Herbs & Pregnancy: An Intro

hp 1 introIs it just me or does it seem like your self-confidence in taking care of your health naturally disappears just as that beautiful pink positive line shows itself on the pregnancy test?

As your heart rate jumps, your mind races to try to comprehend all the changes that are coming, and you try to picture what your family will look like with another little person in the mix, self doubt pushes it’s way in too. Whether it’s your 1st, 3rd, or 10th, you feel a huge extra weight of responsibility to take care of the tiny little person growing exponentially inside you.

(Note; I believe life begins at conception and will be referring to the unborn baby as a person or baby through the series.)

The herbs you take, the food you eat, the supplements you use, the chemicals you are exposed to aren’t just affecting you now. They’re affecting your baby too. For the most developmentally significant 40 weeks of your baby’s life, you are solely responsible for their health and nutrition.

No pressure there.

I think this is why you see so so many normally confident mamas asking questions online that you normally wouldn’t even think twice about. I joke with my husband about this phenomenon . . . “Oh, I just put a bandage on my finger, will the adhesive hurt my baby?” “I’m coughing; should I worry about how much my stomach muscles are contracting?” “I hugged someone who’s wearing bug spray (as I can tell with my overly sensitive nose.) Is this bad?”

So these might be a little excessive, but the principle remains; pregnant mamas WORRY. A lot. I’m normally pretty good about not freaking myself out about health related concerns, but at the beginning of a pregnancy I still warn my husband that I WILL be second guessing myself and fighting not to worry about things that seem ridiculous to him.

Bottom line; pregnant mamas need reasonable information explained simply enough for their hormone-fogged brains to understand.

That is the goal of this upcoming series; I am collecting useful information and writing a series of blog posts on what the average mama needs to know about herbs as she works to stay healthy and strong through her pregnancy, labor, and post-partum period. Here are a few of the topics I’ll be writing about . . .

  • What Herbs to Avoid During Pregnancy
  • A short list of safe herbs
  • Herbs to help with nausea
  • Herbs to boost energy
  • Herbs to take while pregnant and breastfeeding another baby
  • Herbs to prepare for labor
  • Avoiding Getting stitches
  • Herbs to kick start labor
  • Using herbs during labor
  • Postpartum Herbs for mommies
  • Herbs to boost your milk supply
  • Herbs for common breastfeeding issues
  • Herbs for your skin; rashes, stretch marks, etc

Remember, I am not writing this from the position of an expert by ANY means. I am not giving health advice, I am learning things myself, distilling them and adding my thoughts, then sharing them for my benefit as much as yours!

I am so looking forward to learning more about naturally enjoying a healthy pregnancy and delivery in the upcoming weeks! Please leave a comment with anything specific you would be interested in reading about, follow along, and share with your friends who are expecting.