Most therapists offer postnatal massage from around six weeks after a straightforward vaginal birth, or once you have been cleared at your postnatal check following a caesarean. Sessions focus on the neck, shoulders and upper back, which take the strain of feeding and carrying, alongside general recovery. Caesarean scar work requires specific training and a fully healed scar.

Key takeaways

Six weeks is the usual starting point
After a straightforward vaginal birth. After a caesarean, wait until your postnatal check has cleared you.
The upper body needs the most work
Feeding posture, carrying a car seat and lifting a growing baby all load the neck, shoulders and upper back relentlessly.
Scar massage is a specialism
Caesarean scar work should only be done by someone specifically trained, and only once the scar is fully healed, usually from around eight to twelve weeks.
Abdominal work needs care
Particularly with diastasis recti, where a womens health physiotherapist assessment is more useful than massage.
Positioning is more flexible than in pregnancy
You can lie face down again once you are comfortable, though breastfeeding may make that unappealing.
Practical barriers are the real problem
Timing around feeds, childcare and mobile options matter more than technique for most new mothers.
Mention how you are feeling
Perinatal mental health support is widely available, and your health visitor or GP is the route to it.

When you can start

After a straightforward vaginal birth. Most therapists will treat from around six weeks, once postnatal bleeding has settled and you have had your postnatal check. Some will treat earlier with gentle technique, particularly for neck and shoulder work, but six weeks is the common convention.

After a caesarean. Wait until your postnatal check has cleared you. General body massage avoiding the abdomen is usually fine from around six to eight weeks. Work on or near the scar itself should wait longer, as covered below.

After a complicated birth or a significant tear. Speak to your midwife, health visitor or GP first, and mention any ongoing issues to the therapist.

If in doubt, ask at your postnatal check. It is a reasonable question and takes ten seconds.

What it addresses

The pattern of strain in the first year is remarkably consistent, and it is almost entirely upper body.

  • Neck and upper back. Hours spent looking down at a feeding baby, often in a slumped position on a sofa, at all hours.
  • Shoulders and pecs. Rounded forward from feeding, carrying and pushing a pram.
  • Forearms and wrists. Supporting a head, holding a bottle, lifting from a cot. Wrist pain is extremely common and often underestimated.
  • Lower back and hips. Still recovering from pregnancy postural changes, then loaded by carrying a baby on one hip.
  • Jaw and head. Tension headaches from poor sleep and sustained neck strain.
  • Everything, from sleep deprivation. Which raises pain sensitivity across the board.

A good therapist will weight the session heavily towards the upper body rather than treating it as a generic full body massage.

What a session involves

Structurally it is a conventional massage. Consultation, undress to your comfort level, lie under a towel, and the therapist works through the priority areas.

Positioning is more flexible than in pregnancy: you can lie face down again. That said, many women who are breastfeeding find face down uncomfortable, and side-lying or semi-reclined positions remain a perfectly good option. Say what you prefer.

Pressure can be firmer than in pregnancy, though relaxin can remain in the system for several months, particularly if you are breastfeeding, so a competent therapist stays cautious about aggressive stretching or joint mobilisation for a while.

Sessions of 60 minutes are standard, though 45 or even 30 minutes focused on neck, shoulders and upper back is often the more realistic booking with a small baby.

After a caesarean

Caesarean scar massage is a genuine and useful technique, and one that is often not mentioned to women at all.

Once a scar is fully healed, the tissue underneath can become adherent, restricting movement and producing tightness, pulling sensations and numbness that can persist for years. Gentle, progressive scar mobilisation can improve that.

The conditions are firm:

  • Fully healed only. Usually eight to twelve weeks at the earliest, and only when the scar is closed, dry and not painful.
  • Never work a scar that is red, raised, weeping, hot or painful. Contact your GP instead.
  • Specific training required. A therapist or womens health physiotherapist with scar work training, not a general massage therapist.
  • Progressive. Starting with light touch around the scar and building gradually over weeks.

