Restoring and maintaining our physical and mental balance is always essential, but it matters even more during pregnancy, when it is necessary to lay solid foundations for the future health of a being still taking shape. This is why more and more mindful women turn to Reiki, benefiting from the calm and the energetic recharge this holistic practice offers, starting from the earliest stages of trying to conceive and continuing throughout gestation, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
Already in the 1930s, Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a Japanese physician among the first to spread Mikao Usui's Reiki method and founder of one of Japan's most important holistic clinics, put in writing the results obtained by pregnant women who were treated regularly with Reiki: easier, shorter, and therefore less painful births, with a maximum of seven pushes.
Today, as the millions of Reiki practitioners around the world who regularly practice on themselves or receive regular treatment from experienced practitioners know well, the average number of «pushes» during birth has dropped considerably (down to two or three, even among first-time mothers), and more and more mothers and mothers-to-be are choosing Reiki, learning to practice it themselves, in order to draw on energy throughout every stage of pregnancy: to improve embryo implantation in the early weeks, to calm anxious states and hormonal swings, morning sickness, and cramps, and, in the final stretch, to prepare for birth and then recover quickly afterward.
It is not uncommon for the couple to approach Reiki together, finally involving the father-to-be in an active role of help and support throughout the pregnancy and then during the birth itself. The father, who has the advantage of being able to move freely in and out of the delivery room or hospital ward, can not only comfort and support his partner but can also give her energy in the most delicate moments, with enormous benefits in terms of recharging, pain relief, and greater balance for both mother and baby.
The pain relief induced by Reiki during childbirth, and the improved tissue elasticity resulting from the mother's physical and mental relaxation thanks to better muscle oxygenation, favor a marked reduction in stress; thanks also to the preparation received through Reiki treatments in the preceding months, birth returns to being a truly natural, non-traumatic event, just as nature intended. It is not uncommon to find medical and healthcare staff among Reiki practitioners too, able to assist women giving birth in clinical settings, alongside certified and experienced practitioners who accompany them right up to the final stages.
If a woman lets herself flow with the life being born within her, without putting up resistance born of fear of pain or of the new role awaiting her, the event itself will unfold more simply and harmoniously, to the benefit of the new family's serenity. A concrete example of energetic balance applied to an important stage, birth: the greatest act of love.