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 Expectant
mothers often ask midwives or doctors about natural remedies
and complementary therapies, for relaxation, to relieve
discomforts such as “morning sickness” or backache, or to
ease labour pain or to treat complications such as breech
presentation, but do not always know where to find appropriate
information.
Research
suggests that many aspects of complementary medicine are
safe during pregnancy and childbirth, but some, such as
herbal remedies, need to be used with caution or avoided.
Midwives
and doctors are also at a loss to know where to find
accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information, and
need adequate and appropriate education to advise on or
treat women safely with natural remedies and alternative
therapies. Similarly, complementary practitioners frequently
decline to treat pregnant women because they lack the confidence
and relevant knowledge to treat them safely.
Expectancy
Ltd aims to offer a variety of information, advice
and education resources to mothers, midwives, doctors and
therapists. Expectancy’s Director, Denise Tiran,
a midwife, university lecturer, author and practitioner
of several therapies, is an internationally-renowned authority
in maternity-related complementary medicine and believes
that complementary therapies should be incorporated into
normal maternity care.
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ABOUT
: Denise Tiran, MSc, RM, RN, ADM, PGCEA
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Denise
Tiran is an acknowledged international expert in maternity-related
complementary medicine. She has written numerous professional
textbooks, chapters and journal papers, and a book for expectant
mothers. She is a member of the editorial committee of the
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
journal, an advisor to Pregnancy and Birth
magazine, has previously written a health column in the
Daily Express and has featured on several TV and radio programmes.
Denise
uses several therapies, including reflex zone therapy, acupressure,
moxibustion, herbal, homeopathic and Bach flower remedies,
aromatherapy, sexual counselling and nutrition.
She
established a unique complementary therapy antenatal
clinic at Queen Mary’s Sidcup NHS Trust in Kent, between
1994-2004, which was “Highly Commended” in the 2001 Prince
of Wales’ Awards for Healthcare in London, and which gained
an international reputation as an example of complementary
medicine integrated within conventional maternity care.
Denise
specialises in the treatment of “morning sickness”.
Denise
is a frequent conference speaker, in the UK and overseas.
She is Chair of the Complementary Maternity Forum
and a midwifery representative for the Prince of Wales’
Foundation for Integrated Health. She regularly advises
the Royal Colleges of Midwives and Nursing on complementary
medicine in maternity care, and has been consulted by the
midwifery Local Supervising Authority officers for England
on the development of supervisory guidelines. She was the
midwifery representative of a Royal College of Nursing /
Foundation for Integrated Medicine working party on complementary
medicine education in midwifery and nursing, exploring specifically
issues related to Fitness to Practice.
Prior
to establishing Expectancy, Denise was Principal Lecturer
and Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) Complementary
Therapies at the University of Greenwich, London, UK,
where she developed one of the first practice-based degree
programmes on complementary medicine. She has undertaken
research, funded by the Dept of Health, to investigate continuing
professional development amongst complementary practitioners.
She continues teaching at the University as an Honorary
Lecturer and her current research activities include an
exploration of complementary therapies for nausea and vomiting
in pregnancy, and a study to investigate the potential of
reflexology to predict stages of the menstrual cycle.
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