MATERNITY REFLEXOLOGY
Supporting pregnant clients from the first trimester through to post natal.
Being able to support couples through their pregnancy and beyond with reflexology is a wonderful experience. Reflexology for maternity aims to optimise the health and wellbeing of the clients; using reflexology techniques designed for different stages and also being aware of general lifestyle advice that can be given to make this journey as pleasurable as possible for all.
Pregnancy Reflexology:
Whilst pregnancy can be an exciting time in a women’s life, it can also be a time of huge changes as the body adapts to the stresses of physical change. Reflexology could easy the discomfort associated with pregnancy, help the body prepare for labour and make pregnancy more enjoyable.
Specific pregnancy-related conditions that may respond well to reflexology include heartburn, constipation, nausea, swelling, tiredness, itchiness and headaches.
Post-Natal Reflexology:
The time when the mother’s body returns to a non-pregnant state - including hormone levels and uterus. One of the most important times for a women to receive reflexology. It can help reduce anxiety and tension, aches and stiffness, help increase vitality and restfulness.
Clinical Research showing the benefits of Reflexology during pregnancy:
~ Recent studies have shown that reflexology during pregnancy:
~ Significantly reduced the pain during labour.
~ Reduced the length of the first stage of labour.
~ Improved the quality of sleep in post-natal women.
~ Shorter second stage of labour and reduced pain for women who were treated for lower back pain or pelvic girdle pain when they received six weekly reflexology treatments.
~ A 30 minute treatment was shown to lower anxiety scores of women in labour.
1. VALIANI M ET AL (2010) Reviewing the effect of Reflexology on pain and outcomes of the labour of primiparous women. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research. 15(Dec) p302-310
2. LI C-Y ET AL (2011) Randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of using foot reflexology to improve quality of sleep amongst post partum women. Midwifery. 27. p181- 186
3. Iran Red Crescent Med J 2011; 13(7):475-479 ©Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal. 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29024881
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2970548
6. The Effect of Foot Reflexology on the Anxiety Levels of Women in Labour. Yılar Erkek Z, Aktas S. J Altern Complement Med. 2018 Apr;24(4):352-360
