Month: February 2021

Welcome! I’m Rowena Gledhill, your fertility reflexologist.

How did I get here?

I was born in Weymouth and lived here until moving to London in the 1990’s. We were told we had unexplained fertility, after trying for a baby over a year, undergoing lots of tests and an operation. I was devasted, and then decided that I wanted to retrain as a reflexologist, so I was about to leave my job and start a full-time training course.

I found I was pregnant (very unexpectedly) on my 30th birthday and my training plan was sadly shelved at that time. I had my first baby at 35 weeks (premature), and as a result of the trauma from this unplanned event, I suffered with post-natal depression and PTSD. My health visitor recommended looking into holistic therapies to help me, and I found a local reflexologist to give me treatments.

These quickly helped me to feel better, and also kept me well during my second pregnancy, and second premature delivery. We decided to move back to Weymouth with our two babies, so that I could have some help from my Dorset-based family.

When our children had both started school, I studied Early Years education with the OU. However, my experience of receiving reflexology, and the benefits I had experienced kept nudging at me, and then the Universe conspired to arrange my local college to offer qualification at a professional level – so I invested in myself, took a leap of faith and qualified in Reflexology with Anatomy and Physiology. I have since added to my original training with professional qualifications in fertility reflexology, facial reflexology, and baby and child reflexology, giving me a rounded basis to work with clients from pre-conception on.

My ambition is to support couples to achieve their dreams for a family, using reflexology and a holistic approach to support that desire. If you want to maximise fertility and wellbeing naturally, then I know that reflexology can make a difference.

Do you know what a follicular phase is (and why it’s important)?

The follicular phase is the first half of your monthly cycle. It can last between 7 and 21 days. Teens can have a follicular phase of up to 32 days!

It starts when a few follicles (6 -8) get to the end of their 100 day development to begin ovulation.

The follicle development is governed by the pituitary hormone FSH – follicule-stimulating hormone, which stimulates the follicles to grow. You have less FSH when younger, hence the likelihood of a longer phase, and more as you mature – leading to shorter or irregular periods.

FSH levels also contribute to how heavy or light your bleed is – the hormone stimulates estradiol which influences the thickening of the uterine lining. The more estradiol = thicker lining = heavier periods.

The maturing follicles stimulate the production of estradiol – oestrogen – which can promote feelings of wellbeing, happiness, libido by boosting your ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters of serotonin and dopamine. Oestrogen is also important for healthy skin, bones, muscles, brain, heart, sleep AND metabolism!

In short, the follicular phase of your cycle is likely to be the part where you feel most connected to yourself, feel happier and better able to cope with anything life throws at you, and if you’re trying for a baby – it’s the time when you are more likely to feel like having sex.

If you have PCOS (poly-cycstic ovary syndrome), you are likely not to be ovulating because the availability of the hormones you need to ovulate are suppressed by an over production of androgens like testosterone. Your body may be producing follicles, but they won’t be able to ripen because the FSH needed to mature them and move to oestrogen production is blocked by higher levels of testosterone and other male hormones. This means that the follicular phase just keeps going, without an egg being produced, making it very hard to conceive.

Can you regulate the follicular phase? Yes. Charting your monthly cycles is key to finding out what’s happening inside. As follicles take over 100 days to mature, three months of charts will give you great data on what has happened to get you to now.

This information can then be used to focus on changes that positively influence your hormonal balance. Amending your nutrition, lifestyle changes, specific supplements and targeted reproductive reflexology have shown improvements in regulating the follicular phase.

In a study conducted by the Association of Reproductive Reflexologists, the pregnancy rate for women with PCOS was 72% (live birth rate 57%), showing the effectiveness of regular reproductive reflexology treatments.

Balancing your cycle helps your body to work in harmony, and you to feel better.

What’s your follicular phase like?