Ostoeopathy can, according to Brisbane ostoeopath Simone Keddy, successfully treat pregnancy symptoms such as low back pain, sciatica, pubic symphysis pain, headaches and fluid retention.
Later in pregnancy, kinesiology can help to prepare a woman for birth, through working with her fears of birth and mothering.
A woman’s body undergoes enormous and unprecedented changes during pregnancy. Her baby grows from a single cell at conception and increases in weight 22,000 times — and that’s only in the first two months! As her baby gets bigger, the mother must also expand, not only physically but also mentally, as she readies herself for motherhood; emotionally, as she feels the new, and often unexpected, emotions that arise; and spiritually, as she accepts her role as bearer of new life.
Through the months of pregnancy, many of these changes will manifest as symptoms in a woman’s body. Some of them, like pregnancy nausea, are almost universal and may have an evolutionary role in protecting the growing baby (see below). Other symptoms are more individual and may represent an imbalance in the body-mind that can be remedied by individualised therapy.
Good nutrition
Good nutrition is the cornerstone of a healthy pregnancy. Good nutrition is also essential for growing a healthy baby whose lifelong health and wellbeing will be profoundly influenced by the nutrition that he/she receives from the mother. In fact, one of the most significant influences on the health of the offspring is the nutritional state of the mother (and, to a lesser extent, the father) at conception. Because of this, both parents should optimise their diet for at least three months before pregnancy.
An optimal diet for pregnancy begins with healthy helpings of protein, which can be from animal and/or vegetable sources. One recommendation is to eat enough of a high-protein food such as meat, fish, egg, beans or cheese to cover the palm of your hand three times a day. A good protein intake (around 80-100g/day) may reduce the chances of toxaemia.
Pregnant women can also include a variety of vegetables of many colours, including leafy, surface and root vegetables. Its ideal to eat vegetables at least four times a day, but many women go off foods such as vegetables in the first eight to 12 weeks of pregnancy. This may be the body’s way of protecting the baby from the toxins that plant foods naturally contain, during the very vulnerable time of organ formation. Seed-bearing fruits, which include vegetables such as tomatoes, beans and pumpkin, may be more appealing because they are lower in toxins. A variety of sweet fruits can be eaten two or three times daily.
Other healthy foods include wholegrain cereals, nuts, seeds and legumes such as beans and peas. A low-fat diet is not recommended in pregnancy: the growing baby’s brain is made of fat and therefore needs good quantities of high-quality fats, such as cold-pressed oils, nuts and seeds, high-quality dairy (unhomogenised and/or organic) and, best of all, the fat from oily fish, which contains the important brain food DHA. Fish can be eaten up to three times per week, but avoid shark (flake), orange roughy, billfish such as marlin and swordfish and catfish, as these may have high levels of mercury.
Anti-nutrients such as alcohol, cigarettes, tea and coffee (which contains 1000 different plant toxins) should be strictly limited. The best fluid is spring or filtered water; six to eight glasses daily is ideal, but more or less according to thirst and climate.
Some therapists recommend routine vitamin and mineral supplements during preconception and pregnancy, but there is another option: using whole foods that are naturally rich in vitamins and minerals. Such foods include spirulina, blackstrap molasses, kelp, brewer’s (or nutritional) yeast, sesame seeds/tahini, miso and diluted fresh fruit and vegetable juices. As with all aspects of pregnancy, women can use their common sense and instincts, which are heightened in pregnancy, to determine their individual needs.
Rest and relaxation
Most traditional cultures recognise the importance of protecting women from stress during pregnancy. This has been confirmed in medical studies which show that high maternal stress levels can lead to serious problems such as miscarriage, congenital abnormalities, poor growth, premature labour and toxaemia. Many women also find that, when stress is reduced, minor problems improve and overall wellbeing is enhanced.
One of the best ways for a pregnant woman to protect herself and her baby from stress is to ensure she has sufficient rest and relaxation. Wisely, women will usually seek more rest early in pregnancy (when the baby is vulnerable because of growing organ systems) and then in the later months, when the baby needs to put on the most weight. Ideally, at these times, a woman should be free to rest as much as she needs, provided she also balances this with some oxygenating exercise such as walking, swimming or yoga. Gestating a baby is, in fact, a full-time job for a woman’s body!
