The question comes up constantly in prenatal communities across New York City: is Reiki safe during pregnancy? Women who relied on Reiki before conceiving want to know if they should stop. Women who never tried it hear about it at prenatal yoga in Park Slope or from their doula in Harlem and wonder if it could help with the anxiety, the nausea, the back pain that seems to get worse every week.
The short answer: no known contraindications exist for Reiki during pregnancy. The longer answer involves understanding what that actually means in practice, and what it does not mean.
The Safety Question First
Reiki during pregnancy makes sense if: You used Reiki before and want to continue. You are seeking non-pharmacological support for anxiety, nausea, or discomfort. Your OB or midwife has no objections. You have a practitioner experienced with pregnant clients.
Proceed with extra caution if: You have a high-risk pregnancy. inform your healthcare provider first. You are in your first trimester and your provider prefers conservative approaches. You have any medical condition requiring close monitoring.
Find a different approach if: Your provider specifically advises against it (rare, but respect their guidance). You need treatment for a specific medical condition. Reiki complements prenatal care, it does not replace it.
The Safety Question, Directly
Reiki involves no medication, no ingested substances, no manipulation of tissue, no needles, and no pressure on the abdomen. A practitioner places hands lightly on or slightly above the body. That is the entire physical intervention.
This is why Reiki carries no known contraindications for pregnant women at any trimester. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) identifies no safety risks specific to pregnancy. Major hospital systems. including those in New York City. offer Reiki to women in antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum settings without restriction.
At Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, a study examined the effects of Reiki on 203 women hospitalized for obstetrical and gynecological conditions (Bondi, Morgan & Fowler, 2021, Journal of Holistic Nursing). The study included women across antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and gynecological settings. Mean pain scores decreased significantly from 3.24 to 1.52 (p < .001). Mean anxiety scores dropped from 3.56 to 1.28 (p < .001). Of those asked about lingering effects, 90% reported that reduced pain and anxiety continued beyond the session.
This study did not report adverse events. No Reiki study in the obstetrical literature has reported adverse events in pregnant women.
That said: “no known risks” is not the same as “extensively studied.” Research on Reiki during pregnancy specifically. as opposed to Reiki in general hospital populations that include pregnant women. remains limited. The safety profile rests more on the nature of the intervention (non-invasive, non-pharmacological) than on large-scale pregnancy-specific trials.
What Happens Trimester by Trimester
Pregnancy is not one experience. It is three distinct phases, each with different physical realities. Practitioners who work with pregnant clients in NYC adapt their approach accordingly.
First trimester brings exhaustion, nausea, and for many women, significant anxiety. about viability, about the unknown, about the body changing in ways that feel beyond control. Sessions during this phase tend to focus on relaxation and nausea relief. Practitioners report that many first-trimester clients fall asleep during sessions, which makes sense: the body is doing enormous metabolic work and rest is scarce. Positioning is straightforward. the client typically lies on her back as she would in any standard session, since the uterus has not yet grown large enough to require modified positioning.
A note on the first trimester specifically: some Reiki practitioners advise caution or avoidance during the first 12 weeks, citing a general conservative approach to any intervention during early pregnancy. This is not based on evidence of harm. no study has documented Reiki causing adverse outcomes in early pregnancy. It appears to be inherited caution from massage therapy guidelines, where deep tissue work on certain points is avoided during the first trimester. Reiki involves no tissue manipulation, making this concern less applicable. Still, some practitioners and some obstetricians prefer the cautious route, and that preference is reasonable to respect.
Second trimester is often when pregnant women feel their best physically. the nausea has usually subsided, energy partially returns, and the belly is present but not yet unwieldy. This is when many women start or resume Reiki sessions. Practitioners may begin using side-lying positions for comfort, though many women can still lie on their backs with support. Sessions often address the emotional processing that intensifies during this period: relationship shifts, identity changes, career concerns, the growing reality of what is coming.
