Australian massage therapists' views and practices related to preconception, pregnancy and the early postpartum period

Background and purpose: Massage is commonly used by the Australian public and is often sought by expectant mothers. Despite its popularity there is no regulatory body to enforce minimum educational standards, guidelines or evidence-based best practice for massage therapists. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the views and practices of massage therapists who offer preconception, antenatal or postnatal massage. Materials and methods: An online survey was administered to Australian massage therapists who provide massage in the preconception, antenatal or postnatal periods. Results: Ninety-nine therapists completed the survey. The majority of respondents had received training in pregnancy massage (n = 72; 72.7%) only. The most confident respondents were those that had both training and experience. Conclusion: There are potential gaps in training for massage therapists including up-to-date curriculum and a fragmentation around industry training requirements for pregnancy massage, which may impact on the safety and benefits of pregnancy massage.