Massage and reflexology are based on the idea that certain points on your body, hands and feet relate to points on the rest of your body. We do not know how it works, but it may work in a similar way to acupuncture (see below). A reflexologist usually massages points on your feet that relate to the parts of your body that are painful in labour. The studies in this area are difficult to compare due to their wide variations of techniques but they generally reduce anxiety in labour and may reduce the intensity of labour pains.