I glance towards the entrance of the grocery store and watch an older couple enter. The man pushes a cart and the women holds a list in one hand, a stack of coupons in the other. They seem happy, perhaps a retired couple on their daily outing. A very pregnant women waddles in next. Her basket rests in her left hand and her right hand supports her lower back with a slightly pained expression. She must be due any day! I can tell by the way that she is moving and the expression on her face that she is uncomfortable. I wonder if she is here to buy things like diapers and wipes in preparation for her new arrival. My mind immediately takes me back a decade ago to when I was pregnant with my fourth child. I remember my last trip to the store to "stock up" before he was born. My back starts to ache a little just with the memory. I think about how at about 36 weeks when I knew the baby would be okay, I started praying that he would be born as early as possible and still be healthy, because I was so uncomfortable! I wish I had the information and knowledge then that I have now. It would have come in useful for that aching back!
For those of you who are pregnant, or ever have been pregnant, you know what I am talking about when I say that pregnancy can be physically tolling on a woman's body and very uncomfortable at times. Don't get me wrong, it is exciting and totally worth it (I wouldn't trade in my 4 beautiful children for any amount of physical comfort), but pregnancy does come with certain challenges and discomforts. As the fruits of my wonderful, yet slightly uncomfortable pregnancies, I have two beautiful teenage daughters and two wonderful boys not far behind. No matter how old my kids get I will always remember the first time I held each one of them. Those are among the best moments of my life. Since I last held my own newborn 10 years ago, I have continued to enjoy my beautiful children and I have learned a lot. Over the past decade I have learned about holistic health and wellness. I am so passionate about this that I co-founded a business called Family Foot Reflexology. I teach people all over the world simple techniques using reflexology and holistic wellness principles to help families heal holistically within the home. I have worked with hundreds of pregnant women to help them find relief from physical discomforts. I would love to share a tip with those of you who could benefit. According to americanpregnancy.org, up to 70% of women experience back pain during their pregnancy. Common factors include hormones, additional weight, poor posture and stress (http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/back-pain-during-pregnancy/). So, what can be done to help ease back pain? Reflex points for the back are found along the inside arches of the feet. No wonder pregnant women also have aching feet! When reflex points on the feet are massaged, a signal is sent to a specific area of the body through the autonomic nervous system, reminding the body what it is supposed to be doing. The body will relax if it is tense, or stimulate a system that may be sluggish depending on what it needs. A pregnant woman with an aching back can work reflex points on the feet that correspond with the back by simply rolling the arches of her feet over a golf ball using a medium pressure. This can be done comfortably while sitting on the coach with the golf ball on the floor. My suggestion is to do this for 5 minutes each day. Signals will be sent for the back to relax creating a more comfortable pregnancy experience. For more information on reflexology or to find out how you can learn labor points on the feet, visit www.familyfootreflexology.com and click the sign-up button at the top of the page.