Third trimester is where the physical demands peak. Lower back pain from postural changes, hip discomfort from ligament loosening, difficulty sleeping due to the baby’s size and movement, swelling in the legs and feet, anxiety about labor. all of these are common complaints that bring women to Reiki practitioners in the final months. A 2024 randomized controlled trial examined Reiki applied to 68 pregnant women during the third trimester (published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing). The study found that Reiki increased breastfeeding self-efficacy, though it did not significantly improve pregnancy-related physical complaints or quality of life measures. The mixed results are worth noting honestly: Reiki appears to help with some aspects of the pregnancy experience but not all.
Positioning in the third trimester requires more attention. Lying flat on the back is generally avoided after approximately 20 weeks due to the weight of the uterus potentially compressing the inferior vena cava, which can reduce blood flow. Experienced practitioners use side-lying positions with pillow support, semi-reclined positions, or seated arrangements. A practitioner who does not adjust positioning for late pregnancy may not have adequate experience working with this population.
What Practitioners in NYC Observe
New York City has an extensive prenatal wellness ecosystem. doulas, midwives, prenatal yoga studios, childbirth educators, lactation consultants, and Reiki practitioners who specialize in pregnancy often work within this network, receiving referrals from and coordinating with other providers.
Practitioners who regularly work with pregnant clients in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens report several consistent patterns. Clients who come during the first trimester often present with intense anxiety, particularly if they have experienced previous pregnancy loss. The anxiety is sometimes so consuming that it overshadows the physical symptoms. Reiki sessions give these women a structured period of stillness and calm that many describe as the only time during the week when they are not catastrophizing.
Back pain is the most common physical complaint in the second and third trimesters. Practitioners observe that while Reiki does not resolve the structural cause of the pain. the shifted center of gravity, the loosened ligaments. clients frequently report temporary relief and improved ability to sleep afterward.
Sleep disruption is the second most common concern. By the third trimester, between the baby’s movement, the physical discomfort, the bathroom trips, and the ambient noise of New York City apartments, many women are sleeping in fragmented 2-3 hour blocks. Evening Reiki sessions, whether in-person or via distance Reiki, are reported by clients to improve sleep quality on the night following treatment.
Partner involvement is another dimension. Some practitioners offer sessions where the partner learns basic hand positions to use at home, not as formal training, but as a way to provide comfort and build connection during a period when the non-pregnant partner can feel helpless. This is different from Reiki training (covered in Post 04) and more similar to the “touch therapy for caregivers” approach used in hospital settings.
Precautions That Actually Matter
The physical safety of Reiki during pregnancy is well-established. The precautions that matter are practical, not medical.
Communicate with your OB-GYN or midwife. Not because you need their permission for Reiki. you do not, but because transparency with your care team is always better than secrecy. Most OB-GYNs in NYC are familiar with complementary therapies and will either support the choice or have no objection.
Choose a practitioner experienced with pregnancy. Not every Reiki practitioner has worked with pregnant clients. The ones who have know about positioning modifications, understand what is normal versus what requires a referral back to the medical team, and are comfortable working around the specific physical realities of each trimester. Ask directly: “How many pregnant clients have you worked with?”
Watch for red flags in practitioner claims. Any practitioner who claims Reiki can prevent miscarriage, correct fetal positioning, guarantee an easier labor, or replace prenatal medical care is making claims unsupported by evidence. These are not just inaccurate. they are potentially dangerous if a woman delays or avoids necessary medical intervention based on them.
High-risk pregnancies require medical coordination. Women with preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, placenta previa, or other complications should coordinate any complementary therapy with their medical provider. Reiki itself poses no known risk to these conditions, but the principle of integrated care applies: your medical team should know what you are doing.
Do not substitute Reiki for prenatal care. This should be obvious, but it needs saying. Reiki is a complement to standard obstetric care. It does not replace ultrasounds, blood panels, glucose screening, blood pressure monitoring, or any other component of prenatal medicine. A practitioner who suggests otherwise should be avoided.
Reiki During Labor and Delivery
Some women bring Reiki into the delivery room. either through a practitioner, a doula with Reiki training, or a partner who has learned basic techniques.