Creating time for rest is also a necessary skill for mothering and is, in my view, an essential component of recovery after birth. Some traditional cultures offer new mothers a full 40 days of rest and relief from domestic responsibilities; women in Western cultures can arrange their own ‘baby moon’ (at least two weeks is recommended) with the help of family, friends and/or the in-home care of a doula.
Therapies for pregnancy
There are many alternative and complementary modalities that can be useful in pregnancy. Whatever therapy is chosen, always look for a practitioner with interest and skills in treating pregnant women.
Massage
Many women instinctively seek massage in pregnancy, and their instincts are certainly accurate with this choice. According to medical research, regular massage in pregnancy can reduce stress hormone levels, improve mood, sleep and back pain, and lead to fewer complications in birth, including fewer premature babies.
According to Brisbane massage therapist Lemise Kassim, pregnancy massage can also be helpful for women with specific problems such as anxiety, tiredness, insomnia, muscle tension, circulatory problems, swelling due to fluid retention (in legs, feet and hands), cramps and constipation. Later in pregnancy, massage can be used successfully to alleviate aches and tension in the muscles.
As well as these physical benefits, massage gives a pregnant woman the wonderful dose of hands-on nurturing she needs — and which our culture seldom provides — so she can, in turn, nurture her baby. Pregnancy massage is practised, usually by the midwife, in many traditional cultures and daily massage is a feature of many postnatal traditions. Modern mothers appreciate this, too, and a voucher for an in-home massage is a wonderful gift for a new mother.
Osteopathy
Osteopathy involves hands-on assessment and gentle treatment of the physical structure and function of the body. Osteopathy can, according to Brisbane osteopath Simone Keddy, successfully treat pregnancy symptoms such as low back pain, sciatica, pubic symphysis pain, headaches and fluid retention. Osteopathic treatment can also improve nerve function, thus assisting with problems such as indigestion, reflux and constipation.
As with other therapies, osteopathy is concerned with bringing the body into balance and can work preventively in pregnancy. For example, a pregnant woman may be unaware of a mild imbalance, and this can be treated before it becomes, as her weight increases, a major problem. Osteopathic treatment can also release tension and imbalance from the pregnant woman’s pelvis, helping with the processes of labour.
Research suggests that regular osteopathic treatment in pregnancy may reduce the chance of premature labour, meconium (a sign of possible distress) and forceps delivery, and may shorten labour. Cranial osteopathy, a branch of osteopathy that works with the subtle movements in the skull bones and sacrum, can also be helpful in pregnancy, acting to optimise the pregnancy hormones for labour and also helping when birth is overdue.
Cranio-sacral therapy
Cranio-sacral therapy (CST) was developed by John Upledger, who was a student of cranial osteopathy. CST, which is now taught to non-osteopaths, takes these skills further, working also with the membranes of the body to restore integrity and rhythm.
CST is a very gentle therapy that acts, at a subtle but deep level, to remove trauma and restriction patterns from the body. CST helps to align the energy flow, as well as the body, and can help with a wide variety of pregnancy symptoms, including fatigue, nausea, back and neck pain, digestive problems and stress. As with other therapies, regular treatment is recommended for maximum benefit.
CST is also an effective treatment for problems in newborn and older babies, because it works with the skull bones, which are very mobile and may be displaced during the birth process. Children’s conditions, from colic and reflux through to physical, mental, emotional and developmental problems, have been effectively treated with this gentle therapy. CST can help mothers to recover after birth and may also help with postnatal depression.
Kinesiology
Kinesiology uses the body’s biofeedback system to access and heal body memories including stress and trauma. According to Melbourne midwife and kinesiologist Christine Shanahan, kinesiology helps to find the emotion behind the current problem, and, because it is so gentle and effective, kinesiology can be used from pregnancy and birth through to breastfeeding and mothering.
