Which course to take depends on your goals, timeframe, resources, and other individual factors. Each course differs in instructional goals, content, length, completion requirements, and methods of learning. Read on for some comparisons.

During the last three decades, almost 5000 MTs have chosen to learn to nurture the births of mothers and their babies in Carole’s four-day Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy Specialization workshop. Highly regarded by hospitals, corporate employers, MT teachers and national leaders, this is THE comprehensive, hands-on training in massage therapy for pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period for therapists who are all into mothers and babies. If you are seeking practice-tested techniques, far beyond the basics, then this is also IT; you will spend 80% of the workshop watching, doing and receiving. There’s also a practicum with pregnant women. Those who attend all 32 hours and actively participate earn a 32 CE hour verification of completion and continuing education credits. If certification in maternity massage therapy is your eventual goal, this workshop is one of three requirements.

At the other end of the face-to-face choices, the one-day Safety Essentials of Prenatal Massage is a great starting place. It’s perfect for therapists who don’t yet want to specialize in prenatal MT (Watch out! You wouldn’t be the first to get hooked!)  Don’t let the introductory level of this workshop fool you though. It is rich with lecture and discussion of normal prenatal physiological adaptations and their implications for safe, basic prenatal massage. You’ll come away with an understanding of contraindications and precautions while having enjoyed a meaningful, small segment of hands-on work focused on positioning, draping, and basic technique guidelines. Great as this one day is, we don’t attempt to cover everything; therefore there’s no labor or postpartum work, high risk or complicated pregnancies. Those who attend and participate in all seven hours receive verification of completion and 7 hours continuing education credit.

The two-day Prenatal Spa Massage: An Introductory Workshop covers similar material as the Safety Essentials described above; however, this course is about 50% hands-on. In those hands-on practice segments, you will learn to adapt your own protocols and techniques for pregnancy’s normal demands. This course makes maximum use of therapists’ repertoires of skills, building confidence and safety for working with low-risk expectant women. Even with 14 hours, it’s not reasonable or ethical to try to do everything so the workshop does not include labor or postpartum work, high risk or complicated pregnancies. Those who attend and actively participate in all 14 hours receive verification of completion and 14 hours continuing education credit.

Online and homestudy courses offer many advantages including convenience and flexibility in time and location, cost effectiveness and valuable opportunities for repetition and review- all while earning CE credits. On the other hand, they do not provide the individual instruction and rich kinesthetic learning of hands-on instruction. Choose a distance learning course as a starter, if time or finances are tight, or if you are not sure how far into working with this population you’d like to venture. If you are looking to certify in Pre-and Perinatal Massage Therapy, the only route to that is through the 4 day workshop, but these distance learning options are powerful ways to take your first steps.

The online Mentoring for Mastery groups are particularly potent for advancing your expertise and career longevity because they are tailored to your growth needs. Some groups have a maternity or teacher focus, but others are for any MT, and you don’t have to have been a student of Carole’s prior to benefit. Individualized professional development, from your home or office and CE credits too! Check it out!

The recommended educational prerequisite is a minimum of 500 hours of general therapeutic massage and bodywork instruction. You should be a practicing massage therapist with good anatomical knowledge and with skill and experience in Swedish massage and at least one of the following: deep tissue/myofascial release, structural balancing, trigger point/neuromuscular therapy, or passive movement. Advanced students of massage therapy, nurses, nurse-midwives, midwives, and other healthcare providers should contact instructor/Body Therapy Education to determine if this workshop is a good fit for your qualifications and your goals in taking it.

There are no prerequisites for the other courses and workshops.

  • Upon registration you will receive a workshop overview schedule and suggested preparation, including specific anatomy review.
  • For best success, read and study IN ADVANCE chapters 1-7 of  Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy, 3rd edition. After reading each chapter, complete the review questions at the end. (Answers are found online utilizing the code located on the book’s inside front cover.) Attention: You will not have access to the publisher’s online resources associated with the 2nd edition book if you buy a used copy or the 1st edition book.
  • We also suggest that you read any comprehensive childbirth book of your choice. We especially recommend: Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn; Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth; or Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year.

At the workshop, you will receive a technique supplement that details techniques unique to the workshop. Other materials are available featuring numerous supplemental pamphlets, marketing examples, and articles. If you have attended and actively participated in all 32 hours of the workshop, you will also receive a certificate of completion and 32 CE hours credit. Makeup for up to ¼ of the hours and content may be arranged on a case-by-case basis.

Carole Osborne, her workshops, and all of her primary instructors are approved the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education provider. CE hours from the State of California Board of Registered Nursing, Doulas of North America (DONA), and for AMTA & ABMP members are available through Body Therapy Education/Carole Osborne. Carole Osborne is also authorized to provide CEUs to massage therapists licensed in the State of Florida. We can apply for approval by other state and province boards upon request.

As with other MT specializations, there is no licensing, certification or other verification legally required for any massage therapist to specifically practice prenatal massage therapy. Many with as little as 3 hours in their basic training program or a few hours of webinars claim to be a prenatal massage therapist. That’s an ethically questionable practice, with many potentially negative outcomes. It’s disappointing to say that happens regularly, but that’s not what I am about!

Massage therapy now is poised for fuller integration into healthcare, taking its rightful place in maintaining wellness, relieving pain, and reducing stress. As such, it is important for our education and assessment processes to come more in harmony with the broader healthcare professions’ methods of validating skills and knowledge.

While there currently is no nationally recognized credential with government oversight for certifying any specializations in massage therapy, changes are in progress. My current process for certifying graduates of my workshops is now more in line with MT’s future in the integrative healthcare world.

With the knowledge you have gained in taking the four- day workshop, you will be well prepared to work safely and effectively throughout the childbearing year and with normal to high-risk pregnancies. Your employer may require certification. You might want the added value of having your knowledge and skills assessed through our certification program. Here’s where you’ll find those details.

Our workshops are taught by our fully trained and authorized instructors and by the course developer, Carole Osborne. Get acquainted with Michele, David, Marjeanne, Margi, Pam and Sparrow here. We are sure you will be impressed with their knowledge, breadth of experience and expertise. One or several experienced teaching assistants work with every authorized instructor depending on enrollment numbers. You can meet some of those knowledgeable therapist/teaching assistants here. In some workshops, two authorized instructors co-teach. Generally we maintain a 12:1 student ratio as our maximum, and often that ratio is considerably lower.

You will receive an exact list of materials after you register. Here are the basics:

  • Four to six pillows of varying sizes and densities Alternatively and highly recommended is the Side Lying Positioning System
  • Two to three sets of linens
  • Some locations may ask those who are local and/or driving to bring their massage tables
  • Laptop or tablet if you want to access thePoint, supplemental material, technique videos and quizzes from Pre- & Perinatal Massage Therapy, 3rd edition.