Hospital policies in NYC vary. NYU Langone, for instance, offers integrative health services including Reiki through their Mind-Body Patient Bedside Program for inpatients. At facilities without formal programs, having a doula or birth support person provide Reiki during labor is generally permitted as long as it does not interfere with medical procedures.
Practitioners who have worked in labor settings describe providing Reiki between contractions, during early labor when the intervals are longer, and during the rest periods after delivery. Some women welcome the touch during contractions; others find any stimulation overwhelming in those moments. The practitioner follows the mother’s lead entirely.
There is limited formal research on Reiki specifically during active labor. The Bondi et al. (2021) study included intrapartum women and found significant pain and anxiety reduction, but did not isolate labor-specific outcomes. A randomized controlled trial of 90 women who received Reiki after cesarean delivery (Midilli & Ester, 2015, Pain Management Nursing) found that Reiki reduced pain intensity, anxiety, breathing rate, and the need for analgesic medication in the 48 hours following surgery.
Postpartum: A Different Set of Needs
The postpartum period brings its own challenges. physical recovery from delivery, hormonal shifts, sleep deprivation magnified beyond anything pregnancy itself produced, breastfeeding difficulties, and for approximately 1 in 7 women, postpartum depression or anxiety.
Reiki during the postpartum period addresses a different profile than prenatal Reiki. The focus shifts from pregnancy-specific discomfort to recovery, emotional stabilization, and the overwhelming transition into new parenthood. Practitioners who work with postpartum clients in NYC report that these sessions often become the single window of rest in a new mother’s week. 60 minutes where someone else is not needing something from her.
Distance Reiki becomes particularly relevant in the postpartum period. Leaving the house with a newborn in New York City. navigating subway stairs with a stroller, finding parking in Brooklyn, walking blocks in January weather. creates barriers to in-person sessions. Remote sessions allow new mothers to receive Reiki while the baby sleeps in the next room.
Finding Pregnancy-Specialized Practitioners in NYC
Searching for Reiki practitioners who specialize in pregnancy in New York City, several approaches work better than a generic Google search.
Prenatal yoga studios in neighborhoods like the Upper West Side, Park Slope, and Cobble Hill often maintain referral lists of complementary practitioners, including Reiki providers who work with pregnant clients. Doula networks, and NYC has one of the largest doula communities in the country. frequently include Reiki practitioners within their referral ecosystems. Midwifery practices at hospitals like Mount Sinai West and NYU Langone may be able to recommend practitioners their patients have worked with.
When evaluating a practitioner, the relevant questions are specific:
- Have you worked with pregnant clients? Approximately how many?
- Are you comfortable working in all three trimesters?
- Do you modify positioning for late pregnancy?
- Do you coordinate with or communicate with the client’s medical provider if needed?
- What claims do you make about Reiki and pregnancy outcomes?
The last question is diagnostic. A practitioner who answers honestly. something like “I help women relax, manage discomfort, and feel more connected to their bodies during pregnancy”. is describing what the evidence supports. One who promises to prevent complications or ensure specific outcomes is not.
Standard session rates in NYC for pregnancy-focused Reiki typically fall within the same range as general sessions: approximately $100 to $200 per session in Manhattan, somewhat less in outer boroughs. Some practitioners offer package rates for ongoing prenatal care.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Reiki is a complementary therapy and should not replace prenatal medical care. Always consult your OB-GYN or midwife about any complementary therapy during pregnancy.
Sources:
- Bondi A, Morgan T, Fowler SB. “Effects of Reiki on Pain and Anxiety in Women Hospitalized for Obstetrical- and Gynecological-Related Conditions.” Journal of Holistic Nursing, 2021;39(2):148-156.
- Midilli TS, Ester I. “Effects of Reiki on Post-cesarean Delivery Pain, Anxiety, and Hemodynamic Parameters: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial.” Pain Management Nursing, 2015;16(3):388-399.
- Third trimester RCT (2024). “The effect of Reiki in the third trimester on breastfeeding self-efficacy, pregnancy-related complaints, and quality of life.” Journal of Holistic Nursing, 2024.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Reiki information page. nccih.nih.gov
- NYU Langone Health. Mind-Body Patient Bedside Program. nyulangone.org