Pregnancy Massage Course

learn lots of new hands on skills  and how to adapt your current skills to different phases of pregnancy and different clients

learn more about the physiology and energetic changes of pregnancy

learn more about women’s health in general and the impact the time in the womb has for everyone

This page is for the Bristol and London pregnancy massage courses taught by Suzanne with Rosa. For 2025, instead of a Bristol course which is usually in April, we are running a Retreat format at the EarthSpirit centre near Glastonbury May 1- 5th. You might also be interested in the Glasgow pregnancy massage course with Lucy.

This course has been running since 1999 and was the first UK pregnancy massage course. Over this time Suzanne has continued to develop its content, writing her in-depth course text book, and now working with her daughter Rosa Lia. Over 4 days, you will learn how to work confidently with pregnant clients over all 3 trimesters, including higher risk. You then have 6 months to develop your knowledge through working with case studies.

You may or may not be working with pregnant women, but you feel that you would like a deeper understanding of how to support women and their families during this exciting time. You may be unsure, or even slightly nervous, of how to work with certain aspects of pregnancy.

This pregnancy massage course will give you the confidence to realise the potential of pregnancy massage which is about so much more than simply addressing physical complaints. You will also learn skills for supporting clients to prepare for birth.

You will:

Gain a solid foundation with which to support women and their families during this life changing time with specialised massage skills, along with positioning, postural exercises, breath and visualisations and self care.

Understand the body in a way which combines western with eastern approaches to enable you to offer holistic support not just for pregnant women and their families, but adding to your skill base for all clients.

Be able to work sensitively with women who may have had more challenging experiences such as miscarriage or issues conceiving or are experiencing higher risk pregnancies.

Learn more about your own connection to pregnancy, your time in the womb and birth, whether or not you have been pregnant.

What you will learn

• How to massage in the side, seated and all fours position on the table and floor and adapt to different clients’ needs. Working on a futon on the floor can be a welcome addition to your work.

• Anatomy and Physiology of pregnancy and birth in an engaging and practical way

• Shiatsu/acupressure points and connections relevant for maternity (you don't need any prior knowledge of shiatsu or acupressure before doing the course)

• How to work with some concepts from the eastern model of the body as a garden, which supports the pregnant woman on all levels

• How to work during all trimesters of pregnancy, birth and into the postnatal period

• How to support common complaints of pregnancy

• New massage techniques for the back and spine

• How to work with the pregnant abdomen safely and creatively

• Massage techniques for preparing for birth and for use during birth

• How to include key postural exercises to reduce common complaints of pregnancy

• How to support the mother’s connection with her baby and partner and be aware of the emotional changes as well as the physical, helping prepare her for birth and motherhood

• How to tailor treatments to the individual needs of clients

• To develop your own style, building on your current skills

• How to work safely with higher risk clients

• Breathing and visualisations

• What is your role as a maternity therapist and your relationship with midwives and obstetricians

• Creating a relevant pregnancy consultation form

A respected and rigorous pregnancy massage course

Running since 1999, this pregnancy massage course covers all you need to know to be able to work safely and effectively with pregnant women, low and higher risk, at all stages of pregnancy and preparing for birth.

During the pregnancy massage course you will work with a pregnant woman and after the course there is a 6 month period of consolidation through supervised case study and project work.

This will enable you to integrate the new techniques with your current way of massaging, which may include reflexology, aromatherapy or Thai Massage.

After receiving the Diploma you can feel confident that you have one of the most rigorous pregnancy massage course qualifications in the world. You will be able to say that you specialise in working with pregnant women and go on the Wellmother register.