Pregnancy massage... Worth the money?

[Ellarose85]

My lovely MIL is taking me for a spa day when I will be 33/34 weeks pregnant as I've had a pretty stressful time lately and could do with some me time (I have a teething 10 month old!)

I'm thinking of booking myself in for a pregnancy massage while I am there but it costs £85 and we need a few more things for the baby before she arrives and money is a bit tight now we only have one wage coming in.

Has anyone had one and if so, did you find it beneficial? Would the cost be worth it?

[FuzzyOwl]

Wow, that sounds expensive! I had about half a dozen hour long massages in my last pregnancy but they were £30. They were really beneficial but I am prone to headaches at the best of times, so really helped ease though and with hip pain I was having. I have to say that as beneficial as I found them, I would have paid £85 for one. Could you Google locally and see if you could get a cheaper pregnancy massage on a different day?

[RNBrie]

Ouch. £85 is a lot (and I live in SW London!)

A good pregnancy massage with someone properly trained and experienced in treating pregnant bodies is amazing.

My experience of pregnancy massages in spas is that they have no specific pregnancy experience and are just giving you a light massage whilst you lie on your side. I don't think I'd bother for £85....

[Ellarose85]

The price does include a facial and head massage too (which sounds delightful!)

All pregnancy massages near me seem really pricey to be honest, I've been keeping my eye on group on for offers but no luck so far!

[FuzzyOwl]

The woman I saw was someone I had seen for years but she didn't do specific pregnancy massages as such, but was fully qualified and very experienced so willing to massage me when pregnant. Maybe find a reasonably prices masseuse nearby and call to ask if they will do a massage on a pregnant woman - they will probably say you need to be out of your first trimester but otherwise should be agreeable.

Head massages are lovely but again, they are not usually overly expensive.

[Ellarose85]

I used to go to a woman for regular massages when I was recovering from a car accident a few years back and she was a miracle worker! I might dig out her phone number to see if she can be of any help.

The massage at the spa is 85 mins long so a pound a minute!

[robynlaurie]

I had one at a spa but found that because they didn't specialise in pregnancy massage (even though they advertised it), they were too worried to really do a proper massage. It felt like they hardly touched me at all and were too scared to use any sort of pressure so I didn't feel like I had a massage at all! I'm sure not all spas are the same but this was my experience.

Hope you enjoy your spa day x

[IamChipmunk]

Is it an Elemis mother to be/ pre natal treatment?
If so then yes totally worth it!
It is pricey but amazing and a full body treatment rather than just a massage.

I habe had one so far this pregnancy and have another booked for a few weeks time.
I'd have more but they r too expensive for a regular thing sadly!

[Seekingmiracles]

I'm a massage therapist myself and would like to just point out that while pregnant it is unsafe to do a 'proper' massage. We have to use light pressure as all your ligaments loosen throughout the body in preparation for birth and to accommodate your growing baby. If we were to use strong pressure It can do more harm than good. If you're having issues with your back and would normally prefer a deep massage unfortunately you're unlikely to get it. I know it's frustrating but the therapist generally has your best interests at heart and also they are working to insurance guidelines.
Where I live (Berkshire) a 55min treatment would generally cost £60 ish in a salon, I would expect to pay more in a spa - everything tends to be more in a spa.

[redcaryellowcar]

I had a fabulous pregnancy massage it was south east London commuter town and cost £60, this was with someone who had a treatment room set up in her home. She is relatively expensive compared to other locally but absolutely excellent? We have a town Facebook page, and people often ask on there for recommendations, might be worth searching Facebook for a local NCT or town page as you might find someone independent and qualified in pregnancy massage who would be much cheaper, then you could have two massages I always find spas very expensive for treatments!

[kiki22]

Pregnancy massage is fabulous I say this as a pregnant massage therapist but £85 is too much, also personally I wouldn't be keen on working on a pregnant person for that long massage increases your circulation and it pregnancy increased circulation is not great the only way I would work for that long would be a very superficial massage basically the only benefit would be skin to skin contact while it feels nice it doesn't do anything long lasting.

Also there is no qualification needed for pregnancy massage at a lot of spas and lots of the therapists working in spas are still in college or level 5 qualified so they might not know exactly what they are doing. I would go for someone specialising in pregnancy massage or with many many years experience.

[windowsneedaclean]

I was given an £85 pregnancy massage as a leaving gift and oh my goodness it was amazing! I've never had any form of massage (apart from half hearted attempts from DP ) before and it was the best hour I've ever had! It was very expensive and I would have previously said people were mad to pay that but I'd definitely consider it now or at least beg someone to go halves as a birthday prezzies!!!

[beemay]

Agree that spa massages tend to be light, nice feeling treatments. Had a couple in last pregnancy, fell asleep both times. Expensive naps!

[CheeezyBeanz]

kiki22: Please could you help? What would the concern be with only level 5 qualified please? or are you meaning that they might not have a Pregnancy qualification? Many thanks :-)

[problembottom]

Sounds blissful! I had a 55 min Elemis peaceful pregnancy massage at the weekend and it was lovely. It was a freebie but would have cost £79 (at Titanic in Huddersfield) so yours doesn’t sound bad value to me.