Thoughts on First Trimester Pre-Natal Massage?

[squash_blsm]

What are your current thoughts on working on someone in first tri-mester?

Interested in seeing what policies others have in place.

[JLWmassage]

From my own personal experience. I know it help me I had horrible 24 hr. morning sickness and the massage seemed to settled my tummy.

If it is for a client I know and she doesn't have a history of miscarriage than I would do the massage, but other than that she would need to wait.

[pueppi]

I don't have a problem with it, but I have had some clients who don't want it.

My policy is that I don't perform pregnancy massage. However, if it is a regular client or a regular clients friend, I will consider providing the work, if I am comfortable with the person.

If I don't want to work with someone, I say something similar to: "Many pregnant women get a little crazy, and I wouldn't want to jeopardize our current relationship/am not comfortable putting myself in that position just because your/while hormones were/are raging."

Of course, I have't had a pregnant prior client I haven't seen, yet. But, I have great clients!


Oh, and I am pregnancy certified.


Not sure this answers what you are looking for.

[katamay]

If I don't want to work with someone, I say something similar to: "Many pregnant women get a little crazy, and I wouldn't want to jeopardize our current relationship/am not comfortable putting myself in that position just because your/while hormones were/are raging."

Am I the only person who would find that incredibly insulting?

If a therapist doesn't want to work with me, they should just tell me so. Questioning my mental health is not the way to do it!

Kat

[Lanna]

If I don't want to work with someone, I say something similar to: "Many pregnant women get a little crazy, and I wouldn't want to jeopardize our current relationship/am not comfortable putting myself in that position just because your/while hormones were/are raging."

Am I the only person who would find that incredibly insulting?

If a therapist doesn't want to work with me, they should just tell me so. Questioning my mental health is not the way to do it!

Kat

I can't imagine having someone deny me services because they think I'm hormonal and crazy. If someone did question my sanity while I was hormonal (pregnant, menopause, pms, just in a pissy mood), OMG my response would be sarcastic and seething with rage. I would be sure to vent to all my friends and possibly strangers too.

What are your current thoughts on working on someone in first tri-mester?

Interested in seeing what policies others have in place.

I have massaged women in their first trimester. I give them a doctors consent form to be completed prior to their first appointment. If it's someone that doesn't want to wait to get their doctor's okay, I tell them that I don't feel comfortable for legal reasons. They seem to understand me wanting to protect myself.

[JasonE]

I give massage during the first trimester, with appropriate positioning or other adjustments, AFTER a thorough intake that includes filling out a special form. We require pregnant clients to fill out a special form every time they come for a massage. I don't worry about their hormones or mood swings unless they would impair the safety of the client and/or fetus.

[pueppi]

If I don't want to work with someone, I say something similar to: "Many pregnant women get a little crazy, and I wouldn't want to jeopardize our current relationship/am not comfortable putting myself in that position just because your/while hormones were/are raging."

Am I the only person who would find that incredibly insulting?

If a therapist doesn't want to work with me, they should just tell me so. Questioning my mental health is not the way to do it!

Kat

I can't imagine having someone deny me services because they think I'm hormonal and crazy. If someone did question my sanity while I was hormonal (pregnant, menopause, pms, just in a pissy mood), OMG my response would be sarcastic and seething with rage. I would be sure to vent to all my friends and possibly strangers too.

A couple of things here. As I mentioned, when I make a statment such as this, it is with someone I already have a relationship with. If someone is just calling my office for the first time, I do not take pregnancy cases.

In context, this means the person already knows me. That means our relationship is one where I can be frank.

It has been my experience that a pregnancy can go any which way. I have found my pregnant clients to have a higher sense of smell, heightened potential for just about anything to be taxing on their nerves (be it lighting too bright or too dim, noticing tea candle tins in the trash can that are "bothersome", being disturbed that the hanging candle votives are swaying slightly after the candles have been lit in them, stress for the inability to get to the office on time, too hot/too cold, etc.). All of these are workable scenarios, but it does mean the therapist has to be vigilent above and beyond the normal day to day specifics of running an office. Since I am already on "high alert", this means I am on "ultra high alert". I am not always the best at nurturing (it really depends on the person). So ,since I know this about myself, I can be straightforward about the whole thing. As a few of my clients have told me while *laughing*, about some things I say... "You can say things in a way that it doesn't even sound offensive... but, if another person were to say it, I might be shocked" (or similar). It's boils down to personality and inflection.

