Why do you have to wait until 12 weeks gone to have a facial or massage??

[user1471586025]

Can someone explain why pregnant women need to wait until 12 weeks to have any facial or massage done to them? Tied to google it but no actual reason given, just mentioned most spas will not treat pregnant women until after 12wks.

[bonzo77]

I think because theoretically you are more likely to miscarry before 12 weeks. And if something goes wrong they don't want the blame!

[kiki22]

Its partly because we dont want the blame if something goes wrong there have been cases of therapists being blamed which is not only unfair and not good for their reputation it can be extremely upsetting for them personally.

Also your blood pressure is changing and skin is changing especially in the first months your more at risk to faint or have a reaction.

[IamChipmunk]

I have never had a problem having a facial before 12 weeks. It's only ever been massage that hadn't been reccomended.

[stealthbanana]

You don't have to wait. It's just masseuses being over cautious. I was massaged weekly through the first trimester as I knew my therapist and she was happy to do it.

[Seekingmiracles]

A lot of it is to do with the fragile nature of your pregnancy at that point and as someone else said not wanting to be blamed for any thing that may go wrong. Also a lot of salons have insurance policies which dictate certain things - they may not be covered to do treatment like that until you're out of the first trimester.
Also massage can be very stimulating, affecting blood pressure, all of which can have an effect on you and the baby.
At the end of the day, it's not really worth the risk - after the first trimester your baby will be bigger, stronger and the chances of miscarriage significantly. Just wait it out

[stealthbanana]

The chances of miscarriage go down significantly after the first trimester because they do, not because of massage! There is absolutely no real evidence* that massage is in anyway linked to miscarriage at any gestation, so really if you can find someone to massage you then go for it. I don't think you can say that it's "not worth the risk" - there's nothing to suggest there is any risk!

• this doesn't include massage therapists who don't want to be blamed by women unscientifically pointing fingers after miscarriages that often happen in the first trimester because that's when most miscarriages happen

[Seekingmiracles]

Actually - I'm a fully qualified massage therapist and although no massage doesn't increase the risk why have something done that is widely recommended against. It's more the fact that we don't know if it will increase the risk.
And also having had 4 miscarriages myself it is absolutely not worth doing ANYTHING that may be deemed unnecessary.
If YOU want to have a massage and your therapist doesn't care about contraindications then by all means be my guest. Yes more than likely you will be absolutely fine.

[Seekingmiracles]

And I never said the chances went down because of massage. They go down because the baby is strong enough and developed enough to support itself more. Hence why it is recommended to wait u til this time