What are the safety precautions for Thai massage when pregnant?

Answer 1

In general: Thai massage should be very conservative during pregnancy. The main reason for this is that Thai massage theory has the opinion that pregnancy is a condition where a woman's body is highly active metabolically. So, any type of massage would only increase this state. The most appropriate massage would be the one that feels good and feels comfortable to the pregnant woman. This would include a gentler massage with fewer stretches. Though Thai massage focuses on the Sen lines in the body and not the meridians and points of the Chinese Medicine system, it still acknowledges that certain areas are to be avoided. These include: just above the inside of the ankles, the tops of the shoulders, the sacrum (low back), and the abdomen.

Be sure that your massage therapist has been specially trained to treat pregnant women. There are a couple of acupressure points which are traditionally avoided when massaging a pregnant women (Sp 6 and GB 21). It is possible that there are not many westerners trained in Thai massage that have really been trained specifically to treat pregnant women, so really ask for details (how many hours of training for massaging pregnant women, studied where, who taught you, ask for certificates). In Thailand some grandmothers in rural areas are really experts even when they have not received any formal training and there are some very skilled midwives. In many courses teaching Thai massage, there is a brief section on massaging pregnant women, so some practitioners might tell you: "Yes, I have been trained to massage pregnant women" even though the training they received was less than two hours. So be sure to really check and ask for details about the training and the experience. Thai massage can be of great benefit for your health and well-being if it is applied skillfully, but outside of Thailand it may not be easy to find skilled practitioners.