pregnant client

[Elizabeth B]

Hi, i have had a client come to me with a letter from there g.p saying they can have reflexology, she is 5 months.
is there any reflexes i should avoid???

 

[Lamber-vox]

hi - i'm not a reflexologist, and i'm sure you'll get much better answers from reflexologists on the list. i do pregnancy massage & am currently pregnant myself.

the points i believe you need to avoid are the one on the medial ankle - the uterus point; the lateral distal point on the superior aspect of the smallest toe (i believe this helps to stimulate labour); and perhaps the point on the medial distal superior aspect of the large toe, which may have the same effect.

you may wish to avoid doing anything to stimulate detoxing her liver, particularly as the baby starts accumulating fat in the 3rd trimester.

work done on keeping her calm and relaxed is helpful - is there adrenal work you can do to achieve this? also work on freeing stress from any head points (eg, jaw, mouth), neck and shoulders is v good. she may have trouble sleeping, and any help you can give in that regard is wonderful.

when manipulating joints in which connective tissue is dealt with, be careful and perhaps a little more gentle, as this tissue now has more give than outside of pregnancy, and connective tissue, once stretched, can remain permanently overstretched.

because of the significant increase in blood fluids, her circulatory system must work harder - this can affect her heart. she may have a change in her blood pressure - either hypotension (she may be a bit dizzy when she gets up) or hypertension.

as the pregnancy progresses, and the baby grows, it can decrease the physical space her lungs have in which to expand. aiding in relaxed breathing would be helpful.

her immune system can be slightly depressed, in order that her body does not reject the baby.

as her uterus grows, it may pull on some of the ligaments holding it in place, causing sharp pains around her groin or thighs, or period-like aches & pains.

she may experience leg or foot cramps.

she may find that her breasts are particularly tender or sore.

she may also be experiencing some conditions in pregnancy - some common ones to be aware of include:

digestive difficulties, from constipation [and its associated problems] to reflux, as the hormone relaxin (which works as a relaxing agent on all connective tissue) can cause the large colon's peristaltic movement to slow or work less efficiently, or the esophageal sphincter to relax; it can also cause the gums to bleed more readily.

she may experience nausea and fatigue not only in her first trimester, but throughout her pregnancy. just the fatigue may return in her last trimester.

relaxin may also affect the bladder, as well as its having to cope with increased output, (this increase in output may also affect the kidneys - there is some increase in the possibility of urinary tract infections and/or kidney infections in pregnancy).

relaxin may also cause valves and vein walls to be more slack, resulting in varicose veins. these can sometimes resolve after birth.

other conditions can include water retention (esp in her ankles or wrists [which may manifest as carpal tunnel syndrome or tingling/numbness in the fingers but usually disappears after birth] and hypertension (high blood pressure) which are often indicators of pre-eclampsia - she needs to see her medical advisor about these signs, and perhaps someone more qualified here can advise you on reflexology for this situation, which can become life-threatening for mother and baby if it is left completely untreated.

another condition can be gestational diabetes, which would be diagnosed and managed by her medical advisor.

sometimes thyroid problems can arise in pregnancy. this will be diagnosed and managed by her medical advisor.

she may find herself having sinus problems - it is quite common to be especially mucousy or stuffed up in pregnancy. there are not many high street remedies she can turn to for this.

she may have anaemia - if her blood count is lower than 8/8.5 g/dl, she will have been advised to take iron supplements (which can lead to constipation, or she may choose to receive injections to try to avoid constipation); she may wish to try changing her diet aggressively to ensure greater iron consumption. is there anything you can do to ensure optimal digestive absorption, or something else in regard to anaemia?

a very painful condition is symphysis pubis - the joint which connects the pubic bones in front can be affected by the relaxin, causing the 2 bones to rub against each other. it can be an extremely painful and debilitating condition - is there anything you might be able to do about this?

in the last couple of weeks, if her baby has not yet turned to be head down, there may be something that reflexology can stimulate to encourage the baby to assume this position, which is the best for birthing naturally.

some situations do need to be corrected, but others may arise as a normal part of pregnancy and, while out of what is considered to be the normal range for most people, actually serve a purpose in pregnancy. for example, the pituitary is involved in a various ways throughout the pregnancy, so treating it may be helpful or a hindrance, depending on what balance of complex situations exist in her at the time. treatment will also vary during pregnancy, and during labour and delivery, as well as with each individual pregnancy.

whatever else, she might especially appreciate you working on her lower back/pelvic/sciatic points! easing any stress here will not only soothe immediate aches and pains, but may help the pelvis to relax enough and ease open gently, allowing more room for baby to pass through.

one final note: do not work on her with her lying flat on her back - as the pregnancy progresses, the combined weight of the uterus and all its contents will compress the vena cava, which means that blood flow returning from her legs to her heart will be compromised. she should be sitting up at least at an angle; also you may need to be sure to use a pillow under her knees and/or ankles to help protect those joints.

good luck!

