The Gentle Birth Method: The Month-by-Month Jeyarani Way Programme

Oxygenate the baby by improving the blood flow within your whole body, your uterus and the baby’s placenta

Help you to carry your baby to term

Can be used to initiate labour if you are overdue, thereby reducing the need for medical induction at hospital

Intensify contractions during labour and shorten labour as a result

Can you do it yourself?

Yes, partly. Below is a basic five-minute massage that can be performed on the feet or hands.

Method: A light all-round kneading of each foot can help to relax your whole body. Specific lymphatic drainage is encouraged by working deeply on the tissues on the top of the recipient’s foot by moving your fingers up and down the spaces between the bones and massaging deeply. (The same techniques can by applied to your hands – simply massage up and down the webbed area between the fingers on the top of the hands.)

Birth story: Reflexology benefits during labour – Tricia

My contractions started at 12.15am and were every 20-30 minutes. By 6am they were every 5-10 minutes and by 9am, every 3 minutes. I arrived at hospital at 9.45am and was found to be 6cm dilated. By 1.00pm, I was fully dilated. My waters broke at 1.15pm and Robert was born at 2.36pm.

Throughout the contractions, I concentrated on my breathing and other than occasionally walking around, I knelt on the bed, holding the headboard, rocking backwards and forwards in time with inhaling and exhaling.

During the birthing process, I sat upright so that I could push downwards. Other than four gasps of entonox, I had no pain relief, other than my husband massaging my feet. I did notice that when he massaged my feet, the contractions weren’t so severe.

Creative Healing

What is it?

No this is nothing to do with mystic powers, it’s a specialized hands-on massage technique using virgin olive oil. Its aim is to restore function to a disturbed part of the body. This is achieved by applying the four principles of Creative Healing, which are:

1 to normalize body temperature through cooling or warming techniques

2 to create drainage channels to decongest (along with lymphatic drainage)

3 to remove congestion by light massage on thickened areas under the skin

4 to reposition displaced substances i.e. within vertebral disc spaces, or knee cartilage.

Its pedigree

Creative Healing was developed by Joseph B. Stephenson, who was born in 1874 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He migrated to America, where he practiced as a respected healer for over 20 years and passed on his method to several chiropractors and physical therapists on his retirement. Creative Healing has a wide following in the United States and in 1989 I met Patricia Bradley of The Joseph B. Stephenson Foundation of Creative Healing, based in California. Struck by the simplicity and effectiveness of the method, in 1990 I invited Patricia and her husband John to come to London to teach us the method. Since then I have been practising Creative Healing and have taught courses in England, Europe and India.

Creative Healing in pregnancy

The success of Creative Healing in clearing the body of congestion and optimizing physiological function was my primary reason for incorporating it into my Gentle Birth Method programme. There is a great need for the joints and muscles of the lower back, sacrum and coccyx to be functionally mobile and clear from congestion if a mother is going to have a gentle birth. When muscles and ligaments within the body are returned to their natural state, they automatically become supple and elastic. The Creative Healing treatments in the programme concentrate on bringing about this transformation to the birthing areas – the spine, pelvic area, sciatic area and sacrum. However, since birth is a function of the whole body, treatments for the organs that are important to maintain optimum health – for instance, the heart, liver, pancreas and gut – are included at specific times during pregnancy.

What it can do for you in pregnancy

Reduce nausea and vomiting

Optimize digestion and pancreatic function

Relieve constipation and regulate bowel function

Increase energy levels

Reduce breathlessness

Reduce anxiety and stress

Eliminate back and neck pain

Eliminate sciatica

Stimulate the lymphatic drainage in all key areas of the body

Cleanse and drain the pelvic area

Can you do it yourself?

Some parts. The basic General treatment explained on page 55 can be administered to you by your partner. This is gentle and easy and has immediate benefits. However, the most important massage technique for your partner to learn is the Pelvic Drainage massage (see page 68). This is a 10-minute procedure that ideally should be performed every other day, especially from 36 weeks of pregnancy, in order to create more space for your baby’s descent into your pelvic birthing space. You will need to see a qualified Creative healer for the other treatments that tone up your heart, digestive system and other vital areas of your body.

Creative Healing glossary

Although it’s unlikely that you had ever heard of Creative Healing before embarking upon The Gentle Birth Method, my guess is that Creative Healing will quickly become one of your favourite elements of the programme. But even though it is profoundly relaxing, this comprehensive massage treatment can leave mothers boggled at the range of different treatments on offer. Many mothers ask me why they have to have a heart treatment or a pancreatic treatment for instance, when a general back treatment would feel just great. Hence I’ve compiled a glossary that explains why you receive such specific treatments and what they achieve at different stages of your pregnancy. As I told you at the beginning of this book, there’s a physiological intention at the root of every physical treatment you receive on the Gentle Birth Method – and that can be easy to forget when it feels so good.

General treatment: (also known as the General Lymphatic Treatment)

This is an essential initial treatment that is done prior to any other Creative Healing treatment and sets up drainage in the whole of the body to clear toxins quickly.

Heart treatment: In early pregnancy, the heart treatment is given to help the heart cope with the dramatic increase of 30 per cent in circulatory blood volume of the mother. The heart treatment is also received just before delivery, because the cardiac muscle is called upon to work hard during labour. Occasionally, pregnant mothers complain of palpitations and feelings of unrest surrounding the heart and the treatment can help to reduce this. These symptoms are often attributed to mental anxiety and fear. A heart treatment is also advised post-natally.

Hiatus hernia treatment: Offered alongside the heart treatment, it helps with reflex oesophagitis (heartburn) and is also effective in calming the feeling of nausea during pregnancy.

Pancreatic treatment: This treatment has been found to be excellent in improving digestive function. As well as insulin and other hormones, the pancreas secretes important enzymes to help with the digestion of food. The symptoms in pregnancy associated with the digestive system – such as nausea, heartburn, abdominal bloating and constipation – have been reported to improve after a pancreatic treatment. In the programme, it is recommended at 32 weeks to prevent gestational diabetes from developing, as the placental hormones might suppress insulin response at this time.

Lungs: Creative Healing is effective in treating chest infections in pregnancy by clearing the drainage channels. This is not a standard treatment and is only given if a patient is suffering from a chest infection.

Liver: This is very helpful in early pregnancy when many mothers suffer from nausea and vomiting. Often, these symptoms are related to high levels of circulating tissue toxins that clog up the liver and slow down its detoxification mechanism. A liver treatment can clear these symptoms. This treatment is usually carried out at set times throughout pregnancy.

Thyroid: The thyroid is challenged during pregnancy and mothers tend to feel more tired if the thyroid function is compromised.

Kidneys: The kidneys are responsible for clearing excess tissue fluids and it is important to keep them functioning well.

Spleen: This treatment offers immune modulation and helps the white and red blood cells to be formed and released at an optimum pace.

Back and spine treatment: Spinal health is of paramount importance as all the nerves that transmit impulses to the muscles of the limbs and trunk originate from the spine and emerge through spaces between the vertebrae.

Abdominal toning: Digestion and assimilation of food is vitally important in maintaining the health of mother and baby. General abdominal toning realigns the energy flow to all of the abdominal organs. It is offered throughout pregnancy and before treating any of the organs within the abdomen. Mild abdominal pain and diarrhoea caused by a tummy bug can be eased with abdominal toning.

Pelvic drainage: This upwards and outwards massage is applied on the lowest part of the abdomen just above the pubic bone. It directs excess fluid away from the pelvic floor area and also decongests the cervix and tissues within the birth canal.