REFLEXOLOGY & PREGNANCY
Pain Relief, Priming of Labour and Delivery of Placenta Research
Women in labour were offered Reflexology. Of those who chose reflexology alone with no analgesic drugs, 89.7% stated that reflexology had helped reduce pain while only 8.8% felt no effect. Only 6.5% of the women who were helped by reflexology also required pain medication.
Pregnant women who had passed their EDD were offered Reflexology. Of those women who chose reflexology to stimulate labour, 48.9% gave birth without additional drug treatment.
Women with a retained placenta were offered Reflexology Of those women who received reflexology treatment between 30 and 60 minutes following birth, 78.6% were then able to discharge the placenta naturally, the remaining 21.4% had surgical removal.
Gentofte County Hospital, Copenhagen 1988
By Gabriella Bering Liisber
Labour Duration & Outcome Research
Pregnant women were offered free Reflexology session while pregnant. Of those who received Reflexology the 20 - 25 year olds had an average time of first stage labour of 5 or 6 hours. The 26 - 30 year olds seemed to have the longest labours, whereas the 30 to 40 year olds, who included many first time mothers, had labour times of 2 to 3 hours.
Overall, the average first stage of labour was 5 hours, compared to the textbook average of 16 to 24 hours.
The second stage of labour lasted 16 minutes, compared to the textbook average of 1 to 2 hours, and the third stage of labour averaged 7 minutes.
Only 5.4% of the women who had reflexology treatment required emergency caesarian section compared to an average of 13% in Newham district where the study was conducted.
New mothers who had a lack of milk production (lactation) following birth were treated with Reflexology successfully. Compared with routine therapies the research showed that Reflexology provided abundant and stable sources of milk, that Reflexology enhanced both mother and baby's immune function, that Reflexology had a rapid effect and needed less time, and that Reflexology avoided the intake of drugs, which may be absorbed by the baby through the breast milk.
Leg Oedema (Fluid Retention/Swelling) Research
Women in the third trimester of pregnancy who were suffering from leg oedema were offered either bed rest, general Reflexology, or specific 'lymphatic' Reflexology treatments.
At the outset there was no statistically significant difference in leg circumference between the three groups. However the results showed that the group who received lymphatic reflexology benefited the most as their leg circumference measurements all decreased after treatment. A 'perceived wellbeing' score revealed the lymphatic reflexology group significantly increased their wellbeing the most, followed closely by those who received general reflexology and then those receiving only bed rest. From the women's viewpoint, lymphatic reflexology was the preferred therapy with significant increase in symptom relief.