Reflexology In Pregnancy
By Dr Gowri Motha
Dr Gowri Motha pioneered the use of reflexology for pregnant mothers in London in 1987. She then set up "The Gentle Birth Preparation Programme" (now called "The Jeyarani Way" Gentle Birth Method) that included reflexology as one of the main components. Dr Motha has written articles and also lectured on reflexology in pregnancy to the Association of Reflexologists and obstetric units throughout the UK. Her extensive years of experience and knowledge have made her one of the foremost experts of the use of reflexology in pregnancy in the world.
Safety of Reflexology in Pregnancy
Reflexology has been performed by Dr Motha and her team throughout pregnancy and has been found to be safe during pregnancy in terms of helping mothers to go all the way to term and beyond, with a reduction of the common symptoms of pregnancy. However, before 12 weeks gestation (before the placenta is fully established) Dr Motha generally advises a gentle foot massage, concentrating on light drainage and working only on the upper areas of the foot.
Despite the fact that we have found reflexology to be safe during pregnancy, occasionally there have been reports that midwives have told expectant mothers not to have reflexology during pregnancy as it might provoke miscarriage or bring on early labour. Dr Laurence Wood, Obstetric Consultant at Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry asked us to research this. Dr Motha then presented our findings at the “Clinical Governance in Maternity Services” meeting at the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists on 16th November 2001. For this study we established the gestation of the baby born to all mothers (who we were able to contact) who had had any reflexology in pregnancy with a Jeyarani practitioner between the years of 1997 and 2001. As can be seen from the graph below the majority (45.5%) of babies were born at 40 weeks gestation. Only 1.7% of babies were born at 36 weeks, these babies were twins.
Benefits of Reflexology in Pregnancy
Reflexology can help with all the major and minor symptoms of pregnancy. Moreover, Dr Motha and her team also find reflexology a useful technique in identifying areas of the mother's body that requires additional attention and that may benefit from another treatment, such as creative healing or Bowen therapy.
Dr Motha has researched reflexology in pregnancy; the main results of this study are shown below. These results were presented at the First European Conference on Reflexology in 1994.
Research on Reflexology in Pregnancy and on labour outcomes
Dr Gowri Motha, Ms Zia Rowji and Dr Jane McGrath
In 1992-93, reflexology was offered free of cost to 64 pregnant women from 20 weeks of pregnancy to term, in Forest Gate, London. Thirty-seven completed the set course of 10 treatments.
The remaining group found that reflexology helped with the following presenting problems:
It was discovered that the effects of reflexology on labour outcomes were outstanding. Some had labour times of only 2 hours, some 3 hours. The 2025 year olds had an average time of first stage labour of 5 or 6 hours, as did the first time mothers (text book average is 16-24 hours). Second time mothers, 2630 year olds, seemed to have longer labours (and may have fallen into the group experiencing more social stress). The second stage of labour lasted an average of 16 minutes (compared to the text book expectancy of 1-2 hours). In this small study it was found that there was very little difference between the labour times of 30 year olds and 40 year olds, even though many of the 40 year olds were first time mothers (who had 23 hour labours).
Outcomes for mothers receiving reflexology in the study
In a separate study in an antenatal clinic, Dr Motha had found that weekly reflexology treatments of between 30 to 45 minutes normalised hypertension, avoiding the usual hospital admittance for 48 hours rest and observation.
Other benefits of reflexology in pregnancy include:
Providing a sense of well-being and helping to prevent problems from starting
Reducing swelling in feet and ankles
Relieving tired, aching feet
Improving sleep quality
Aiding digestion
Creating a sense of well-being for the foetus
Supporting the mother mentally, physically and emotionally throughout pregnancy
Reflexology during labour can intensify contractions and shortens labour as a result
