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

Sacrum drainage and sacro-iliac treatment: Started early in pregnancy, this ensures the sacrum is able to move and mould as the baby’s head drops down into pelvis as pregnancy advances. These treatments clear congestion and loosen the sacro-iliac joints. This helps the mother greatly during the second stage of labour, shortening the pushing time. Constipation is also effectively treated with a specific 7-minute treatment on the sacral area. There is also a 10-minute sacrum treatment that treats haemorrhoids.

Sciatic treatment: This treatment is for alleviating the classic symptoms of sciatica, i.e. pain radiating from the mid-buttock down the back of the thigh and the leg, all the way down to the toes. There is a special nerve centre on the sacrum that can be centred in order to prevent sciatica occurring at any stage of pregnancy.

Bowen Technique

What is it?

During a Bowen session, specific areas of the body are subjected to gentle rolling movements that subtly disturb and reposition the muscles. Bowen initiates a physical change because the muscular disturbance (from the rolling movements) is emitted through the central nervous system to the brain. In response, the brain sends a command to the muscle to reposition, helping to eliminate any previous inflammation or stiffness in those soft tissues.

Its pedigree

This technique is named after Tom Bowen (1916-82), the Australian therapist who developed it. As a young man in the 1950s, he regularly visited the clinic of a local man with an excellent reputation as a ‘manipulator’, watching him work and listening to what he had to say. Bowen developed his own technique on the back of this apprenticeship, and opened a clinic treating a wide range of injuries, illnesses and disabilities. In the 1970s, the Australian Government Report into Complementary Therapies found that Tom Bowen had successfully treated 13,000 people.

Bowen in pregnancy

I find that the gentle nature of the Bowen treatment helps to instil emotional calm, an attribute that is particularly important during pregnancy. My mothers tend to love the profound relaxation that it gives. It is also non-invasive. I find it invaluable for treating acute conditions like pubic pain and other musculoskeletal pain.

What it can do for you in pregnancy

Relieves back pain

Relieves sciatica

Relaxes the pelvic ligaments and muscles and helps pelvic mobility – this helps the baby’s head to engage in the pelvis

A gentle manoeuvre on the coccyx can help initiate labour if you are overdue

Can you do it yourself?

No. This technique must be carried out by a qualified therapist.

Reiki

What is it?

Reiki is a therapy in which energy is transmitted, via the laying on of hands, to key areas of the head, face, trunk and limbs. The treatment can be given through normal clothes, so it is non-invasive.

Reiki warms and relaxes the body and facilitates gentle healing by attracting lymphocytes (the immune system cells) to the affected area. It is a very still treatment and for those who like something more dynamic, it can feel as though nothing is being done – but healing is happening, just on a subtle level. It is very common to feel deeply relaxed and even fall asleep during the session.

Its pedigree

In the early 1900s, Dr Mikao Usui, a Japanese Christian theologian, was allegedly given the secrets of healing in a vision he had following a 21-day meditation and fast. His teachings were passed down and have spread throughout the world. Once initiated, a Reiki practitioner may get immediate results, however it takes many years and hours of dedicated practice to channel the Reiki energy in a more powerful way. The early Reiki masters were able to heal advanced diseases effectively.

Reiki in pregnancy

Reiki can be received at any time during pregnancy, as it is so gentle and safe. It is one of the safest treatments you can have in early pregnancy.

What it can do for you in pregnancy

Improve quality of sleep

Deepen muscle relaxation

Instil calm and reduce anxiety before the birth

The stillness and peace that is part of a Reiki session can give you mental space to accept pregnancy and bond with your baby

Can you do it yourself?

Yes – to a limited extent. Simply laying your hands on someone with healing intent will have a positive physiological effect. It has been proven that if you place your hands on any part of the body, the electromagnetic energy and warmth of your palm attracts lymphocytes (the intelligent part of your immune system) to the area and this can encourage healing. However, positive intention is all-important.

Craniosacral Therapy

What is it?

This is a ‘light-touch’ technique that fine-tunes the body’s rhythms. The therapy is based on a subtle pulse, the Cranio-sacral rhythm, which moves through the core of the body – through the brain and spinal cord and the fluids that bathe them. The pulse has a tide-like rhythm that becomes irregular where there’s a blockage or restriction.

These blockages – often characterized by tightness – are usually the result of the body holding so-called ‘tissue memories’ of a stressful event, such as a physical injury or a traumatic emotional situation. By freeing the restrictions in the connective tissue and muscles through Cranio-sacral therapy, we can bring about the release of tight ligaments and muscles, realign joints and even release emotional stress.

Following a session, patients will very often feel increased warmth, tingling or energy surges.

Its pedigree

The cranio-sacral pulse was discovered by a team of neuro-surgeons and neuro-physiologists. They observed subtle movements of the dura (membranes covering the brain) during brain surgery and came to the conclusion that restrictions of this pulse could cause functional disorders. Cranial therapy was then evolved to restore optimum movements of the cranial bones and the cerebro-spinal pulses.

When the egg and the sperm fuse at fertilization the subtle rhythm of life begins and the pulsations of the embryo are immediately visible. This is later seen in the cranio-sacral rhythm, in the membranes that surround the brain and in the circulation of the cerebral spinal fluid.

Cranio-sacral therapy in pregnancy

Cranio-sacral therapists believe our life histories – including our emotional and physical traumas – are ‘held’ in our bodies. Hence the release of tension in the joints and muscles also releases tissue memory and emotional stress. This therapy can therefore calm and soothe all mothers.

The therapy also helps prepare you for the birth process. The therapist checks the movement of the sphenoid bone at the base of the skull, which houses the pituitary gland. This gland lies just below the hypothalamus and both the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus are responsible for producing and releasing prolactin and oxytocin, the hormones for pregnancy and birth. Through craniosacral therapy, the sphenoid bone is able to move freely, ensuring normal release of these hormones for birth.

What it can do for you in pregnancy

As a preparation for birth it can release muscle and tissue restrictions that can prevent the pelvis from opening easily during birthing

The circulation of cerebro-spinal fluid pulse is regulated and this helps with optimum releases of oxytocin during labour

Can be used during labour to enhance contractions

Alleviates emotional stress

Can you do it yourself?

No. The method of listening to the body’s rhythms that is intrinsic to this procedure is very subtle and too specialized to précis. Visit a qualified therapist.

Vaginal and Perineal Stretch Massage