Pg. 12-16 7 minute read
What inspired you to become involved with aromatherapy and essential oils? As a midwifery lecturer since the early 1980s, I have always been passionate about natural childbirth. At that time, complementary medicine was only just emerging into the public’s consciousness but it seemed entirely appropriate to use skills such as massage for women in labour – after all, massage and aromatic oils have been used in childbirth for centuries. I actually completed a massage course first and it seemed natural to progress to aromatherapy. Later, I also studied reflex zone therapy (German clinical reflexology, herbal medicine, homeopathy, elements of traditional Chinese medicine and clinical hypnosis).
Who or what experiences inspired you most? Being able to apply the principles of aromatherapy and other complementary therapies to midwifery practice. whilst working at the University of Greenwich, London, I was given the opportunity to develop and run a Bachelors' Honours degree in Complementary Therapies (CTs). As part of this work, I set up a complementary therapies clinic in one of the maternity units where student midwives and students on the CTs degree undertook their clinical work. This clinic was not a relaxation clinic but was intended to offer an alternative option for women with particular problematic symptoms in pregnancy including sickness, backache and sciatica, fear of labour and many other problems. They had to be referred by their own midwife and could not selfrefer – we would have been swamped by women wanting relaxation treatments! The clinic ran every Monday for ten years and over those years I treated almost 6000 women. I have to say, aromatherapy was not my main therapy – that was reflex zone therapy – but essential oils and massage offered other options for women and often I would combine therapies for optimum results.
You have authored many books on the topic of complementary therapies for maternity; what was your inspiration? I first started writing journal articles in the late 1980s. I was then invited to contribute a chapter on complementary therapies to one of the two main midwifery textbooks in the early 1990s and was given the opportunity to publish my first book on complementary therapies in 1991, quickly followed by an aromatherapy in midwifery book in 1992. Including second editions I have written about 12 professional textbooks, three books for expectant parents, chapters on CTs in several midwifery and obstetric textbooks and over 70 journal papers. Like anything else, writing is a skill that can be learned but comes fairly naturally to me – although I do struggle with changing the tone from very academic to one that suits the general public on social media! My latest book, Complementary Therapies for Postdates pregnancy (2023) tackles the alternative options for parents wanting to avoid medical induction of labour which is the single most significant problem in contemporary midwifery.
Is there any one thing you would like to see happening in the aromatherapy industry? Better regulation, especially in respect of public accessibility to oils and quality of oils. I would like aromatherapy to lose its "fluffy" "it's only pleasant smells and massage” reputation and for it to be seen as a powerful complement to healthcare and illness prevention.
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