As a Reiki healer, coach and a mother, one of the issues I advocate for is maternal health.  A recent study published by Amnesty International has brought to light that the U.S. is experiencing a maternal health care crisis: too many women are dying as a result of pregnancy-related causes.  A recent article in Time magazine shares some shocking statistics:

Every day in the U.S., more than two women die of pregnancy-related causes, with the maternal mortality ratio doubling from 6.6 deaths per 100,000 births in 1987 to 13.3 deaths per 100,000 births in 2006. (And as shocking as these figures are, Amnesty notes that the actual number of maternal deaths in the U.S. may be a lot higher, since there are no federal requirements to report these outcomes and since data collection at the state and local levels needs to be improved.) “In the U.S., we spend more than any country on health care, yet American women are at greater risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes than in 40 other countries,” says Nan Strauss, the report’s co-author, who spent two years investigating the issue of maternal mortality worldwide.

There are a number of reasons cited for this failure of our health care system, including difficulties in accessing quality care and overuse of interventions during labor, including induction and cesarean sections.  There are also many women who experience traumatic and life-threatening complications as a result of either inadequate medical care during labor or consequences of cesarean sections, which is major abdominal surgery.  A number of women who do deliver vaginally may also experience physical complications and birth trauma.  Far too often, their stories do not get told because they do eventually recover enough to where the focus then shifts to caring for their babies and families.  These women tend to suffer from bouts of post-partum depression (PPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as other physical issues, including nerve pain, numbness and adhesions from their surgical procedures.  We are a baby-obsessed culture, but we do a poor job of caring for and providing proper support for the women who carry, deliver and care for our babies. 

Why am I sharing all of this? Because I am one of those women.  I experienced a near-fatal, undetected post-partum hemorrhage after my daughter was delivered via c-section.  I narrowly escaped a life-saving hysterectomy.  I spent a week in the hospital, very weak, in excruciating pain and confined to bed.  Once I returned home, it was a slow physical and emotional recovery.  I live with low-level PTSD, although the PPD cleared up within 6 months of my daughter’s birth.  I was fortunate to find the International Cesarean Awareness Network, an organization whose mission is to “improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery, and promoting Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC).” My c-section was medically necessary, but there were many things about the hospital experience, as well as the lack of support afterward, that the medical professionals in whom I entrusted my care, should have provided. The information and support I received from ICAN helped my recovery, and I am proud that Dragonfly Reiki is a professional supporter.  My birth story was featured this past month on the ICAN site.  I wanted them to publish it (as hard as it was to write) so that hopefully no other woman has to endure what I did in order to survive the birth process and care for her baby. 

I talk quite a bit about building your healing toolkit. I was very fortunate to have already been practicing Reiki prior to my daughter’s birth (I did Reiki quite often during pregnancy) but initially I was not strong enough physically or mentally to do the frequent self-treatments I needed to facilitate my recovery.  I am grateful to my Reiki teacher and one of my close friends, who provided me with Reiki during my recovery period.  Reiki continues to be my daily choice for self-treatment and has helped me tremendously with my PTSD symptoms, because I don’t tolerate anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications very well.  I have also regained all of the sensation in my lower abdomen and upper left thigh by doing a combination of Reiki and scar tissue massage.

The Reiki Precepts, which advocate “Just for today, do not be angry, do not worry and be filled with gratitude” have become important touchstones on the difficult days, when I flash back to my experience or feel sadness or anger about what I experienced or what I missed.  And best of all, practicing Reiki has allowed me to maintain a special connection to my daughter. She received Reiki in-utero and I used to it soothe her when she was fussy or gassy as an infant (which I talk about in an article on Reiki for pregnancy and post-partum.)  Now that she is 3 years old, she actually asks me to do Reiki on her at bedtime! The umbilical cord connecting us may no longer be there, but the spiritual cord created through Reiki is ever-present.

There were other things in my healing toolkit: psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, yoga, meditation, and the loving support of family, friends and the women of ICAN. As time goes on, I feel more healed and at peace.  Reiki is the foundation of my healing, because the daily self-practice (and healing sessions provided by others) centers me in my body and connects me to the endless wellspring of spirit.  I am still here for a reason, beyond just being able to mother my beautiful little girl. I am here to share my story, help others on their healing journeys and advocate for better maternal health care choices for the women who are bringing forth our future generations. For this, I am especially grateful.

I was putting my 3 year old daughter to bed tonight and as I was tucking her in, she kept pointing to her lower back and asked for Tai Chi. I thought that was a little odd, since as far as I knew, she didn’t even know what Tai Chi was. It soon dawned on me that she was asking for Reiki! That just made my day! I have been giving her Reiki since she was in-utero, and she has indicated before that she liked it but this is the first time she has actually asked for me to do Reiki on her. I don’t do anything complicated: I just place my hand on her low back, near her sacrum. She likes the warmth that radiates from my hand when Reiki starts flowing and it helps relax her. It was very effective when she was an infant and had difficulty settling down if she was overstimulated or was gassy.  It also has helped me connect to and bond with her in a really special way.  There’s nothing quite like holding your baby (or sitting with your toddler) and feeling this loving energy flow between you.

I enjoy sharing Reiki with children. In fact, the first person (other than my teacher) that I faciliated Reiki with was my stepson. I had just gotten home from Reiki training and he was curled up in bed with terrible stomach pains. I asked him to close his eyes and focus his attention on what I was doing. I felt a very strong sensation of energy moving through me and within several minutes, his body relaxed completely and he fell asleep. I have also given him Reiki when he has had migraines. It’s terrible watching a child suffer with a migraine. If we are out and about and a headache starts to come on, Reiki helps ease the pain until we can get home and he can rest. If we are at home, Reiki helps him relax so he can sleep off the symptoms of the migraine.

One of my favorite times administering Reiki was with a boy of about two years old with a blood disorder. I would go to his house and his mom would put a cartoon on or have some toys out for him to play with, since it can be difficult to get a toddler to sit still very long to receive Reiki. I would sit next to him while he was watching TV or playing and gently place a hand at different places along his body. When the Reiki started flowing, he would suddenly sit very still and get the sweetest smile on his face – he could definitely feel it! When he had enough, he would gently push my hand away. Children always instinctively know what they need.

I also did some Reiki on a infant of about 8 or 9 months old who had taken quite a tumble and hit her head. Her parents felt Reiki would help her recover from the trauma of the fall, but one of the things they noticed was that the days they brought her in to receive Reiki were the days where she fell asleep easily – and stayed asleep for most of the night. After one of the sessions, they sent me a text on my phone with a photo of their daughter sound asleep with the message “Thank You!”

Children generally do not require long Reiki sessions. Their bodies naturally respond to Reiki and easily take in the energy in a short period of time. They are sensitive to what they are experiencing and will let you know when they have received all they need. If you think your child might benefit from receiving Reiki, or you are a parent and would like to learn Reiki to help soothe your little ones’ bumps, bruises and bellyaches, please contact me for more information.