Reproductive Reflexology with Emma Harding

Emma Harding is our Fertility Suite Reproductive Reflexologist, trained under expert Barbara Scott to support you with your fertility. We discuss:

How reflexology actually works
How it can support fertility and conditions affecting fertility
How it supports an IVF cycle
Reflexology in early pregnancy
What to expect at your first appointment.

You can book an appointment with Emma here or reach out to her on instagram @reflexologywithemma 

Transcript

Unknown: 0:01

Hi, I'm Rachel Sherriff, and welcome to the fertility suite podcast. Our aim is to educate and empower couples who are struggling with all aspects of fertility. By giving you the information to make informed decisions along the way. We've had a little rebrand since series one, we were formerly the fertility method podcast. But in this second series, rest assured, we still have the same high standard of fertility experts coming to share their knowledge and support you. So if you are struggling with fertility, miscarriage or you just want to arm yourself with the facts, then this podcast is for you. Hi, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the fertility suite podcast. And joining me today is Emma Harding. And Emma is a reproductive reflexologist. And she actually works in the clinic, the fertility suite with us. So I think reflexology is one of those things that is a little bit misunderstood. So I've got Emma on to come and tell us everything she knows and talk to us a little bit more about how it can support your fertility. So welcome, Emma. Hi, thank you for having me. It's great to be here. Yeah. Thanks for coming on. Do you. I mean, obviously, I've introduced you. Do you want to sort of tell us a little bit more about yourself and how you kind of fell into reflexology? I guess. Yes, yeah. So I'm Emma, and I am the reflexologist at the activities three. And I came into it really through my own journey after receiving it myself. So I had a diagnosis of adenoma, meiosis. And I was looking really for a complementary therapy of some kind to support with managing the symptoms that I was experiencing. And yeah, one of the first things that put the idea into my mind was I actually had a information sheet given to me by a gynaecologist and an NHS setting, with information on endometriosis at the time, and it was listed there as something that may help as a complementary therapy. And I thought, okay, maybe it's time, maybe it's time to add something else in. Yeah, so I started having both reflexology and acupuncture fairly regularly and just found it to be really beneficial. And I still have it now to try and keep things on track. Yeah, so then, after a while, I decided I loved it so much that I was going to train as a reflexologist myself. And so I did a course down at the Maureen Burgess school for reflexology in Sussex, which was great, but I was particularly interested in the women's health facility side of things. So I then went on to do a CPD course, specifically in reproductive reflexology with Barbara Scott, who some people might have heard of, she's the chair of the Association of reproductive reflexologist in the UK. And that was a really good course, which just gave us some grounding in understanding different gynaecological conditions and treatments, assisted conception, and also quite a bit on male fertility as well. Yeah, so that's, that's how I am I am really she is who she is. Right that on a leaflet from the NHS, that they recommended reflexology as a complementary therapy. Like, wait times are changing, right? I think really, signs are changing. Yeah, I think we're definitely seeing a shift as to what the medical profession see as being beneficial. And, you know, they want patients to do well, they want them to feel well, and I think anything that they hear is helping them they're quite supportive of these days. So yeah, I was surprised to see it. But these Yeah, brilliant, use brilliant news. So let's talk a bit more than about how reflexology actually works. Because I think if you haven't had it, it might be a really good thing to understand exactly. What it's based on how it might help. Yeah, so reflexology is a touch therapy. And it's based on the theory that different points or reflexes as we call them, on the feet, in particular, but also in other areas. So the lower legs, the hands face is you cannot have reflex points, that those can correspond to different parts of the body. So that by working on specific reflexes, you can really help to bring things into balance in the rest of the body. And it's really great for getting people into quite a deep state of relaxation, which you know, especially when they're going through stressful things such as Tennessee journey can be really hard to switch yourself off for and get yourself deeply relaxed. So I think that's one of the key ways in which we see it working. And it's lovely to see the change in people even throughout one treatment. You know, you're finally come in and people are often quite talkative. And we talk about what's going on with him clinically, what's the latest updates, and they get on the couch, and they're quite chatty. But as you go through the treatment, they kind of get a bit quieter and a bit sleepier. And then by the end, they're just very zen. So it can be hard to get yourself into that state of relaxation. And I just think it's a great way of achieving that. Yeah. And then in regards to reproductive reflexology, so we use quite specific protocols. So kind of patterns of treatment and different reflexes that we work through, and techniques, which just are really tailored to a person's diagnosis. And also what stage they're in their cycle if they're having a natural cycle or stage of their