Giving massage to pregnant women, from conception to birth and postpartum is one of many business models for massage therapists. If you are going to focus on that, you will need to have extra training in pregnancy massage as well as clinical massage to be able to work with women through various stages of pregnancy and work with the various conditions that they may be faced with.
You can take classes as well as read books and articles online to be informed.
Massage may be given in any stage of pregnancy contrary to some information being taught or having been previously taught in massage school.
- Website. Starting and running a pregnancy massage related business will require you to create a very content rich website talking about every stage and the massage applications. Your website needs to show that YOU are the expert in this area in your neighborhood. You will want to focus on the results you get when working with pregnant women. Talk about the various possible conditions that may arise like back pain, hip pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and other common conditions. Read more on everything you need to know about creating a website that works.
- Rebooking clients. This one is easy with pregnant women. The next 9 months will be filled with challenges both mental and physical. Getting regular weekly or monthly massage can help support a mother to be through this time. Get the results that your client wants and they will easily rebook.
- Getting Referrals. You may want to take the next step and connect with expecting mothers. Look for local Facebook groups with the focus of having babies. Look for doctors near you that specialize in labor and delivery. That is really best done by working on a pregnant woman and having her talk to her doctor about you and tell what a great job you are doing to open the door instead of just cold calling.
- Ethical Practice. One of the challenges you may be faced with is the mother/client asking you questions about the pregnancy and delivery process that are really out of your scope of practice even though you may have extra knowledge on the various stages and procedures. It is important to clarify that they need to work with their doctor on everything. You may want to work with a supervisor yourself to keep yourself clear and get the support you need. You can learn about the advice giving issues.
- Self Care. Taking care of yourself so that you can be present with expecting mothers is essential.
- Is pregnancy massage covered by health insurance? For the most part, pregnancy massage is wellness or relaxation massage that is not covered by insurance. If there are problems like back and hip pain or carpal tunnel, insurances would be more likely to cover it. Most states do not allow for health insurance to cover massage of any type although many plans are now covering things in various states. There is also a grassroots movement to make it happen. See more on the Healthcare Integration page or Learn to bill Insurance for Massage.
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