Post Pregnancy Massage

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Therapywise

Why do you think she has to wait a few weeks, you can massage right up to the birth and straight after as long as it is a normal birth without any complications, pregnancy is not a disease or a dysfunction it is a natural bodily process;-)

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Paul

Thanks for your message. I suppose you're right. She is still bleeding and I wanted her to comfortable.

I will mention to her that it is safe - she has been checked (as she had a home birth - not planned at home).

Thanks again - needed a bit of reassurance.

Alka

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Alka

Unless you go deeply into the stomach or work the perineum the you should not affect the bleeding which should not continue for very long 🙂

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Alka, I agree with Paul - massage should be fine as long as its comfortable for the client. I would avoid deep work anywhere and aim for relaxing the body and helping it absorb some of the hugechanges it is going through. Dont give it lots of other stuff to do - it has enough already - just help it along - and you may find that it needs very little help.

Improved circulation should help hormonal balance - be preparedthere might besome emotional reactionsin the first few weeks (typically 3 - 5 days 'baby blues').I would go for little and often - frequent short sessions - and start as soon as mum wants if it was a 'normal' delivery. If it were a C/S, ot there were other complicationsI would advise more caution. If in doubt ask the midwife for her opinion.

I would also consider working with the client side lying to work on the back (or seated). Thisavoids pressure of lying prone on breasts and abdomen which may be tender. Use lots of pillows!

I am not sure I know what massage procedure Paul uses that involve work on the perineum! perhaps he can explain?

InTouch

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Thank you both for your advice. I will take this on board and hopefully will be giving her a treatment soon.

Alka

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi InTouch

I was not advocating the perineum should be worked though if someone was familiar with acupressure then it could be used to help but not with the bleeding 😉

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

I had someone massage me during labour and everyday for 7 days post natal.I managed to avoid the back pain that I experienced during myfirst labout.
If anyone hadsuggested treating my perineum I would have run a mile (taking my baby with me!). It was full of stitches which felt like steel hausers. No therapist I know has ever even mentioned treating that part of my anatomy.

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

me personally would get health visitor ok before 6week check, I work both pre and post natal but the hormone relaxin is very present in the body and obviously things can move around a bit depending on the labour....but we all work differently so go with what is comfortable with yourself...

Paul, I have never massaged anyone elses perinium!

t
x

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Jabba

You have hit the nail on the head, that can leave some very debilitating problems which will not go away on their own.

Hi Tigerbee

Not come across it very often myself but enough to know what the problems are and how to treat them 🙂

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Personally I would wait until a month postnatal. I don't like having massages wearing big thick sanitary towels with heavy bleeding and can imagine a lot of people would feel the same, also the first couple of weeks you have really painful, engorged (and leaky!) breasts - so again, not high on the comfort and embarrassment factor. Also it's hard to be away from a newborn (if she's breastfeeding) for even an hour (as they feed constantly).

I would go for a seated, clothed massage ASAP.

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Thanks everyone.

I will take into consideration what you have all said. As long as she is comfortable and safe then I will be happy.

Alka

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Paul - In Touch touched on it - why would you treat the perineum?

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Jabba

I generally treat whatever dysfunctions I am presented with in whatever way seems to be the most appropriate and direct way to treat that dysfunction, as long as the recipient understands what is involved with any given treatment andconsents to it then I am happy to give it.

One part of the body is much thesame as any other,I personally do not have any hang-ups about this or that part of someone's anatomy, any part of the body can dysfunction and if it can be treat physically then that is what I do ( if I can't treat it physically then I will treat it energetically).

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Alka

I can imagine how wonderful it would be for your sister in law to have a massage after having her baby. Heaven! If its too uncomfortable for her to lie down for a full massage treatment how about just giving her an upper body massage ina sitting position to help her relax and heal.

Sandra
x

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

In reply to Paul - I'm still not convinced that the perineum should be included in any treatment, other than that done by a gynaecologist or midwife, and certainly not without the presence of a chaperone - written consent or not.

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Jabba

An interesting response.

It might interest you to know that onthefew occasions I have had to workany area that might be deemed a sensitive one by my patients to clear a dysfunction, whenasked if theywould like topostponeit until they could bring a chaperone, the response was generally that they would probably feel embarrassed if someone else was present and it has bothered them long enough not to delay fixing it any longer.

On a personal note, if I employed a therapist and feltI neededa chaperone present for whatever type of therapy they deemed appropriate to sort outmy problems then I would definitely not be going back to them again, IMO you either trustthe therapists you employor you will possibly block the treatment, it is as always downto personal choices.

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

The perineum is a standard acupressure point (Ren 1).
However, as a male therapist, I personally wouldn’t touch anyone’s perineum, even without the post-pregnancy complications which Jabba referred to in her earlier post. I would be concerned that the client might have ‘second thoughts’ after initially consenting to the treatment. See, for example, the following quote from a female correspondent on the earlier thread ‘sexual discrimination in massage therapy’:

"A male therapist made me feel very uncomfortable during an accupressure session, making me get undressed far more than was necessary … I was so annoyed with myself for complying with him: I'm not an unassertive person so why on earth had I not just refused? The answer is of course that it's the old doctor/patient situation"

Alan

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Alan

I can understand where you are coming from and we are all open to someone either maliciously or genuinely misunderstanding our intentions, but do you not think what you have posted compromises your therapy? it is as you say an intrical part of acupressure and acupuncture and one of the main governing points, so is it credible as a practicing professional to omit it if it is required to complete the treatment?

I personally do not use it in the way you would as a part of my therapy, to me it is just another part of the body that occasionally goes wrong, muchthe same as a torn or scarred muscle tissue anywhere in the body.

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Paul

In theory I agree with the point you are making, and if I were working in Jamaica, Spain or Germany I would probably feel less inhibited about working on the more 'personal' pressure points. But it is clear from many of the threads on this forum thatdifferent people have very different perceptions of modesty. Male therapists are particularly vulnerable to accusations of inappropriate behaviour, and I would prefer to err on the side of caution.

Regards

Alan

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Alan

I do not seewhy the country you are working in makes any difference to the way you apply a therapy unless there are government laws in that country that interfere with the actual application.

Therapies are generally put together to work the best the way they are, if we start to leave bits out unless the patient has requested we do so, can we honestly state that we are giving our patients the best treatment that we are capable of giving.

On the other forum you are advocating that massagetherapists should do gluteals as they are an essential part of massage!I agree they should, but should this reasoning not also apply to all therapies?

Personally I have always beloved that if a job is worth doing, then it is worth doing properly or not at all, or at least to the best ofour abilities.Perhaps that is alittle old fashioned these days but that is the way I tend towork.

RE: Post Pregnancy Massage

Hi Paul

As therapists we are providing a service to our clients, and should be willing to modify our routines to meetthe clients'wishes.
The three countries which I mentionedare the only three (apart from the UK)in which I have significant experience of receiving massage. In all three nudity appears to be the norm for massage, and there is a relaxed attitudeto draping. However in the UK, every college which I have attended has stressed the importance of correct draping, andmy experience is that many clients aren't comfortable with nudity (and it is clear from this forum that nor are some therapists).
On the thread 'Swedish massage and buttocks', I have expressed my view that a 'normal' full body routine should include the glutes, but that the therapist should indicate this in the initial client consultation, so that the client can 'opt out' if he or she wishes. (My experience is that a significant minority of clients prefer not to include the glutes or abdominals.) And personally I would regard the glutes as much less of a 'personal area' than the perineum or, for that matter, the pubic symphisis or coccyx, both of which are also acupressure points.

Regards

Alan