Founder and Philosophy:

• Dr. Marie Gowri Motha, a London-based childbirth pioneer, developed the Gentle Birth Method to prepare parents for gentle births.

• She introduced water births into the NHS in the 1980s and conducted the first documented water birth in a London NHS hospital (1987).

• She was the first doctor in UK to:

  •Introduce reflexology for pregnancy

  •Present on safety of reflexology in pregnancy at the First European Conference on Reflexology 16th September 1994

  •Make a connection between gluten and sugar, and by eliminating these in pregnancy gives better outcomes

  •Include British and Ayurvedic herbs to shorten labour

  •Use Ayurvedic vaginal oils with stretching, rectal oils and warm oil back-packs to facilitate easier birthing  

• Her wish is for all mothers to be able to have a gentle birth. She also supports mothers with fertility issues and has developed a postnatal programme.

Gentle Birth Method summary:

• Dr. Motha and her team offer a programme of classes, key treatments, and dietary guidelines through pregnancy to make the mother ‘birth fit’.

• The method includes:

  • Physical Conditioning:

    • Nutritional Guidelines Herbs and Supplements

    • GBM Pregnancy Massage using Creative Healing treatment

    • Pregnancy Reflexology

    • Pregnancy Yoga with Micro-movements for pelvic release (live zoom weekly classes)

    • Perineal & Vaginal Oiling (Ayurveda) and self-stretching

    • Rectal Oil Enema (Rectal Basti) (Ayurveda)

    • Warm Oil Back-Packs (Ayurveda)

  • Mental Support:

    • Gentle Birth Method Hypnobirth ‘The Gowri Way’, is a specific 4-week course developed by Dr. Motha that includes visualisation and self-hypnosis, removing fear of birth, instilling confidence, and deepening the bond between parents and baby.

  Publications:

• Dr. Motha’s best-selling book, ‘Gentle Birth Method,’ published in 2004, allows mothers worldwide to benefit from her method.

• The follow-up book, ‘Gentle First Year,’ was published in 2006, continuing her guidance into the postnatal period.

Recognition, Endorsements and Testimonials:

• Endorsed by natural childbirth pioneers such as Yehudi Gordon and Michel Odent.

• Invited to present GBM at Clinical Governance Meeting of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. 16th Nov 2001

• Celebrity endorsements such as Elle Macpherson and Gwyneth Paltrow, have helped to popularize the method globally.

• Thousands of testimonials and positive birth stories.

Accessibility:

• The Gentle Birth Method Foundation works to make the method more accessible and affordable, especially for NHS hospital enrollees.