Many women find this the single most valuable thing about postnatal massage, and it is worth asking about specifically.

Abdominal work and diastasis

Diastasis recti, the separation of the abdominal muscles, affects a substantial proportion of women after pregnancy and often resolves partially on its own over the first few months.

Massage does not treat it. What helps is appropriate graded exercise, and the right person to assess and prescribe that is a womens health physiotherapist. Ask your GP or health visitor about referral, and be aware that self-referral to womens health physiotherapy is available in many areas.

General abdominal massage after birth should be gentle, only with your consent, and avoided entirely if you have any ongoing pain, a hernia, or an unhealed caesarean scar.

Practical realities

The barriers to postnatal massage are rarely clinical. They are logistical.

  • Mobile therapists. Often the most practical option. Many therapists in the Bristol directory offer home visits, which removes travel and childcare from the equation.
  • Feed or express first. An hour lying down with full breasts is uncomfortable.
  • Shorter sessions. Thirty or 45 minutes on neck and shoulders may be far more achievable than an hour.
  • Ask about bringing the baby. Some therapists are happy to; many cannot.
  • Book at a predictable time. Whatever passes for predictable.
  • Accept the help if it is offered as a gift. Postnatal massage vouchers are a considerably better present than another babygro.

One last thing worth saying. If you are struggling, whether with mood, anxiety or simply coping, tell your health visitor or GP. Perinatal mental health support is widely available and self-referral to NHS talking therapies is free. Massage helps with tension and offers an hour of being looked after, both of which are valuable, but it is not treatment for how you are feeling. Related guidance is in massage for anxiety.

Every therapist listed on Massages Bristol is checked for relevant qualifications and public liability insurance before publication[2]. Browse pregnancy and postnatal massage in Bristol, or search the directory including mobile therapists.

Looking for a therapist in Bristol?

Compare qualified, insured massage therapists across the city. Book direct, with no commission and no booking fee.

Find a Therapist

Frequently asked questions

Most therapists offer postnatal massage from around six weeks after a straightforward vaginal birth, once postnatal bleeding has settled and you have had your postnatal check. After a caesarean, wait until you have been cleared at your check, and scar work specifically should wait until the scar is fully healed, usually eight to twelve weeks at the earliest.
Mostly work on the neck, shoulders, upper back and arms, which take the strain of feeding, carrying and lifting. Sessions also commonly include the lower back and hips, which are recovering from the postural changes of pregnancy, and the legs. It is essentially a conventional massage with attention weighted towards the areas new parents overload.
Yes, but only once it is fully healed, usually from around eight to twelve weeks, and ideally with a therapist or womens health physiotherapist specifically trained in scar work. Scar massage can improve mobility of the tissue and reduce tightness and numbness. Never massage a scar that is red, raised, painful, weeping or not fully closed.
Yes. Feed or express before your appointment if you can, since an hour lying down can be uncomfortable with full breasts, and mention it so the therapist can adjust positioning. Some women prefer to stay side-lying or semi-reclined rather than face down for this reason.
It helps with the muscular consequences of new parenthood: neck and shoulder tension, upper back strain and general stiffness. It does not accelerate healing of tissue or resolve pelvic floor problems, both of which need appropriate medical or physiotherapy input. Think of it as managing the load rather than treating the recovery.
Some therapists welcome it, particularly mobile therapists working in your home, and others cannot accommodate it. Ask when booking. A mobile appointment during a nap, or a session while someone else has the baby, is usually more restful than trying to manage both.

Further reading

References

  1. NHS. Pre-eclampsia. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pre-eclampsia/ (accessed 30 August 2026).
  2. Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. CNHC accredited register. https://www.cnhc.org.uk/ (accessed 30 August 2026).

This article is researched by the Massages Bristol editorial team using NHS guidance, professional body standards and published research, and is checked against the practice of the qualified therapists listed in our Bristol directory. It is reviewed and updated when guidance or standard practice changes. It is general information, not medical advice: speak to your GP if you have a health condition that may affect treatment.