Reiki and Pregnancy
By Karen J. Gordon

Some women glide through pregnancy with cool ease like slippery ice cubes sliding across a frozen Wisconsin pond. I've never met one of them, but I saw a nude pregnancy photo on the cover of a fashion magazine once which led me to believe these cucumber cool third trimester women do exist.

Most of the "with child" women I've known spent some or all of those nine months trying to stay upbeat through the nausea, headaches, breast swelling, constipation, mood swings, fatigue, weight gain, heartburn, backaches, swelling, and shortness of breath until they Simply Stopped Smiling and began chanting the mantra: "Soon I'll be me again. Soon I'll be me again. Soon I'll be me again."

But as any woman who's given birth will tell you, before becoming "me" again, you first have to breeze through labor. Although for some labor's more like a howling, raging tempest. From conception through birth, women of all time have sought relief from the long list of pregnancy symptoms they suffer.

There are many remedies to be found in books, on websites, and through oral traditions passed from generation to generation. Reiki, though beneficial in nature, isn't often found among these references. This article will remedy that situation by bringing anecdotal evidence supporting Reiki's usefulness during pregnancy and labor into the light.

The nature of Reiki is to encourage a holistic balance of body, mind, and spirit. This is true for both the mother and the unborn child. "The use of Reiki with pregnancy is becoming more popular," says Lucy S. Viamonte, a Reiki Master in Easton, Maryland. "Since Reiki balances the body's immune system in other conditions, we find it does the same with pregnancy. Reiki is an intelligent energy that supports the growth of the fetus at all levels of growth."

Through the Reiki technique of hands-on healing, which incorporates specific hand positions, the practitioner acts as a passive conduit for the energy to flow. In self-treatment or in receiving treatments by another, the pregnant woman can feel the warmth and energy moving within.

When asked about using Reiki during her second pregnancy, Colby White, a First Degree practitioner in Random Lake, Wisconsin, said, "I knew that every time I would rest my hands on my belly, he would kick. He responded to the warmth that flowed through my hands, and I feel it was our first communication."

In an interview conducted by Volker Moritz in the April/May 2004 issue of Reiki Magazine International, Jooske van Rijssel, a Reiki practitioner in the Netherlands, said, "When I received Reiki or gave myself Reiki, I felt the baby starting to move in a very beautiful way, especially when I was stressed, and it made me feel very peaceful."

The benefits most often attributed to Reiki healing are relaxation and pain relief. Pamela Pearce, a Second Degree Reiki practitioner in Eugene, Oregon, used Reiki on herself everyday during her pregnancy. She said, "I, of course, can not prove that Reiki affected my pregnancy or birth experience, but I am sure that it did. Our midwife told us that although I was her oldest client at the time, almost 40, I had the healthiest pregnancy and the easiest birth. We had a very uncomplicated home birth with a labor that lasted only about 2 1/2 hours."

When using Reiki, doing the full treatment is always recommended; however if time is limited, Reiki can also be utilized in a more area-specific way. Trish Phetteplace, a Second Degree Reiki practitioner in Eugene, Oregon, says, "Some Reiki is better than no Reiki, in my opinion. For headaches, I do all the head positions and the neck." When asked how much time she gives to each position, she said, "No specific time. Sometimes quite lengthy. Sometimes very short depending on my schedule. Often I will fall asleep while doing it and feel better when I wake up."

For nausea during pregnancy, hand placements over the eyes, ears, on the upper chest, and on the abdomen are effective. The Reiki (sometimes used as a complement to boxes and boxes of soda crackers) offers relief from the overwhelming feeling of sickness.

As noted, there are many uncomfortable symptoms associated with pregnancy. Viamonte says, "As the mother's body changes, Reiki can help with discomfort in weight gain, morning sickness, fatigue, anxiety and fears." She also says, "Reiki can help with the nutrition the mother ingests, with the woman's awareness of the fetus as its needs increase."

In addition to relieving symptoms and ailments, Reiki healing encourages love and communication. Just as White experienced her first connection to her child through the touch of Reiki, so do many women. Viamonte says, "Reiki can also strengthen the bond between the mother and her unborn child. All 'environments' affect the unborn child through its mother; after all, the fetus is part of that person in a physical sense, but also emotionally, mentally, and spiritually."

Regarding labor and birth, Viamonte says, "Chances are a woman treated through pregnancy will be more relaxed and content at the point of birth; so will the baby. It's akin to natural childbirth in some respects, where we try to soothe the birth, or birthing in water. Reiki, without a doubt, and without too much effort, is an added benefit in pregnancy. It is gentle and life-affirming in this special part of creation."

Pearce says, "Isabella was born a super healthy eight pound baby and latched on to the breast within minutes after birth. Of course again I can't prove anything, but she seems a little more aware than one would expect. From the day she was born she was able to track, or follow with her eyes, the movement of people's faces. This is a developmental marker not usually seen in newly born babies."

Most "evidence" of the benefits of Reiki healing during pregnancy remains anecdotal. But hearing the stories from individuals who've experienced the simple beauty of Reiki offers the greatest inspiration toward the continued use of this natural healing art.

© 2005 Karen J. Gordon