fertility treatment. So just for example, if someone was say in the lead up to ovulation, there might be a bit more focus on the ovary reflexes and the pituitary reflexes around that time to kind of support a good ovulation for can. Yes, so you know, we don't with reflexology, we don't have amazing large scale research studies to kind of confirm its effectiveness. So we are going more on what we see on kind of a case by case basis in clinic. But I do think that the research landscape is something that will change probably in the next five to 10 years or so with regards to reflexology. It's definitely something which is focus for the Association of reproductive reflexologist in the UK, and I think we probably will see more, more coming out in time, which would be great. Hopefully, it will follow suit with acupuncture, right? Like, acupuncture. Similar position like 1520 years ago, where, you know, we were asking for more studies, and we're slowly getting there. So yeah, I'm sure it will follow suit. Fingers crossed. Because I think like you said, we know what we see in clinic, right. And we've seen really good success with certainly, for example, women who have oscillatory disorders or issues with ovulation. We found reflexology really beneficial, haven't we? So I think, you know, we can only go by what we can see in clinic at the moment, I think it was interesting what you said as well about getting people into that relaxed state. Because when you get home and you're you know, you people go, I'm just gonna go and lay on the sofa for half an hour. Nowadays, you're either on your phone or you're thinking about what you should be doing, actually just switching off and getting your body into that, like regulated cortisol state and like bringing the nervous system down a notch. Actually, you can often need the help of someone else. And physical touch is a great way to make that. Yeah, I find it's really great to stopping that kind of running commentary of my I should be doing this next I need to do this. What else am I in there? And that can be constant contact with amateurs who journey and yeah, I find when I have the first surgery myself, it just switches all of that off. And yeah, people say they often sleep really well the night after or for longer even. And yeah, you definitely you definitely feel super relaxed after having a So what sorts of things have you seen? Like we've talked a little bit about patients where they've not been ovulating, we've seen success with Can you talk a little bit more about that. And then other things that you have seen have success with in clinic, you know, in relation to women's health? Yeah, so for example, patients perhaps who have polycystic ovarian syndrome. weather cycles may be quite irregular. So perhaps sometimes ovulation is happening. Sometimes it isn't. By following our kind of specific protocols for PCOS. We're really aiming to stimulate and encourage ovulation and a good ovulation. So we might see, for example, that as cycles start to shorten a bit, and we're getting confirmation of that kind of regular population that wasn't there before. And you know, people are up for it. And we can use things like the temperature charting as well to confirm that. Yeah, so I'd say improving the regularity of the cycles is a big one. And then for other conditions, so if it is something like endometriosis, or I don't know meiosis, and people are maybe experiencing symptoms of pain and discomfort. Again, we have some quite nice reports of some reduction in those symptoms. Yeah, just really focusing on for those people on the uterus reflexes and kind of clearing those as much as possible. You know, when you feel it as a reflexologist, when you're feeling these different reflexes, you might feel that an area's kind of a bit bumpy, or a bit sort of stagnant. And then, as you work over it, that clears, which is always quite satisfying. So it's similar in the way I guess, to if you're having a massage, and you're having a massage, because areas that are really knotted, and then you work on it, and then that releases and that feels really good. Yeah, so for things like endometriosis, and optimum is this, looking at supporting with the pain and other symptoms that they might be experiencing? So sometimes there's gastrointestinal symptoms, bladder symptoms, and all of those areas will have reflexes to that we can work on. Well, I think people when we think about like fertility and Guinee conditions, like, it's very easy to like, separate that from the rest of the body from a patient perspective. And actually, something you just mentioned is really important, like gastro like gastrointestinal symptoms, like, it's really important when you're struggling to conceive that you are having a pool every day, right? And if you're not going every day, then you're going to have issues detoxing hormones, you know that, that signifies for practitioners that there's a lot else going on. So even though patients perspective, after having a treatment, like reflexology, or acupuncture, they might not really go, oh, you know, I'm going for pool every day. That's so much better for my fertility. From a practitioner perspective, we're like, Yay, that's a big win. We're definitely improving the overall picture, right? Absolutely. Yeah, all of those things are so so important and important for how you're feeling, you know, in yourself, you don't want to feel constipated. You know, if you're having a lot of pain around the abdomen, it's not great if you're on top of that. Having gastro symptoms, too. So? Yeah, definitely, definitely. Yeah, I'd say I've been blown away a little bit with the, you know, the results in clinic with the oscillatory issues, you know, we've had some really good, I think. And