A lot of massage schools teach their students basic adaptations for pregnant women—some general guidelines on how to adapt a standard massage for a pregnant woman’s body. As specialists, however, we have sought out training that goes above and beyond these standard adaptations and helps us therapeutically address the specific discomforts and safety concerns of pregnancy.
Training to Treat the Whole Woman for the Whole Pregnancy
In our training, we have studied the physiological, emotional and structural changes of pregnancy, and have learned and developed specialized techniques to help alleviate the discomforts of pregnancy and support women and their families during these changes. We have also received comprehensive training to understand the complications and risk factors in pregnancy, so that we can more safely identify when massage should be avoided, when a doctor or caregiver’s approval will be necessary, and can more prudently provide massage to women with complications or in a higher risk pregnancy.
In addition to certification and advanced training from internationally recognized Carole Osborne’s Body Therapy Associates, some of our therapists have completed DONA-approved labor doula training from Beautiful Beginnings here in San Diego, and as well as, Prenatal Thai Yoga Massage certification with the Lotus Palm Center in Montreal.
As a team, we remain committed to ongoing continuing education so that we may continue to raise the bar on our level of support for our clients and their families. Recent classes we have attended as a team include Anna Verwaal’s “Hormonal Physiology of Childbirth” as well as Gail Tully’s “Spinning Babies.”
As of 2014, we have worked with more than one thousand pregnant women and new moms here in San Diego and completed thousands of prenatal massages.