HOW TO HIRE · HEALTH & WELLBEING

How to hire a pregnancy massage therapist in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Pregnancy massage therapists are not registered by any UK regulator. Here are the checks, the safety questions and what to ask.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a pregnancy massage therapist in five steps

  1. Ask about pregnancy massage trainingA specific pregnancy massage course, the awarding body and insurance that covers it.
  2. Check with your midwife if high riskComplications, bleeding, high blood pressure — ask first.
  3. Give your due date and historySwelling, pain, bleeding, previous complications.
  4. Ask about positioningSide-lying or supported, with pillows — never flat on your front.
  5. Stop if anything feels wrongPain, dizziness or contractions — say so at once.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No statutory register or licence applies to pregnancy massage therapists as people in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and the title is not protected. Some pregnancy massage therapists join accredited voluntary registers; that is a choice, not regulation. What the law does protect is health titles: a pregnancy massage therapist may not call themselves a physiotherapist unless they are on the HCPC Register.

Ask the pregnancy massage therapist for the qualification, who awarded it and when, and check with that body.

Special treatment licence (London)

In Greater London (not the City of London) the borough licenses premises used for massage with a Special Treatments Licence, under Part II of the London Local Authorities Act 1991 where the borough has adopted it; members of some practitioner bodies are exempt. Outside London, the council licences in England cover skin piercing and acupuncture, not massage.

In London, ask the pregnancy massage therapist whether the premises hold a special treatment licence or which exemption applies; a mobile therapist working in your home is a question for the borough. gov.uk →

Insurance

No register sets an insurance requirement for a pregnancy massage therapist, so ask. Public liability insurance covers injury or damage; professional indemnity covers harm from the treatment itself.

Ask the pregnancy massage therapist for the insurer's name and the policy dates.

Trader status and cancellation terms

A pregnancy massage therapist in business is a trader, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 duty of reasonable care and skill applies. The 14-day cancellation right does not cover services related to leisure activities booked for a specific date (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28), so the therapist's own cancellation terms usually decide.

Read the cancellation and late-arrival terms before you book, and keep the confirmation.

VAT

Pregnancy massage carries VAT at the standard 20% when the therapist is VAT-registered, since massage is outside the health exemption. A therapist over £90,000 must register and show VAT as its own line; one under the threshold adds nothing.

Ask whether VAT is included, and for the VAT number if it is added to the session. gov.uk →

“What pregnancy massage training do you have?”

A good answer: A named course on pregnancy massage, and insurance that covers pregnant clients.

“Is pregnancy massage suitable at my stage?”

A good answer: Questions about your stage, complications and your midwife's advice before booking.

“How will I be positioned?”

A good answer: Side-lying or supported with pillows, adjusted for comfort.

“Which areas and oils do you avoid in pregnancy?”

A good answer: A clear answer on deep pressure, certain points and essential oils.

“What would make you stop the pregnancy massage?”

A good answer: Pain, dizziness, bleeding or contractions — and advice to contact your midwife.

“Can you help with swelling or back pain?”

A good answer: Gentle techniques — and a referral if swelling is sudden, which needs your midwife.

“In London, are the premises licensed?”

A good answer: The borough licence or exemption.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends — the pregnancy massage therapist you booked, or a colleague, employed or subcontracted
  • Session length and positioning time
  • Add-ons priced separately
  • Mobile travel charge
  • The VAT number, and VAT at 20% on its own line of the bill
  • Cancellation rules, including if you are unwell
  • What happens to a package if the baby comes early

Walk away if

  • No questions about your pregnancy or complications
  • Positions you flat on your front without support
  • Deep pressure on legs where clots are a risk
  • Uses essential oils without asking
  • No insurance that covers pregnancy
  • Claims to start labour
LOW
£35
TYPICAL
£65
HIGH
£85

What a pregnancy massage therapist costs: £35–£85 per session

Pregnancy massage is priced by session length, usually 30 to 60 minutes; mobile visits cost more. Pregnancy Massage price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Pregnancy massage therapists near you, with the badges that matter shown

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Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Health checkStage, due date, complications and midwife advice.
  2. PositioningSide-lying or supported with pillows.
  3. Gentle massageBack, hips, legs and shoulders with safe oils.
  4. Check-insComfort, temperature and pressure checked throughout.
  5. AftercareRest, water and when to contact your midwife.

Side-lying
Lying on your side, supported by pillows.
Contraindication
A health reason not to massage, or to avoid an area.
Trimester
One of the three stages of pregnancy.
Oedema
Swelling, often in the legs and feet.
Carrier oil
An unscented base oil.
Special Treatments Licence
London's borough licence for massage premises.

AFTER

When the job is done

Note how you feelRest and drink water; dizziness or pain afterwards is a reason to call your midwife.
Keep the receiptWith the date and what was done.
Rebook only if it suits youPregnancy changes week to week; ask the therapist to reassess each time.
Leave the reviewOnly a booked pregnancy massage therapist can be reviewed on Locufy, so your words carry weight. If the pregnancy massage therapist got something wrong, use the make-it-right step first.

STEP 1Put the complaint to the pregnancy massage therapistA short email is enough: what, when and what would put it right. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a pregnancy massage therapist who charges for the massage must take reasonable care and skill (section 49), and section 54 lets you require a fix at their expense or a reduction.
STEP 2Try the make-it-right stepUnder four stars for a booked pregnancy massage therapist, Locufy asks whether to pass it to them first; we follow it through before the review goes up.
STEP 3Trading Standards, or the boroughNo regulator covers a pregnancy massage therapist. If London premises are operating without a special treatment licence, tell the borough's licensing team; otherwise refer a pregnancy massage therapist who will not engage to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales (0808 223 1144 in Welsh), Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims as the last stepWhere the pregnancy massage therapist still refuses, the small claims routes run to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland under simple procedure and £5,000 in Northern Ireland, with no solicitor needed.

Hiring a pregnancy massage therapist: questions people ask

Not as a person — no register applies in any UK nation. London massage premises usually need a borough special treatment licence.

For many pregnancies, yes, with a trained therapist. If your pregnancy is high risk, ask your midwife or GP first.

Ask for the pregnancy massage qualification and the awarding body, and whether their insurance covers pregnant clients.

£35 to £85 a session, typically around £65. Longer sessions and mobile visits cost more. For the detail, open the pregnancy massage price guide; for real quotes, put your town in the search above.

At 20% if the therapist is VAT-registered; massage is outside the health exemption.

Contact your midwife about any symptoms, and put any complaint to the therapist in writing; a therapist in business owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in health & wellbeing

How to hire: Massage TherapistHow to hire: Swedish MassageHow to hire: Aromatherapy MassageHow to hire: ReflexologistHow to hire: Hot Stone MassageHow to hire: Deep Tissue MassageHow to hire: Holistic TherapistHow to hire: PhysiotherapistAll 701 hiring guides →

Pregnancy massage therapists near you

Pregnancy massage therapists in LondonPregnancy massage therapists in ManchesterPregnancy massage therapists in BirminghamPregnancy massage therapists in GlasgowPregnancy massage therapists in BelfastAll pregnancy massage therapists on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — tattoo, piercing and electrolysis licence (England and Wales; Special Treatments Licence in London)
  2. London Local Authorities Act 1991, Part II — special treatment licences
  3. gov.uk — Health professionals and pharmaceutical products (VAT Notice 701/57)
  4. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — exceptions to the right to cancel
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  7. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started in the cancellation period
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — consumer's rights for services
  9. Health professionals and pharmaceutical products (VAT Notice 701/57) — 2.5 Services that are not exempt from VAT (taxable at the standard rate)
  10. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  11. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register