Featherstones Focuses On Healing

The baby’s head was facing up, not down toward the birth canal. The mother was facing concern as only a mother of a breech baby can.

The baby’s head was facing up, not down toward the birth canal. The mother was facing concern as only a mother of a breech baby can. Leigh Lench considered the dilemma as she felt for the baby’s head.

It was nearly 18 years ago. Lench’s business, Featherstones Massage Therapy, was a success as she employed her mind and body approach to pregnant clients and many others faced with a myriad of conditions. A massage therapist and Reiki master with a keen understanding of the body’s meridians and acupressure points, Lench was already known for her ability to naturally induce pregnant moms when the time was ripe, reduce stress, and assist mothers to give birth naturally, without surgery or drugs.

But this was turning a breech baby.

Lench focused intently on the mother, the child inside her, and the baby’s head. She used all of her modalities, and the baby slowly began to turn under her hands. By the time the massage therapy session was over Lench had ever-so-gently repositioned the baby.

“I have to heal from my head and my heart,” she explained. “I become the person I’m working on. In most cases, the baby actually follows my hands.”

Featherstones Massage Therapy, formerly located in Plymouth and Duxbury, and now located at 161 Summer St., Kingston, is in its 19th year of business. Doctors send pregnant patients to Lench because of her 95 percent success rate of inducing labor naturally, and for all of her prenatal work. Mothers anxious at the prospect of a potential C-section or fearful of their children’s health or even their own book appointments here and tell their friends to do the same. In many cases, Lench is able to assist mothers to have a natural birth without drugs or surgery.

“Through massage therapy I naturally induce pregnancy to eliminate the need for medically induced labor,” she explained.

Through massage and the understanding of pressure points in the body, Lench said, she induces mothers to allow the body to begin labor naturally with the hope that the body will then perpetuate a natural birth process. One in four of her patients give birth within 24 hours of Lench’s induction massage, and the majority give birth within 12 to 48 hours of the session.

“I’ve had women break their water here, and I’ve driven them to the hospital,” she said, laughing.

“You have to understand pregnancy and acupressure and know the right questions before someone gets on the table,” Lench said. “I am referred by MDs, physical therapists, OB-GYNs, chiropractors and homeopaths. People know those professionals understand my competency. They trust me because they know I’ve had the training. I work with women in all stages of pregnancy.”

Lench is a licensed massage therapist in Massachusetts. She credits her success to her whole-body and mind approach and her extensive training and experience in both. In addition to her prenatal specialty, Lench has completed courses in cranio-sacral therapy and Lypossage therapy, and she holds certification as a birth doula and Reiki master. Lypossage therapy reduces cellulite, recontours the body and reduces inches. Like everything else at Featherstones, it is all natural.

Significant preparation takes place before the induction.

Massage therapy sessions begin with a 15-minute conversation in a calm and inviting environment. She asks clients questions about their well being, which gives her insight that helps her resolve physical discomfort.

Lench launched the business more than 18 years ago after years working as a corporate travel coordinator for a Fortune 500 company. She also owned and operated a boat yard before pursuing a childhood dream of becoming a healer. Lench enrolled at Dovestar Hollistic Health and Massage Therapy School in Plymouth, graduated in 1999, and began an odyssey into holistic health practices and methods, including nutrition.

Lench opened Featherstones Massage Therapy, where she helps clients suffering from muscular and joint discomfort, as well as addressing anxiety, asthma, strokes, cancer, cerebral palsy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, sensory and cognitive disorder, ADD and ADHD, among other conditions. Her specialty is prenatal massage. Her prenatal massage table is designed for pregnant women to comfortably lie on their bellies.

“I assist women who have difficulty with conception, through talk therapy and massage therapy,” Lench said, adding that stress is the number one source of chronic pain and many other health issues.

“I want women to know they have options,” Lench said. “Women can receive prenatal massage every month after their 12th week of pregnancy. Massage helps prepare the body naturally for labor and delivery. I want women to know there is a safe way to receive massage during pregnancy, as well as to safely induce labor and turn breech babies naturally.”

Lench has had the pleasure of seeing clients’ babies that seem to recognize her and smile when she holds them. The energy exchanged during the massage therapy sessions is real, she said, and it is not at all surprising that the baby remembers her.

“I stay connected with my clients because our relationships are so personal,” she said. “This is my passion. This is not just a career.”

For more information on Featherstone Massage Therapy visit featherstonesinc.com or call 508-560-1010. Accepts text.