I think it's been quite nice in our clinic, as well as that we're able to move people from acupuncture and reflexology and vice versa. I have both, and I think they work quite well together. Yeah. I think if you're struggling to maybe get a result that you want, with one or the other, actually using a combination has been really nice. Yeah. It's also nice to have the choice, right. And actually, for some people, I think acupuncture is like, like you said, at the beginning, like is a bit more evidence has been well documented. So therefore, people who are struggling with fertility might be more inclined to choose acupuncture. But I've certainly had patients over the years that have come in, and you can see they're not enjoying it. Like they're just not enjoying it. It's not therapy for them. And to be able to offer another option in the clinic and say, Look, you know, I can see you're not really enjoying this, or why don't you try some reflexology? And then then to come over to you and be like, oh, yeah, this I'm really enjoying this, I find it so much more relaxing and enjoyable. That's really powerful, right to be able to have another option, because there's nothing worse than having something because you feel like you should like you should be getting the benefit at the same time. Absolutely. Yeah. It's really important. So what about people who, like might be in the early stages of pregnancy? Or they're thinking about coming and thinking, how might it support pregnancy? Or what happens if I get pregnant? Can I still come? And then in terms of the cycle as well? Like, is there a better time to come in the cycle? Or like how many times would you need to see someone to get in effects like timing, basically? Yeah, so yes, it is perfectly safe for early pregnancy. For the vast majority of people. There's a few quite specific and rarer situations in which it might be contraindicated, though. For example, if somebody had a deep vein thrombosis, you know, it perhaps wouldn't be but your reflexologist would always run through with you any history that would be contraindicated. So yes, for the majority of people, it would be suitable in early pregnancy. And again, we follow quite a specific protocol for that time. I tend to give really quite gentle treatments in early pregnancy and it's very much considered safe. I think, you know, similar to what you're saying with that punch, if if you're someone where you think it would cause you more anxiety then don't have it or perhaps wait and To further along in pregnancy, because there's no point in causing yourself more worried. But yeah, if you've enjoyed it so far, and you'd like to continue or say people, again, feel very relaxed, it's great for your sleep, if you're starting to struggle with that as pregnancy progresses. And just sometimes for anxiety, if people are really quite anxious and worried in those early stages, again, it can be great for getting you relaxed, and just reducing some of that stress. And then in regards to us optimal timing, really, I mean, the absolute ideal would be to see people weekly initially, to really help to regulate the cycle. Obviously, that's not possible for everyone. And whatever you can do is better than nothing. And then once we've kind of done those initial, perhaps more regular treatments, you can drop back to more of a maintenance treatment. And the ideal for that would be the week before ovulation leading up to it. And kind of encourage a good relation and then also during a period. So we're kind of treating as close to ovulation before as we can, and then perhaps, ideally, five to seven days afterwards as well. And then there's also meant though, occasionally men will come for treatments though Yeah. You know, they're welcome to come weekly, fortnightly, whatever they can do. And because the time it takes for sperm to develop and reach maturity, near the absolute ideal for men would be three months before trying to conceive as a minimum. But here, we don't see lots of member. So clearly, there's a few that come up. Again, that's something the tides changing, starting slowly to change a little bit with is that we're much more aware of the importance of the male side of things for fertility, I think something you said, was really important to sort of flagging that, you know, it's really good to know that it's safe to have these therapies in early pregnancy, because actually, the anxiety level in early pregnancy, certainly, if you've had a loss, previously can be just as difficult as trying to conceive, right? Like it can be just as stressful, if not more. So if there's anything you can do in early pregnancy to help reduce that cortisol regulate, you know, the nervous system, then why would you not do it sort of thing? It's really beneficial. Right? So if it's safe, yeah, definitely consider for early pregnancy. What about in later pregnancy? For things like birth prep out of interest? How does that tie in? Yeah, similarly, you can do some specific treatments, right towards the end of pregnancy, kind of preparing the body birth a guest. And, you know, it might be things like working on sort of lower spine and the hip areas and kind of getting all of that as relaxed as possible. And really, reflexology is just nudging the body along to do what we want it to do anyway. So, you know, some people do like to come and see if things are going on longer than they would like, and they're getting to full term, they might come with the kind of idea of, can we nudge things along a bit, and there are treatments that you can do for that. But I would say that, really, we're only supporting the body and what it's going to do anyway, you know, we're not usually going to make you suddenly going into labour by having a reflexology