you shouldn’t be afraid of it. There shouldn’t be any fear surrounding getting a massage during pregnancy. Are there certain exceptions? Absolutely. There are situations where it’s not safe. High risk pregnancies, it depends on what’s causing the high risk. I dealt with preeclampsia, so it wouldn’t have been safe for me to get a massage at that point unless my ob recommended it. So, this is all stuff that your massage therapist needs to be educated on and you as the consumer; educate yourself if you are high risk. Talk to your doctor before going to get a massage. That’s the most important thing, make sure that your doctor tells you it’s safe. If you’re not high risk and you don’t have any high risk factors, then you should be fine.
So I hope this was helpful to you. I hope you got some value out of it. Stay tuned for my next episode I’m going to talk about post partum wellness and massage, and all the wonderful things that come along with that, I am looking forward to it I hope you are too.
