Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy, Third Edition

‘An absolute delight! Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy is a gem of a book. The authors have managed to coalesce many years of clinical experience and research findings into a delightfully readable manuscript. Warning, readers: you, too, may lose sleep when you can’t put it down! The layout is thoughtfully designed and the content excellent – all done with a sense of wonder and passion that is heart-warming and engaging. This is an important contribution to the field of massage therapy.’ - Douglas Nelson LMT, BCTMB, Past President, Massage Therapy Foundation

Welcome to the third edition of a highly successful guide to using massage therapy through all stages of the birth process, from pregnancy, through labor and birth, and into the long postpartum period. It is primarily for massage therapists, but is also intended for physical therapists, other manual therapists and bodyworkers, nurses and midwives, physicians and doulas – any professional who wants to integrate more therapeutic touch in their work. The text combines what anyone who works with pregnant people needs: an exhaustive distillation of current scientific knowledge, alongside hands-on recommendations, specific techniques and business success from almost a century of the authors’ combined experience. The reader gains a detailed understanding of what is happening to the body during pregnancy and beyond; how massage techniques can impact those changes; and very concrete, applicable strategies for how to actually work with maternity clients to make them feel better. Amidst this abundance of detail about what to do, the authors also explore the flipside: what therapists need to modify and avoid to ensure that our work with pregnant and postpartum clients is safe. How to recognize high-risk factors or other complications, and then how best to adjust our treatment, and how to work with medical healthcare providers throughout the process.

What’s new for the third edition?

• Now in full color!
• Synthesis of new research reflecting the significant increase in massage-related research (and pregnancy, birth and postpartum-related research) over the last decade.
• Many of the images have been redrawn, with clearer anatomical overlays and clearer instructions for the therapist-reader.
• A greater attention to working with a more diverse clientele.
• More detailed discussion of the myths and misinformation that abounds in our field, and ways to talk with clients and healthcare providers about what we know and what we still don’t know.
• An expanded chapter on working with high-risk and medically complicated clients with far more information about how to modify your work, and how to talk both to these clients and to their healthcare providers.
• More specific tools and examples to ease your treatment decision making.