Is reflexology really worth it in the hope of starting labour ???????

[mosschops30]

Tried everything last time and nothing worked and ended up being induced.
Have seen lots of people mention that they had reflexology and went into labour the next day or whatever.

However the place Ive found charge £45 for an hours session, and its only cash or cheque so cant even whack it on the credit card.

No point in looking at it from a 'nice treatment' pov as I already have regular treatments that cost me £15 for an hour and a half, plus facial and pedicure booked for next week for £25.

So did it work for you? All opinions please because I dont want to spend £45 for nothing

My mate has a woman come to massage his back who swears that doing reflexology on pg women has put them into labour within 24 hours. (inc her own DD!)

mamaG you are becoming my MN stalker lol

ooh see thats what ive heard, but £45 is a bit steep for a complimentary therapy, thats more than I pay my osteopath who has done 4 years in Uni

oh God I know i am. I even found myself thinking "I wonder if she's on fb..."

I should really leave you alone!

My friend went into labour 24 hours after this woman did ref on her though, but she was 2 days OD - don't know how much she charged

lol, I was on FB but it drove me crazy so i deleted everything and left!

Dont know what to do, think I will shop around a bit, see if i can get it cheaper anywhere else, she did seem rather desparate to 'fit me in a cancellation' spot

Yes s hop around. The lady I'm about won't "do" ladies under 40weeks though...

If you have a college near you that offers a reflex course might be worth contacting them as students are often in need of patients to practise on and will do it for a much lower rate... having said that you might be better off with someone with more experience for pg/labour specific approach. My reflexologist is coming Mon (when I'll be 39w) with the specific intention of working on the bits that should help get things moving, i.e. all around the uterus area (which is the bit on the inside of your foot, just forward from your heel - should look swollen and fleshy by late stages of pg... + apparently there's a specific point somewhere near the outside of your heel, behind your ankle - she pressed it briefly last time just to show me and it really hurt, but I couldn't find it myself). She swears it can help if your body's ready for it. I'm not pinning all my hopes on it but don't think it can do any harm at this stage! Seen a couple of posts from you re. bringing on labour, BTW... when are you due? I'm going to be trying EVERYthing from this weekend. A couple of people have mentioned clary sage oil (few drops in bath) but I've never tried this before. Have you heard of it?

thanks maniac, am due 11th Nov so just under 3 weeks away. I went over with both p[revious babies (4 days with dd and 15 days with ds) so am not pinning my hopes on going early with this one.
Do you mind me asking how much your reflexologist costs?
My aromatherapist gave me clary sage last time for labour but I didnt get round to using it. I am speaking to her later so may ask and see what she can 'prescribe'

Nope. I had reflexology on my due date (dd was showing no sign of moving and I was huge and desperate). I went another 13 days overdue and had to be induced. Don't waste your money (all £25 in my case).

I had relexology (with a bit of free reiki thrown in - that was an odd experience!) with my third. I was induced at 42 weeks. I also had acupuncture. They say that you need four or so treatments for it work, but to be honest, if you have 4 treatments after 40 weeks, chances are you'll be going into labour anyway.

I did use a bit of clary sage in the bath with my first, earlier than I should have (36+5). He shot out of me like a cork out of a bottle less than 12 hrs later. Don't know if the oil had anything to do with it though.

Worked for me, but could just have been coincidence. I was 9 days OD (by 'official' date, 2 days according to me, based on actual cycle length), had a sweep on the Monday morning, reflexology at 3pm the same day, and baby was born at 10.21 the following day. According to the reflexologist, she had a 75% success rate of mothers going into labour within 24 hours when the reflexology was combined with a sweep - not sure how it was otherwise.

It was my MW who recommended her to me, so I was only charged £15 for the hour - I don't think they'd have referred otherwise. I viewed it as a chance to have a bit of a relax for an hour or so, so was pleasantly surprised when it worked the following day. Or maybe DD was just ready to come out, who knows.

I would try and see if you can find someone a bit cheaper tho, £4 sounds fairly steep.

Good luck!

She's £35 an hour, but that's for a home visit in the evenings, so I figure it's worth it for the convenience + being able to have my own music on! I've been seeing her once every six weeks or so for a year and she specialises in pregnancy treatments (also trained in hypnobirthing and baby massage, etc.) so I do feel that she knows what she's doing in this area. If you can get a MW referral for £15 though, so much the better.
Just thinking some more - last time I saw her she also mentioned castor oil (taken orally) - apparently something our mums' generation used to use? Potent stuff though, by all accounts, so another thing prob best avoided till due date. If anything works for me this w/e will let you know!
BTW flybynight cork out of bottle? am liking the sound of that... will add to agenda...

Cork out of a bottle. About 2 hrs from 1cm to delivered. My third was 20mins! (No clary sage involved). I'm planning a home birth for this one so I don't deliver in a layby.

Don't know about labour, but am convinced it helped me conceive after 6 years of trying!

A friend swears by acupuncture. For my 2nd birth, I booked an appointment for when I would be 38 weeks pregnant - my first birth was by c-section (medical reasons) and wanted to avoid it for the 2nd. Anyway baby came on the first day of 38 week. Great for me but can't tell you by personal experience whether acupuncture really works.

Good luck!

Reflexology didn't work for me, but acupuncture did (as far as I can tell, unless it was coincidence). It's pricey, but worth it IMO (can also help with turning the baby into the best position).

hi i am a reflexologist and have a three week old baby myself. my mother is a reflexologist too and she gave me regular treatments throughout my pregnancy and in early labour, i was 4 days over my due date. i believe it is really beneficial in letting go of physical and emotional tension which could be holding you back and also stimulates and balances your hormones. i gave reflexology to an overdue friend who went into labour that night, but then i had regular treatments myself and my baby was past expected date, i think that it is like most natural inducing methods, they only seem to work if your body and baby are ready and all the body needs is some gentle encouragement to kickstart labour. i personally think reflexology is fab and recommend it, but i am a bit biased! I think homeopathy and acupuncture are also good things to try.

Good Luck! you will be holding your beautiful wonderous bundle of joy in your arms so very soon! hurray!

minnylove

thank you all . I did find someone slightly cheaper £35 then £30 thereafter, and for longer sessions.
However when my aromatherapist/reiki woman phoned me she said she will sort me out next week with a treatment, she knows quite a lot about acupressure and balancing stuff.
Meanwhile am buying a ball, eating fresh pineapple, drinking rasberry leaf tea amd crawling round on all fours.
Evereything crossed apart from legs