Reiki for Midwives

On 1st July I had a wonderful opportunity to introduce Reiki to people at the Maternity, Midwifery and Baby Conference in Edgbaston, Birmingham.  Wendy Henry, one of my students, works for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital NHS Trust and when she heard about this event coming up, she asked about offering some Reiki tasters.  In response she was asked to submit a paper, which she did and was then asked to do the presentation at the conference! 

She asked me if we could do the presentation together, so we spent a day together planning and organising our talk and Powerpoint slides.  I had never done a Powerpoint presentation, so was glad to have Wendy's expertise in preparing this!  Neither of us had given a talk to such a big room of people either, so were very glad to have the support of some distant Reiki from some of my students. 

As well as the presentation we had a table for leaflets and space to give taster treatments.  I asked one of my Reiki master friends who is a retired midwife for a testimonial about how Reiki had helped her in her work (you can read it here).  we made it part of the presentation, illustrating how Reiki could be beneficial in the context of midwifery.

Due to the comforting and calming response most people have when receiving Reiki, it could help women in labour to be more relaxed, leading to easier births.  Indeed one of the midwives came and told me about how a first time mothers had given birth quickly and easily with the help of some Reiki.  We are also told that if women receive regular Reiki treatments in the last trimester it helps the birth to be easier for mother and baby.  I have heard it said that Reiki helps to encourage the baby to participate in the birthing process, like a chick pecking its way out of the egg.  Reiki babies have often been observed to be calm and alert immediately after birth and are often less distressed in the first days of life outside the womb.

We also wanted to get across to our audience was that Reiki could be helpful for the midwives themselves.  Working in the NHS can be stressful - Wendy would like to set up a clinic for staff to receive Reiki treatments.  It would be really beneficial for midwives and related healthcare staff to be able to treat themselves - any time day or night - to help cope with the stresses of their work.  Wendy had noted that many staff have been going off sick, creating heavier caseloads for other midwives.  If Reiki could help to reduce this sickness it would be beneficial for all.

We gave taster sessions all day, but were particularly busy after our talk.  A long queue of people waited patiently for their 'go' and we were the last stall to pack up because people were still wanting to talk to us and receive Reiki right up to the end of the day. 

Many knew little or nothing about Reiki and, to my delight, were really interested.  They were impressed with what they felt from the Reiki tasters: even the most sceptical was amazed by how calm they felt after just a few minutes of Reiki. 

I'm very grateful to Wendy for having the courage to ask for this opportunity, to Reiki students for supporting us, for a successful day and to everyone who came to hear our talk and receive Reiki tasters.