treatment. But yeah, again, just very supportive at that stage. Good for your sleep and the general feeling of well being. Yeah, yeah, that can be another time of anxiety, right? Certainly, if it's your first time, you don't really know what's going on. It's good to know. So then what if people were coming to you for like a first appointment? Like what could they expect? Like what sort of things that you're going to ask them? Is there anything they would need to know in terms of like, what to bring what to do like any specific? Yeah, so on that initial appointment, we spend quite a time gathering information start with so just a really thorough history. You know, what you've had going on the past medically, while your cycles are like currently what they have been like in the past, if you're going through assisted reproduction, then how where you're at in that stage of things. But really, it's a very non invasive treatments. So essentially, we get you onto the couch and you're closed. All you need to do is take off your shoes and yourself ox and maybe just roll up the lower end of your trousers if you've got them on. And then we start the treatment. So we do a bit of an assessment of how the feet are looking and feeling. So sometimes the colour of the feet and the temperature can tell us a few things. And then we do an assessment of the reproductive reflexes, which are mainly down in sort of the hill area of the feet. So we're feeling those reflexes and those points to see if everything feels kind of how we would expect it to feel at that stage in your cycle. So for example, just before a period, you might expect the uterus point feel quite kind of full and plump. And then as the starts and progresses, it sort of starts to feel a bit more empty. So kind of just assessing how everything feels. And yeah, then we work through our protocols kind of working on those different reflexes. And it should, you know, it should feel firm, it shouldn't feel ticklish. It's quite a firm pressure. You know, a lot of people say, Oh, I don't like my feet being touched and really ticklish can't bear that. And I'm someone who's very ticklish to my feet. So I love reflexology, and it's you know, is firm and they won't feel like you're ticklish. And you can say what you like and what you don't like as well, you know, don't be afraid to say to your reflexologist, or I quite like firmer pressure. Or I'd really rather you go a bit gentler today, because they want you to enjoy it too. So yeah, we often asked about pressure and what people like. Yeah, and then we just work across the feet, really, and make sure you're comfortable. The music's on. Oh, the heat lamp, we love the heat lamp. Thank you, Mike might be over your feet, if your feet are on the colder side or sometimes over your abdomen. Yeah. Yeah, and just get you really relaxed, really, in a thin zone. So ancient IVF and like assisted reproductive techniques. So obviously, we talked about like, where it'd be good for people to come in, in a normal cycle in early pregnancy and things. But if someone's having IVF, or their specific points, that you would want to see someone because I know there are for acupuncture. Like is it the same with reflexology? Yeah, so for treatment for IVF. Again, ideally, we'd be looking at a weekly treatment. So when you're downregulating, you would see a client until the start of the bleed. And just continue that two or three times, depending on how long it takes the client to down regulate. And then ideally retreat again, during the client's bleed, if possible, to have kind of a clearing effect at that time. And then when stimulating again, we were treated weekly during that time. And if people are struggling to respond, whilst taking stimulating drugs, there's also sometimes some kind of homework, we can give people to do a bit of self stimulation on hand reflex points. So even if you can't get into clinic at that time, and doing little bit of supportive work at home can be great. And then after a collection or after transfer, you know, often if people are feeling quite sore, and uncomfortable, that can be a good time just to work on supporting some of those symptoms of discomfort too. Yeah, yeah. And then what about in the two week? Wait, I'm gonna we talked about early pregnancy. Like, I mean, acupuncture is perfectly safe in the two week wait, like, is it the same for reflexology? Like you're just as if they're pregnant, right? Yes, exactly that so that the protocol that we would use at that stage and in early pregnancy is essentially the same. So you're just doing quite a gentle and supportive treatment. But yeah, people often do like to come at that time, and again, quite an anxious time for people. So yeah, it can be good for you in Australia. Yeah, I mean, like, there's, again, there's a lot of evidence around acupuncture and IVF outcomes. So, you know, who knows, maybe we'll have some more studies in reflexology and IVF outcomes. and that will be up soon. So yeah. So that's been amazing. So how do people like find you if they want to work with they've got any other questions. What I'm going to do is everything you say I will pop in the Episode Notes as well. So for anyone listening, if you want to come to me, I look in the Episode Notes and I'll link the ways to contact her. But what is the best way Emma? Yep, so you can book through the C suite website for appointments here in Oxford in sorry. And then I'm also on Instagram just as reflexology with Emma or one word. Three words together. Yeah. Ah, okay, great. I will put those details in the Episode Notes for anyone that has any more questions or interest in reflexology. But thank you, that's been really informative. And yeah, we will see you soon. Thank you. See you soon.