Kinesiology can also help with pregnancy nutrition through working out the body’s needs for micronutrients, especially calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium. Minor discomforts including indigestion, reflux and constipation are amenable to kinesiology, as are conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Later in pregnancy, kinesiology can help to prepare a woman for birth, through working with her fears of birth and mothering. Going "overdue" can be a manifestation of these fears, and kinesiology has helped many women to go into labour naturally. Kinesiology is founded on the meridian system of traditional Chinese medicine (see below) and can help to restore a woman’s vital force (or chi); low chi can be another reason for a delay in labour.
Homoeopathy
Homoeopathy is a system of therapeutics based on the principle of like cures like. According to this principle, a substance that causes, for example, a hot dry fever could be prepared as a homoeopathic remedy and given to a person with a condition that includes a hot dry fever.
Preparation of a homoeopathic remedy involves serial dilution or "potentising" of the substance; a typical dilution is 1 part in 100 30 times. This potency (30C) results in a remedy that contains no molecules of the original substance, but retains its essence.
Homoeopathy is a very individualised form of treatment; for example, there are many different remedies for morning sickness and a homoeopath will need to take a detailed case history o find the remedy that best matches the individual’s symptoms and constitution. Self-prescribing is unlikely to be as detailed or as effective, and prolonged use of an inappropriate remedy can cause serious side-effects.
Homoeopathy is an excellent therapy for pregnancy. Conditions that are commonly treated, according to Brisbane homoeopath Patricia Hatherley, include nausea and vomiting, varicose veins, haemorrhoids and breech position.
Homoeopathy has also been successfully used to treat gestational diabetes and genital herpes. Because homoeopathy works on the mental-emotional level, it is also helpful for women who are very fearful of birth or of mothering, and can be very useful for physical, mental and/or emotional problems after the birth and during breastfeeding. Babies with colic and reflux can especially benefit from the correct homoeopathic remedy.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a comprehensive medical system, developed over 5000 years in Asia. TCM involves an individualised diagnosis and treatments that may include acupuncture, herbs, diet and exercise.
According to Brisbane acupuncturist Heather Bruce, pregnancy problems such as morning sickness, constipation, mood swings, food cravings and cramps are manifestations of energetic imbalances that can be remedied with acupuncture. Conversely, symptoms of pregnancy should be minimal, according to Heather, if the woman’s body is in a state of balance. Because TCM promotes wellness, it can also prevent some serious complications: Heather notes that, over many years of practice, the clients who have seen her regularly in pregnancy have not developed conditions such as gestational diabetes, premature labour, toxaemia and fluid overload.
Heather also mentions the importance of avoiding cold during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Labouring with bare feet on a cold floor, using ice packs on the perineum or cold cabbage leaves on the breasts after birth, and eating cold foods at any time can, according to TCM principles, cause contractions and hardening, leading to ongoing health problems.
Shiatsu
Shiatsu is a traditional Japanese system of diagnosis and treatment, based on the assessment of the hara, the centre of the body’s strength and energy. Using some of the same principles as TCM, shiatsu aims to balance, tonify and relax the body by using fairly strong massage, akin to acupressure, on the meridians or energy channels. Diet and exercises are usually also prescribed.
In pregnancy, shiatsu can restore balance and energy as well as counteract some troublesome pregnancy symptoms such as lower back pain and discomfort during the latter part of pregnancy. Shiatsu can also, according to UK practitioner and author Suzanne Yates, help to connect a pregnant woman to her body and to her growing baby. Shiatsu is easily taught to partners and friends and can be self-administered during labour and birth, and the postnatal period. Brisbane shiatsu therapist Michie Araki has treated many women from preconception (including infertility) to postnatal. I was fortunate to discover shiatsu (and Michie) at the mid-point of my fourth pregnancy, just as I began to wonder if I would have the energy for the pregnancy, the birth and a new baby.
The fortnightly treatments certainly restored my energy as well as helping with backache and digestive problems, and I went on to have my shortest and easiest birth with Maia, who was born unexpectedly breech.
Sarah J Buckley is a GP and an internationally published writer on pregnancy, birth and mothering. She has used all the above therapies in the course of her four pregnancies, and all her children have been born gently at home. Visit www.sarahjbuckley.com.