When I work on a pregnant woman, I pull out all of the stops. That includes the little things like blocking out about 45 mins. prior to their scheduled appointment and about 1 hour afterward (in order to account for any issues with getting too the office--- such as I don't want them standing around waiting in case they arrive too early and I want to have enough fudge space in case they weren't able to make it anywhere near on-time, which can be expected for at least a handful of their appointments due to a variety of issues).

I always discuss the potential of there being an issue and if I choose not to work with them, I say so. I have never had one of my preganat clients be offended by this. As a matter of fact, I use it to caveat into the awareness that if either of us find something going south at any point, I have a few people I can refer them to in order to keep the integrity of the original relationship intact.

I am not "questioning" anyones mental health.

Additionally, I am not here to be a clients punching bag. So, if anyone comes into my office "in a pissy mood" as Lanna notes, I can understand that. However, if it means that the client is being pissy at me, I cannot. There is no reason for a client to act out in session. I don't put up with it in my private practice (maybe that is why I don't have a lot of issues with clients - personally, I average about 17-23 a week and it all flows nicely... with people who are in good moods, they smile, are kind, not overbearing and appreciate good service in a straight-foward manner). But, if there are others who are comfortable treating individuals who act like that, please keep on keeping on. I am sure there is a niche for you.

Oh yeah, and if you respond to me "sarcastic and seething with rage", you can walk out now, because I won't be providing any more service to you. That means you are absolutely not a fit for my practice - we don't do that here.

[Lanna]

Pueppi,

Way to explain in your latest post. I can understand pregnant women having a heightened sensory awareness. I can also understand your wanting to accommodate all of your clients. I don't go out of my way when I massage a pregnant client than I would for any other client coming in for a massage. If it is an established client, who is in their first trimester, I would think they would be aware of the level of my service and not blame me for their heightened awareness. To put it bluntly, I'm not stressing over it.

And, I never said that anyone in a pissy mood should take it out on their massage therapist. I get many clients who are stressed out with anxiety-ridden moods, possibly seething with rage over something unrelated to me. That's why they come to see me; to help them relax. They have never treated me in a sarcastic manner seething with rage. Then again, I don't give them a reason to lash out at me. I'm not walking on eggshells trying not to set them off either. I respect them. They respect me. If a massage therapist, established relationship or not, would have said what you INITIALLY posted without explanation, it would surely piss me off - pregnant, menopausal, pms'ing, or not. But, that's just me. Your clients, of course, understand you.

[pueppi]

Way to explain in your latest post.

<snip>

Your clients, of course, understand you.

Glad to have made more sense.

[pueppi]

Update: I was just talking to a 3 months preganant client about this thread today.

She laughed and made the following remark and said... please put it on your forum to let others know just how "hormonal" we can be.

"Last night my husband was hiccupping in bed and I looked at him and said 'You'll have to stop that. Go drink some water.' He looked at me, frightened! He went and drank some water and came back to bed. Later he hiccupped again, very loud, and said, 'I'm sorry.'. I looked at him and said 'Why?'. My hormones are doing crazy things and I can be exceptionally angry for only five minutes at a time. I absolutely understand why you limit who you work with."

Looks like we're both in for a bumpy ride and we'll both have a good time with it. I'm really looking forward to working with her. I didn't get this opportunity with her first two.

[kathryn]

I've worked on plenty of women in their first trimester over the years. The only thing I'm really careful about is scents in my office, because pregnant women can be very sensitive to smells but fortunately none have had an issue. Never had an issue and I wouldn't turn away a client in their first trimester either, simply because of that. Now, when their belly starts popping out (no offense) I do refer them out b/c I don't have training or desire to work with bolstering pregnant women.