Postpartum Massage
The back that aches from feeding and carrying. Legs and feet still holding fluid. A body that did something enormous and now needs rest. Postpartum massage is gentle, careful work built around a new parent's recovery.
4.8 · 1,000+ reviews across Google, Yelp & More
Concerns Postpartum Massage Treats
Fluid the body held through pregnancy can linger in the legs and feet for weeks after delivery, and after a cesarean the surgery adds its own swelling. Gentle drainage-style work moves that pooled fluid toward the pathways that clear it, at a pressure that suits a recovering body.
View Concern →Eased feeding tension
Neck, shoulders, and upper back relieved of the load from nursing and lifting
Calmer back and hips
Gentle work on the muscles that carried the pregnancy and still ache
Less lingering swelling
Drainage-style strokes that move fluid the legs and feet still hold
Real rest
A quiet hour at a pressure built for a recovering body
Why patients choose NLC.
Founder Sharon M. Vogel has spent more than three decades devoted to lymphatic drainage. A Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Lymphedema Therapist and Board-Certified in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (LMT, CLT, BCTMB), she developed the Vogel Method and founded National Lymphatic Centers in 1991. Today her team of certified therapists carries that same standard across three clinics in Chicago's western suburbs: Hinsdale, Downers Grove and Joliet.
When postpartum massage needs to wait
Clear it with your doctor or OB first
Get your doctor or OB's go-ahead before booking.
- • Clear massage with your doctor or OB first, especially after a cesarean or complications
- • After a C-section, work near the incision waits until your surgeon clears it and it heals
- • We follow your provider's guidance on when the work can start
Contraindications: we hold off until cleared
Standard contraindications apply to postpartum work too.
- • AFib, COPD, emphysema, blood clots, or active infection mean we hold off until cleared
- • These are standard contraindications for lymphatic work at any time
- • They apply to postpartum sessions the same way; your provider's clearance comes first
Every visit starts with a health review
Every visit opens with a health review before we start.
- • Your first visit always begins with a health review before hands touch skin
- • If something comes up in that review, we talk it through before booking
- • We confirm what is safe for your body now rather than press ahead blindly
Medical massage for a variety of reasons.
The room is quiet and the pace is unhurried. Nothing happens without your say so, and you can change the pressure or the position at any point. Here is how a session runs, start to finish.
Your first visit starts with a look at your health history and a few questions about how your delivery and recovery have gone. Your therapist confirms postpartum massage is right for you today. If you had a cesarean, we confirm your clearance before we plan anything near the abdomen. Nothing happens without your say so.
Details+
- • Health history and how your delivery and recovery have gone
- • Cesarean clearance confirmed before any work near the abdomen
- • A candidacy check against the contraindications list
- • The plan for the session, explained before it begins
The work, explained by Sharon
The full team.
Hover to read each name. Certified care across all three Illinois clinics, every session to the Vogel Method standard.
Sharon M. Vogel
LMT · CLT · CDT · BCTMB · CVMLD™
All three clinics
Abdul Alagha
LMT · CLT · LANA
Downers Grove
Ludmila Lynch
LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT
Joliet
Stephanie Kos
LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT · LET
Hinsdale
Hana Echevarria
LMT · OMT · CDT
Downers Grove
Ricky Sharma
LMT · CVMLD™ · MLD
Downers Grove
Sharon M. Vogel
LMT · CLT · CDT · BCTMB · CVMLD™
All three clinics
Abdul Alagha
LMT · CLT · LANA
Downers Grove
Ludmila Lynch
LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT
Joliet
Stephanie Kos
LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT · LET
Hinsdale
Hana Echevarria
LMT · OMT · CDT
Downers Grove
Ricky Sharma
LMT · CVMLD™ · MLD
Downers Grove
What patients tell us
4.8★ across 1,000+ reviews on Google, Yelp & More
“The Vogel Method is the only manual lymphatic massage that has decreased my joint swelling and improved my quality of life. I am willing to drive over an hour to see Sharon and team. She keeps my vertigo and joint swelling at bay.”
Mary H.
Google · joint swelling & vertigo · May 2026
Three Illinois clinics.
Reserve your visit.
No referral needed.
Choose a therapist and a time that works for you, at any of our three Illinois clinics. Same-specialty care, whether it is your first visit or your tenth.
See pricingA self-pay clinic, with a superbill for your insurer.
We do not bill insurance directly. For medically necessary lymphatic therapy, we provide an itemized superbill you can submit to your insurer for possible reimbursement. Coverage varies by plan, so check with your provider.
Have questions about referrals or reimbursement? Our front desk is happy to help. 630-828-6582
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Not sure if your body is ready yet?
That is a fair question, and we would rather answer it honestly than book you blindly. Call us, tell us how your delivery and recovery have gone, and we will say plainly whether gentle postpartum massage can help. If it can, we will get you in at the clinic nearest you: Hinsdale, Downers Grove, or Joliet.