St. Louis Prenatal Massage- Where to Go!

 

This is a project I’ve been planning for a while- a blog series featuring local small businesses in St. Louis! I love supporting local small businesses and I know most other people do as well. I’m excited to introduce you to some businesses that may be new to you, and hopefully encourage you to shop small! First up is St. Louis Prenatal Massage, a business that offers massage therapy specifically for pregnant women. I sat down with the owner of St. Louis Prenatal Massage, Danielle, to learn more about her business. She specializes in prenatal and postpartum massages but accepts all clients.

Maggie- Tell me about your business, St. Louis Prenatal Massage.

Danielle- I am a licensed massage therapist and I specialize in prenatal and postpartum. I started my business about a year ago and it’s going pretty well. I use orthopedic body cushions that allow the client to lie face down. It’s totally safe and pretty comfortable throughout their whole pregnancy. There’s a first, second, and third-trimester setup. I’ve had women 41 weeks face down, so I definitely can go as far as past their due date. And then, I can do a side-lying position if they don’t like being face down or if they’re worried they’re squishing the baby. When I put them onto their back, I have them in a reclined position, so they’re not flat on their back.

Postpartum, I allow my moms to bring their babies with them. So, I have the swing in the room and the pack-and-play. If the mom needs to hold the baby, if the baby’s hungry or gets fussy or crabby, the mom can actually hold the baby during the session. I love that option! Because not all moms want to be away from their babies. Or if they’re nursing and just can’t be gone that long- Now they don’t have an excuse!

So, if they do need to hold the baby while I’m working on them, I put them in the side-lying position as if they were pregnant. Baby just lays on the table with them and just kind of cuddles. When I work on the front of the body, I just put them in the face-up position as if they were pregnant and then they can hold the baby in the reclined position…and I have a Boppy pillow that if they want to use it, it can help support the baby so they can still relax. So, we have a lot of different options.

Maggie- Oh that’s so convenient! So you started St. Louis Prenatal Massage about a year ago. What were you doing before that?

Danielle- So, I worked at Massage Envy for 8 years before I started my own business and I mean, it was great… When I was pregnant, I could not find the therapist that I loved to go to. Nobody gave me that wow feeling. Everybody set up the table differently, some only did side lying, so I didn’t love that I didn’t know what to expect. Some used cushions, some used pillows, so I just didn’t like it. Some wouldn’t give me the pressure that I want because they were, I guess, worried that they were going to hurt me or the baby.

That’s one reason I went into prenatal because I couldn’t find what I was looking for. So I wanted to be that therapist that everyone could go to and rely on and be consistent. The setup is going to be the same every time, whether it be face down, side lying or face up. It’s always going to be the same.

 

Maggie- So you do prenatal and postpartum, do you do past that, like regular massage, too?

 

Danielle- So, I work on non pregnant women and men, as well. I just mainly focus on the prenatal. I’ve had moms ask me, “Ok, so I’m six months postpartum, when do I have to stop coming to you”? But no, you never have to stop. You know, if you like it and you want to keep coming back, even if you never plan on having another baby, that’s totally fine. You can still be a client.

 

 

Maggie- That’s nice because once you find someone that you like, you don’t want to have to find a new place for a massage. So why should pregnant women get massages?

 

 

Danielle- Ooo, so many reasons. Massage is really good in pregnancy because it helps you relax, helps circulation, it can also help with placental function.  It helps relax and open up the whole pelvic area, and can help with mother baby bonding. Massage helps postpartum with what we call nursing neck from where you’re constantly holding baby and leaning forward and your neck gets really tight. Prenatal massage can reduce swelling, it can helps speed up labor and delivery if you get regular massages throughout your pregnancy. It can make that whole process a lot easier because it is so relaxed already. You may not feel relaxed during labor and delivery, but just having your body more relaxed can help speed up the whole process.

If you are looking for a prenatal massage, you should definitely check Danielle at St. Louis Prenatal Massage out! She offers packages, as well as monthly and one time rates.

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