In this session, Barbara Scott, Founder of Seren Natural Fertility, Chair of Association of Reproductive Reflexology, author of ‘Reflexology for Fertility’, has discussed reflexology and its benefits when you’re trying for a baby.
Reproductive reflexology is an integrative approach designed to address both male and female fertility issues and reproductive conditions. It focuses on a wide range of reproductive problems that may affect fertility. This approach relies on structured, science-backed treatment protocols to measure progress and outcomes.
Reproductive reflexology is an evidence-based integrative approach to both male and female fertility issues and reproductive conditions.
Unlike traditional reflexology, which offers general treatments, reproductive reflexology aims to identify the specific issues affecting each individual. The assessment process involves a thorough evaluation of a client’s fertility history, gynecological history, general medical history, and menstrual cycle function.
Reproductive reflexologists emphasize the importance of involving both partners in the initial consultation process. Men are often overlooked in fertility discussions, but their role is significant, and addressing their health and stress levels is crucial.
This holistic approach integrates medical test results, basal body temperature charting, and collaboration with fertility clinics and other medical providers. The goal is to assess clients comprehensively and address various factors that may impact fertility, such as regulating menstrual cycles and improving sperm quality.
We rely on results of medical tests, we use basal body temperature charting in women to help us understand causal factors and measure progress.
Reproductive reflexology employs specific treatment protocols tailored to each individual’s needs. For women, these protocols vary throughout the menstrual cycle, ensuring that all components of the cycle function optimally. The approach also supports various forms of assisted conception, from medicated cycles to IVF.
The initial consultation is a crucial step in reproductive reflexology. It involves gathering comprehensive information about clients’ medical history, menstrual cycles, and relevant test results. This information guides the development of personalized treatment plans.
Collaboration with medical professionals is a cornerstone of reproductive reflexology. The goal is to provide a patient-centred approach that combines reflexology with robust testing and medical guidance when necessary.
The case study presented highlights a couple’s 11-year struggle with infertility and their remarkable journey towards natural conception. The female partner’s irregular menstrual cycle was caused by her irregular shift work schedule. The impact of shift work on menstrual cycles is explored, shedding light on a commonly overlooked issue.
The male partner’s elevated prolactin levels were causing both erectile dysfunction and a decline in sperm quality. Prolactin, usually associated with breastfeeding, can affect men when at elevated levels.
Through regular reproductive reflexology sessions, the male partner experienced a significant improvement in sperm quality. Sperm count, motility, and non-motile sperm all showed positive changes. The eight-weekly treatment plan, followed by fortnightly sessions, incorporated a structured protocol designed to optimize outcomes.
Following a failed IVF cycle that resulted in a pregnancy loss due to cervical incompetence, the couple achieved a natural conception and welcomed a healthy baby boy.
Reproductive reflexology offers a holistic and evidence-based approach to addressing fertility issues, benefiting both men and women. By combining structured protocols, data collection, and collaboration with medical experts, this practice aims to provide comprehensive support on the journey to parenthood.
I’m not sure whether hormonal balance really has an impact on weight gain. I think that’s a bit of a misnomer; I’m not sure that’s very accurate.
It’s not a cooling agent. It’s an alternative to taking your basal body temperature. Sometimes when you are taking your basal body temperature, it’s a bit tricky because you have to take it first thing in the morning, same time before you get out of bed, before you drink, eat, speak, or anything. You have to put a thermometer under your tongue, and sometimes you don’t get very reliable results, particularly if you’re disturbed during the night, or you have to get up at night, or you do shift work. So we also recommend this wonderful piece of kit called OvuSense, and basically, it draws a chart for you. Basically, what you have is this little piece of kit, which is inside here is a heat sensor, and you insert it vaginally. It sits high up in the vagina at bedtime, the last thing you do before you go to sleep, and it’s got a little heat sensor that records your core body temperature every five minutes throughout the night. And then you remove it in the morning, wash it, you’ll have a little app on your phone, you open up the app, you hold the sensor over it, and it downloads all the data, and it finds a medium temperature for you.
It then plots a graph, allowing you to see precisely when you’re ovulating. So, it is a more reliable way of recording your temperature. It measures core body temperature, which is more accurate than basal body temperature.
If you are not menstruating because you’re not ovulating, then the first thing we would want to do is get you ovulating. There are techniques that we would use – not one specific point, but there are a number of points that we would use in a treatment session and homework that we would give you as a patient. This would help to get you ovulating, and once you’ve ovulated, of course, then a bleed will follow. It would depend very much on the reason you are not menstruating. Also, we’d want to look at your luteal phase, the period from ovulation to the day before your bleed, and see what’s happening there, and whether that might be an issue in terms of menstruation. It’s a really individualized approach; it would depend on what was happening for you and why you would be concerned.
That’s also a really difficult question to answer, but what I would say to you is that firstly, if there is an issue with your menstrual cycle, the first thing we would want to do is identify whether there are any issues. We would work weekly throughout one menstrual cycle, so if your cycle is 28 days, that means we would give you 4 treatments every week; if it’s 35 days, it would be 5. Usually, at the end of that, we then reevaluate where things are. Is your cycle working properly? Are we quite happy with what’s happening? If so, then we have two programs.
In the main, what we have is an actively trying-to-conceive program, which means that we work to support ovulation. We treat you just before ovulation to ensure that it’s occurring as it should, and then we treat you about 5 to 7 days post ovulation to support implantation. We continue in that way until you’re pregnant unless other issues need to be addressed, in which case it would require a slightly different approach based on that particular condition.
