• Two studies have shown that reflexology in pregnancy significantly reduced pain during labour (1, 2) and reduced the length of the first stage of labour (1).
  • One study showed that 6 weekly treatments of reflexology prior to giving birth for women who experienced low back and /or pelvic girdle pain during their pregnancy significantly reduced the second stage of labour by 44.3 minutes(3).
  • One study has shown reduced pain and stress levels during labour for women with low back pain or pelvic girdle pain (4).
  • Foot reflexology was found to have a positive effect in lowering the total anxiety scores of women in labour (5).
  • One study showed improved quality of sleep in post-natal women (6).

References

  1. Reviewing the effect of Reflexology on pain and outcomes of the labour of primiparous women.  Valiani M et al. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research. 15 (Dec 2010) p302-310
  2. The Effect of Reflexology on Pain Intensity and Duration of labor on Primiparous.  M Dolatian et al. Iran Red Crescent Med J 2011; 13 (7):475-479
  3. A pilot randomised controlled trial exploring the effects of antenatal reflexology on labour outcomes. McCullough J et al. Midwifery. 2017 Dec;55:137-144
  4. Reflexology: A randomised controlled trial investigating the effects on beta-endorphin, cortisol and pregnancy related stress.  McCullough J et al. Complement Ther Clin Pract.2018 May;31:76-84
  5. The Effect of Foot Reflexology on the Anxiety Levels of Women in Labour. Yilar Erkek Z, Aktas S J Altern Complement Med. 2018 Apr;24(4):352-360
  6. Randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of using foot reflexology to improve quality of sleep amongst post-partum women. Li C-Y et al. Midwifery. 2011 27.p181-186