Quick answer
Check with your midwife before booking if you have pre-eclampsia or high blood pressure, sudden or severe swelling, any bleeding, a clotting history, or a high-risk pregnancy. Otherwise massage is usually fine from 12 weeks.
Most pregnancies are completely fine for massage from 12 weeks onward. There are only a small number of situations where you should check with your midwife first, or wait, and this guide lists them plainly so you are not left guessing.
None of this is meant to alarm you. Knowing when to pause is part of what training is for, and asking the question is exactly the right instinct.
Check with your midwife or GP first if you have
These are situations where a quick word with your medical team comes before booking. In many cases they will say it is fine; in some they will ask you to wait.
- High blood pressure or pre-eclampsia, or a diagnosis your team is monitoring
- Sudden or severe swelling, especially in the hands and face
- Any bleeding during your pregnancy
- A history of blood clots (DVT) or a clotting condition
- A pregnancy your medical team has told you is high-risk
- A condition affecting the placenta, where your midwife has advised caution
When a session is better postponed
Separate from the medical list above, there are everyday reasons to rebook rather than push on. If you have a fever or an infection, are feeling acutely unwell, or have just been discharged from hospital, the kind thing is to rest and come another week.
If something does not feel right with your pregnancy, your midwife or maternity unit is always the right first call, not a massage therapist. Massage waits; your health does not.
Knowing when to pause is part of what training is for. Asking the question is exactly the right instinct.
How this works when you book with me
Before your first session you fill in a short health form, and we talk through it together at the start. If anything on it needs a word with your midwife first, I will tell you, and I would always rather postpone a session than rush one that should wait.
For the great majority of healthy, straightforward pregnancies, none of the above applies. If that is you, you can read how pregnancy massage works and book whenever the aches make it worth it.
The honest summary
If your pregnancy is healthy and straightforward, massage from 12 weeks is almost always fine. If you have any of the conditions above, or anything your team is watching, ask your midwife first. When in doubt, ask. I will never be annoyed by the question.