In the UK, infertility is defined as being unable to conceive for a period of one year or more. Unexplained infertility accounts for around 15 per cent of cases and can be one of the most frustrating and heartbreaking experiences for a maternal woman

When you decide to try for a baby, after spending all those years trying not to fall pregnant, it can be a shock to the system when it doesn't happen instantly. Then the months of disappointment add up; nagging doubts about your own body fill your head at night and everyone you know seems to fall pregnant at the drop of a hat. It can take its toll on your life and relationship.

But there are things you can do to help the process along. Reflexology is one option. As a qualified reflexologist specialising in maternity issues, and also as someone trying for a baby, I have widespread experience of both the highs and the lows of unexplained fertility.

Reflexology is a holistic therapy performed on the feet, using special manipulations and massage. It's based on the ancient principle that there are reflex points in the feet which correspond to all the major organs in the body. When pressure is applied it stimulates the movement of energy from the reflex points to the organs. The benefits of reflexology are immense.

If you suffer from insomnia, it can help aid restful sleep. If you suffer from stress, it can help you to relax and balance your emotions. This is where someone trying to conceive fits in.

One of the major benefits of reflexology is the balancing of the endocrine system, the set of glands that produce the body's hormones. Hormones play a key role in fertility and pregnancy and can be affected by stress. In these days of high pressure careers and mortgages as well as the underlying worry of infertility, stress could be one of the big reasons why you're not getting pregnant.

Olivia has recently given birth to her first daughter after trying to get conceive for two years. 'I thought getting pregnant would be easy,' she says. 'My friends and colleagues seemed to have no problem, but it just wasn't happening for me.'

After six months she was getting concerned. After a year her doctor sent her and her husband for tests which came back inconclusive. By this point, she was experiencing panic attacks and mood swings and not being pregnant was her first thought from waking to sleeping. She adds: 'A friend suggested reflexology and I was sceptical but thought what have I got to lose?'

She booked in for a trial session and was surprised at how relaxing the treatment felt. I explained to her that reflexology is not a cure. It cannot get you pregnant, but it can help your body to be in the best possible place for conception. A course of six treatments is recommended to feel a benefit and then a regular maintenance appointment is helpful as a 'top-up'.

For couples hoping to conceive, it is desirable to treat both partners to balance and relax them, although in this case, Olivia's husband wasn't keen. She did however encourage him to take on board the lifestyle changes that aid conception. As well as requiring healthy sperm and ova, there is a need for mental and emotional preparation, good amounts of sleep and a healthy diet and exercise to consider.

Reflexology has a good reputation with helping couples to conceive, because of its balancing effects, but it's not going to be helpful if you're smoking 20 a day and knocking back the chardonnay.

After her first couple of sessions, Olivia said she felt a difference in her body. 'My shoulders seemed to have dropped from their permanent position around my ears! And I felt more on an even keel instead of crying one minute and biting someone's head off the next. I started to look forward to my weekly appointment and would leave on a real high.'

Olivia admits that when she still wasn't pregnant again the next month, she did feel a pang of disappointment, but I explained to her that she was putting her body in the best place for pregnancy and there were no guarantees. She decided to keep on with the treatment and was thrilled when four months later, she found herself looking at that all important pink line! 'I feel reflexology helped me to rebalance my mind and body and without it, I might still have been stressing and obsessing and not be any closer to conceiving.'

Stress is an increasingly serious issue and given that male sperm rates have fallen by 29 per cent over the last decade according to researchers in Aberdeen, and women's hormonal disorders have increased, it's no wonder that more and more healthcare professionals are now recommending reflexology as a way of aiding fertility.

The good news? According to www.womens-health.co.uk, approximately 60 per cent of couples with unexplained infertility of less than three years duration will fall pregnant in the next three years without any treatment at all. To give you a head start and help you be one of the 60 per cent, why not try reflexology to help you on your way? I am.

For maternity reflexology in the Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire or Bedfordshire area, call Helen on 07758 353 525 or visit www.heaven4feet.com