 

[Bender]

I can't be as thoroughin my response I'm afraid but I treated a friend of mine who was pregnant and it had little effect. But at least she enjoyed the treatment!!

 

[Tahoeguy]

In reply to Buster, thank you for such an informative reply! The points you raised are so relevant. I am wishing to treat pregnant clients (not a maternity specialist as such, but don't want to exclude pregnant ladies from the benefits of reflexology) and am considering starting a course to cover pregnancy and complementary therapies. I think your reply just stresses the importance of a thorough understanding of the physiology of pregnancy, and inspires me to start to course asap!

To froggy, there has been much discussion around pregnancy and reflexology on this forum over the last few weeks, much of it under a thread for reflexology and labour but in which there is discussion of areas to treat with caution during pregnancy. Have a search, and if I have a moment to find it and can work out how to post details of the thread, I'll have a go!!

By the way, I am a member of the FHT and insured with TIS, and treating pregnant clients is a "grey" area. Might be worth checking your particular code of ethics for your body if you belong to one, and check your insurers view on things. Mine seem to require some specific training in pregnant clients to fully cover me for treating pregnant ladies....

Good luck, and hope this helps,

Best wishes

 

[Pheebs]

Dear Froggy,

Unless there is a specific condition you'd consider you should pay attention to, just give a normal treatment, a completely normal treatment...

There are no reflex points to avoid, however do work softly and gently on the pituitary, ovaries and uterus reflexes.

This is a period in which your client would be certainly enjoy Reflexology, a good pampering and relaxing Reflexology session.

Good luck!

Moshe Kruchik

 

[Thapheon]

Hi Moshe

If you are only giving a general treatment and not paying attention to specific conditions, would the treatment need to be adapted at any point between 5 months and birth, or can a normal treatment be given all the way through pregnancy (avoiding first trimester of course....)?

Many thanks

Sarah

 

[*magic*]

It's just like Moshe says!!!

 

[Shelby Royal]

Thanks Purplepeach, hope it didn't sound like I was being dense, but I just wanted to be sure that Moshe's advice applied all the way through pregnancy as the question was about a 5 month pregnant client, and it would be easy to read something, put it into practice, and find that you hadn't got all the info....

Best wishes

 

[SLipknOT FTW]

Dear Sarah,

You will only pay attention (double attention!!) to a pregnant client, however from my point of view and experience, you should also consider that if the pregnancy is developing normally, if no conditions are showed, if no symptoms are present or developing, if everything goes normal (more than 65% of all pregnancies don't show any special sign at this stage), you are able to give a complete, normal treatment.

The points to avoid is always the gray field in which Reflexologists will discuss forever. Pituitary yes or no? Ovaries yes or no? What about the uterus?
From my point of view, you can work on them, but carefully, soft touch, gradually. You won't smash the pituitary reflex like when you want to provoke contractions during labour.

I thoroughly agree with Buster's fantastic post. At this stage, stress and conditions usually decrease dramatically if no conditions are threatening the mum-to-be. So, if she is not stressed, why should we?

Now, my approach to Maternity Reflexology is that Reflexology is an excellent preventative therapy. You must know everything about your client even if everything is developing normally. Not only the moment of "now", but also since she got pregnant and even before. I will give only one example, but there are lots of them: if you know about low/below levels of hemoglobin before the pregnancy, you'd better check her Iron and Ferritine reserves. This client has a great potential of developing anaemia even before the 6th-7th month. You know that Iron tablets are waiting for her around the corner, so you'd better start working on this condition like if she was really suffering from it, working hard to help prevent constipation which at the same time can eventually lead to piles.

The best thing is to know ALL her information in order to decide about the right treatment. Even when everything presents as normal when she is coming to you, your task is to anticipate the development of possible conditions and to avoid triggers to develop. In any case, your starting point will always be a completely normal treatment.

Hope this helped.

Best wishes

Moshe Kruchik

 

[shealynn r]

hi, I am treating a pregnant lady as one of my case studies. I originally asked my tutor for his advice as to treat a pregnant lady and he said fine. I must admit I was bit nervous as you can read lots of contradictions but after first session felt confident. I personally worked more on relaxation, but now work more for constipation as this was a symptom even before pregnant. After a couple of sessions she became more regular, and after few more she is even more regular than ever. I haven't seen her for 3 weeks due to holidays and am back treating this week, and she has found bowels really slowed down again. So back trying to regulate things, we are both interested in seeing whether things get regular again. Anyway she loves the treatment, so good luck. I personally dont work the pituitary, uterus, fallopean tubes, ovaries as I am training it makes me feel more comfortable again because of different things I read.
Good luck and enjoy, they will!!

Lynda