Pregnant Client - Advice

[Mucky pup]

All,

I only qualified last year and already one of my regular clients has conceived, she has always suffered with constipation / difficulty in having bowel movements - I used long clockwise movements around the abdomen area and advised her that she could do this herself between treatments - could she still do this now she is pregnant? If so then from how many weeks?
Also I am pretty sure that the next question is a definate no no but she was thinking about going to go to qualified therapist for a colonic irrigation session before she became pregnant,now she is would this not be a good idea?


I feel I should know the answers to these questions but wanted some clarification as I'm still fairly new to this profession and have not come across this before.
Many Thanks.

 

[Iodinaida]

Hi

I believe pregnancy itself is not a contraindication as such. I'm sure the recommendation is there to prevent you getting the blame if miscarriage occurs. I think the number of weeks is 12 if I remember correctly. I've just been looking through my course notes but have not been able find it.

I'll try to find it for you.

Mel Cash states, in his book, that ab massage should not be carried out at all. So, as with most things, it's your decision.

There'll be more input from other aswell, I'm sure.

 

[Svidrigailov]

Massage is generally contra-indicated in the first trimester for the benefit of the THERAPIST, there is such a higher possibility of miscarriage due to a million other reasons that if it did happen for one of those other reasons everyone stays hands off so they can't be blamed for it. Abdominal massage is contra-indicated for the entire pregnancy.

I don't think massage in the first trimester can bring on a miscarriage, IF DONE CORRECTLY, but I do think no significant changes should be made to someone's routine when they fall pregnant, particularly in the first trimester. If they had a massage every week before falling pregnant, I am prepared to give them a massage every week after they fall pregnant. If they have never had a massage in their life I will tell them wait till after wk 12. If she usually got a massage every month, she can probably still have one (she's probably already had one before she knew she was pregnant and it didn't do anything strange) If they were getting a massage every week from some other therapist that will no longer work on them because they are pregnant, I still tell them to wait till week 12 (I don't know what their previous massage routine covered, I don't know if something I do would be a significant change that could upset the balance in the first trimester) Lots and lots and LOTS of people get massages in the first trimester before they know they are pregnant and nothing happens, some people don't even know they are pregnant until into the 2nd and 3rd trimester (I can't understand that one, but there are those cases, though usually someone that out of touch with their body would be after a massage)

As for the colonic, I doubt she'd find a practitioner that would do it. It's contra-indicated. Just think about it energetically, it's a flushing out, clearing away stuff in the pelvic area, you don't want anything happening like that. For that reason I'd hesitate to recommend the self massage routine. Later in the pregnancy, everything is so squashed up into different areas than usual, she's not going to be able to find it anyway, so I'd just say no, not during pregnancy.

To help with the constipation, flax seeds can be very good, plus they are full of Omega 3 which is so important during pregnancy. If you can find raw flaxseed crackers, they're usually a fairly easy way to eat flaxseeds without having to sprinkle them on everything. Flaxseed oil is good for Omega 3, but it won't help with the consipation, you need the actual seeds (can be ground up into flaxseed meal, like LSA (Linseed Sunflower Almond) but it's a pain to remember to sprinkle it on everything, crackers are easier. Now this can help with clearing out the pelvic area, but the eating and the clearing, aren't happening at the same time, the energetic intention is not as much as a concern as an actual physical clearing caused by a massage/colonic.