Pregnancy massage

Pregnancy changes how the back, hips and legs carry weight, and lying comfortably becomes its own project. A pregnancy massage is built around that: side-lying with pillows, gentle pressure, and the places that ache.

Nia holds a pregnancy massage qualification and does all of our pregnancy massages. We start from fourteen weeks, once the first trimester is behind you, and ask that you let your midwife know. The questions beforehand are longer than usual and cover anything your midwife has flagged.

You lie on your side, propped with pillows between the knees and under the bump, and turn halfway through. The massage works on the lower back and hips, the shoulders and neck, and the legs and feet with gentle, upward strokes. There is no deep work on the legs, and we avoid the oils and pressure points that are not recommended in pregnancy.

Stop and ring your midwife or maternity unit, not us, if you have bleeding, pain, reduced movements, severe headaches or sudden swelling. A massage is not the place for any of those, and we will not go ahead if any are mentioned on the day.

What is included

• A therapist with a pregnancy massage qualification
• Side-lying with pillows, never on your front
• Lower back, hips, shoulders and feet
• Gentle pressure, no deep work on the legs
• Pregnancy-safe oil, unscented if you like
• Longer health questions first

What it costs

Sixty minutes £60; ninety minutes £85. From fourteen weeks; please tell your midwife. The menu has every massage at sixty and ninety minutes; the voucher builder makes any of them a gift.