Complementary therapies and pregnancy

[Kim N]

Hi

Just wondering if any of you have specialised in pregnancy with the complementary therapies you offer, and if so, is there much of a market for it?

I have found a fantastic course which I would like to take after my massage course, as I trained to be a midwife and would love to combine complementary therapies with my knowledge and interest in pregnancy and beyond.

I have this amazing dream of helping women have an enjoyable and natural pregnancy, birth and postnatal period, but maybe my head is too far in the clouds and this isnt achievable?

What does anyone think?

Claire x

 

[proospalp]

Hi Claire

I know of a massage therapist in the London area whose business really took off when she decided to specialize in massage for pregnant women. And a lot of her clients kept coming back after having had their babies.
Have you considered where you could get your clients from (advertise etc)?
Will the treatments take place at their homes or would you have your own place?
Would you work on your own or consider setting up with someone else?

It can be more than just a dream when you develop your idea more in depth.

 

[Akminingrzt]

Thanks Daniela! Time to get planning in depth then I guess!

It seems that people seem to be more interested in using complementary therapies during pregnancy than they used to be, so it is really interesting to hear that your friend in London is doing so well. Thanks for the info.

Clarie x

 

[buddyReemacror]

as a midwife, you've probably already got the inside knowledge of what therapies pregnant and postpartum ladies like.
I'm not one myself, but I know that in chiropractic terms, pediatrics & obstetric chiropractic is probably the quickest and easiest way to grow a business; and amongst the most rewarding for those with the instincts and enthuiasm for it.

 

[mollzzzz]

Thanks Bia, that is really interesting. I definitely think it would be a very rewarding career to pursue, and hopefully a useful one for my future clients too. Ideally I would like to also offer my services during labour, but obviously I need to do more research AND most importantly get my holistic massage diplom first!

Claire x

 

[The Other One]

Hi Claire

Happy New Year

I am starting my maternity massage practitioners diploma in Feb which is something I have been working towards since I qualified

when I had my children (1997 & 2000) I knew nothing about massage or any holistic therapy - it just didnt seem to be out there

I think (& hope) that there is a call for it now. With your background as a midwife it would be a brilliant thing for you to do.

TC

 

[Cheetah]

Hi TC

Good luck with your maternity massage practitioners diploma! If it is anything like the courses I have been looking at, it will be fantastic! Whereabouts are you doing it? How long is the course / how much does it cost? Sorry to be nosy, just interested! The course I really want to do is based at the Horton hospiatl in Banbury, and is taught by midwifes who are also complementary therapists, and can include training to teach couples a special routine for use during labour. I feel so excited just thinking about it, but I really must concentrate on getting the holistic massage under my belt first! That starts soon, scarily!

Claire x

 

[Mubashir Khan]

I know someone who does Hypnobirthing, baby yoga, baby massage, pregnancy massage and no it's not all of her practice, but it certainly is a growing part of it. If you practice the traditional therapies, your clients who do fall pregnant will stay with you throughout and pass info to their friends, it's a great way to network.

If you did mother and toddler groups, talks, taster sessions and such, I am sure that this would grow. I do know that even in the medical profession people are becoming much more interested in hypnobirthing. As a qualified midwife, this may also be of interest to you.

 

[Sharna]

Hi Justine

Thank you for the interesting ideas you have raised in your post. It is good to hear that other people are managing to incorporate maternity massage successfully into their practice.

I definitely feel this is the direction I need to take, my intuition on this one feels very strong and it is the area in which my interests lie.

I cant wait to begin! I just wish I was already qualified as a massage therapist so I could start the course straight away!

Claire x

 

[minus 10]

my course is at The Middlesex School of Complementary Medicine in Rickmansworth

it is over 2 weekends - 1st weekend is a revision of A & P and then the second weekend is about massage - we then have to complete a 2000 word piece about a particular aspect of pregnancy and 20 case studies

our tutor is called Rima and she has been working in this field for over 10yrs

I struggled to find a course which was as in depth as this one appears to be, the only other one was with Suzanne Yates from WellMother -
It was location which was the deciding factor - I dont have to travel up to London
the price was about the same or very little in it

Take Care (TC)

 

[kxeidubiipiikderd]

Wow thats great! Would you be like a Holistic Doula? I would love to do that eventually. Good luck! xxxx

 

[groovybug]

Holistic Doula?! That would be loooovely!

Do you know what you need to do that Angelic Light?

Claire x x x

 

[my own pavement]

I do a LOT of pregnancy massage. I usually have at least one new pregnant client a week. Some of those are week 38 some of those are week 12. The Wk 38 ones I may only see once or twice, the early ones much more often.

Every now and then I consider doula training, but being a doula is so disruptive to your schedule - you need to drop everything for someone's labour, so you need to reschedule all those people you have booked in. It's very hard to balance, it seems to be almost impossible to fit in a normal business schedule with the births. Doulas often don't have to rely on their doula money to cover the basics (partners income etc cover that). All similar things to being a midwife.

I have found with pregnancy massage that it is cyclic, some months I will only get the early pregnancy ones, some months I will have all of the early pregnacy ones that have been coming for 6 months wanting an appointment every week for the last month and there will be 10 other late pregnancy inquiries. 9 months after Christmas/New Year silly season is one of the peaks. So I have some quiet months and I have some ridiculously busy months, it balances out. I wouldn't want to put those busy months on hold due to doula services (which would be around the same peak demand times).

Some clients do continue after they have the baby (I often offer a free or half price post natal massage (depends on how much I have seen them during the pregnancy) that helps get them back) but time and money become more of an issue. I usually do the post-natal as a home visit, home visit pregnancy massage clients are more likely to continue after they have had the baby. Post natal visits often take longer due to interruptions for feeding/distressed partners not coping/mother not coping with hearing the feeble attempts at settling the baby. Often the first post-natal treatment is the first time they relinquish care of the baby to someone else for an hour - it can be very stressful for everyone involved.

I couldn't rely on only pregnancy/post natal work for income, it varies too much (and I am in a baby boom area, if you're in an area of mainly retirees it would be impossible) you still need some regular non-mother clients. Also it means you don't have regular clients all year, they come during the pregnancy and you don't see them again, until the next pregnancy. I've got a few clients on their 3 & 4 pregnancy coming to me who I don't see between pregnancies at all, but they've come to me every pregnancy.

I like clients dropping off and getting new ones all the time, but you can get the same high turnover with chronic pain clients. Some people like having the same clients year in year out without many new clients coming in, you can't do that with pregnant clients, it's a continual turnover of clients, which can be a bit unpredictable and hence a bit stressful during quiet times.

 

[Ajay A]

whilst I am looking to specialise in pregnancy massage I will still massage anyone I can get my hands on, I think as Cola says it is too hit and miss to just have pregnant clients

I am starting my course in the morning and really looking forward to it

 

[UnlimitedPorn]

Yes I do!

I started out as a homeopath, specialising in the treatment of women and children (particularly pregnancy/birth and babies), three years ago I qualified as a HypnoBirthing Instructor and last year I qualified as a Happiest Baby Educator and Doula, this year I plan to broaden the baby calming/postnatal side of my business more, I've also held a fair few roles in the NCT. All spurred on by having my own children who are now 5, 4, 3 and 9mths.

It's incredibly rewarding work (I gave up mega bucks in the pharmaceutical industry) and I love every minute but financially it isn't all that great, definitely a "love" rather than "money" job!!!

Sarah