The Power of Plants: Herbal Medicine for the Birthing Body
Written by Adi Aboody
Since ancient times and spanning across cultures, birth keepers have turned to the plant world to nourish, heal, and support birthing people. Both traditional knowledge and evidence-based research show that herbs, along with nutrient-dense foods and rituals of care, play an integral role in ensuring a healthy and smooth pregnancy and postpartum experience.
From the moment of conception through the first postpartum year, the pregnant person is undergoing so much change - physically, emotionally, mentally - and the body is pouring its energy, consciously or not, into growing and tending new, precious life. Amidst these constant transitions, herbs can act as your allies, resources, and a part of your support network along the journey.
Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioca):
Nettles are a dark green, highly nutritious, and typical springtime medicinal plant. They are a nutritive tonic. Nutritive, meaning it is an herb that is nutrient-dense (like a food) and tonic, implying that you can take it daily and long term. Nettles are culinary powerhouses packed with minerals such as iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorous, as well as Vitamin A, various B vitamins, Vitamin C, and amino acids. This plant strengthens and builds blood cells throughout the body, which increases oxygen flow and overall vitality. Additionally, nettles can help regulate the body's natural rhythms, reduce stomach pain and stress, and promote healthy liver function. For the pregnant body, this is phenomenal medicine for both the birthing person and baby.
Nettles are also invaluable during postpartum. They can help bodies regain strength after the birth, supporting them to have a swift recovery and the energy to take care of a newborn. Nettles are also known to reduce the risk of postpartum hemorrhages.
There are various ways to ingest nettles; as tea, add them in soup broths, make fresh nettle pesto (a favorite!), or even sprinkled onto popcorn.
Red Raspberry Leaf (Rubus idaeus):
Another excellent tonic is the fluffy, tasty, nourishing red raspberry leaf. Red Raspberry leaf is the leaves of a raspberry bush. They have a silvery, shiny quality and appearance to them. Red raspberry leaf is very supportive of the birthing body for various reasons. One, it is a uterine tonic, meaning it helps the uterus to function optimally. It strengthens the uterine and pelvic muscles, helping to alleviate cramps (try for PMS relief too!). Two, it is astringent, meaning it tightens and tones tissue. Third, this beautiful plant helps soothe and relax the body and promote a steady rhythm with its slight sedative and softening qualities. It can be helpful during nausea, anxiety, insomnia, or to help unwind and lay back. Fourth, it is a galactagogue, meaning it enhances breastmilk production. Other herbs that have this magical therapeutic property are fennel seed, dill, dandelion root, and fenugreek. Red raspberry leaf is also is known to promote fertility and help prevent miscarriages and is high in magnesium.
Overall, this is an excellent herbal ally for all womb carriers. It is best as a tea mixed with rose petals-- such a delight!
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and Peppermint (Mentha × Piperita):
Ginger is a pungent, hot, gnarly shaped root that we commonly use for cooking. It is excellent medicinally for supporting healthy digestion, easing upset stomachs, and is a beautiful herb to relieve cramp pain. It is also more gentle when using the fresh root rather than dry.
Peppermint is similar to ginger in what it does in the body: aids digestion, relieves cramp pain and nausea, and can also soothe headaches. However, it's almost the inverse of ginger because it is cooling, whereas ginger brings heat. So if ginger makes you overly hot and sweaty, that's likely not your medicine, and you may take well to peppermint!
Both ginger and peppermint glycerites are delicious, and just a couple drops will usually do the trick.
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla):
Beautiful yellow chamomile flowers are like little bursts of sunshine. When taken medicinally, chamomile brings immediate calmness, relaxation, and rest to the body. Chamomile is fantastic for the digestion and nervous systems, and can ease tension. For the birthing body, nervous system support is critical to encourage relaxation, and chamomile is a safe, gentle and practical choice, and is easy to access as tea!
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis):
Lemon balm is a joyful, soft to the touch, bright green, fragrant plant. It is a nervine (nervous system supportive herb) that is spiritually uplifting and soothing. It's one of the only cooling nervous system herbs, so if you tend to run hot and bothered, or tend toward depression, this may be a good ally for you. Lemon balm can help you connect with your baby, with your inner child, and remind you of your playfulness. A member of the mint family, and like the way mint grows, lemon balm spreads throughout your body and brings its medicine to the points where you need it most. Its bonus is that it is an anti-viral, so it helps ward off sickness and can protect your immunity. For general immune support, echinacea is safe if you are coming on with a common cold or flu. Lemon balm is best as tea, hot or cold-- mixed into lemonade on a hot summer day would be divine!
Some other loving herbs to calm the nervous system include: wild oats, linden, marshmallow root, and passionflower. Here is a downloadable chart of herbs that are safe during pregnancy from Aviva Romm, MD.
Postpartum Sitz Bath Herbs:
A common practice in postpartum care is something called Sitz Bath, which is essentially a healthy batch of herbal tea applied topically to the perineum for post-birth pelvic floor recovery. It is a combination of astringent, anti-microbial, and tissue healing herbs that tighten, tone, and restore. Here is a brief list of go-to herbs to include in sitz bath blends: calendula, plantain, comfrey, yarrow, uva ursi, witch hazel, lander, rosemary, and rose. To find out more about this and how to do it, check out this article Healing Herbal Baths for New Mamas by Aviva Romm, MD.
An important note on taking caution and herbs to avoid:
The herbs previously mentioned are all considered safe, gentle, and mild for pregnancy and postpartum people (including chestfeeding). However, there are also several herbs to avoid that are important to be aware. Avoiding potent bitter herbs, strong laxatives, emmenagogues (herbs that stimulate uterus contractions), as well as herbs that are high in alkaloids and volatile oils, is imperative. It is generally best to stick to the ones you know are safe to use during this time and approved by a supervising practitioner. Please see this downloadable chart from Aviva Romm, MD, on herbs to avoid during pregnancy. Take extra caution during the first trimester of pregnancy. Start in small amounts and use in moderation, and notice how your body feels. If it's supportive, you can gradually increase the quantity based on how your body reacts. Remember, herbs work subtly and take the whole body into account, and bodies are extra sensitive at this time.
How do I take the herbs?
There are indeed so many ways to get herbs into your body, and it can be an enjoyable and creative experience in finding what works best for you—using water to extract the medicinal properties of the herbs, such as making teas, beverages, broths, and taking baths. But these tend to take more time, and other extractions, such as in alcohol, oil, glycerine, vinegar, and/or honey, are also great options! Note that the amount of alcohol in herbal tinctures is considered safe in pregnancy within the recommended typical use of the herbal product.
Overall, do what works for you. Ask yourself, what do I have time for? What will relax (or excite) me? What feels possible or realistic? If it's a daily cup of nourishing tea, that's wonderful! If it's adding nettles into your soup broths, fantastic. If it's ginger chews to help with nausea, or diffusing peppermint essential oil to relieve headaches, that's great. If it's an occasional herbal bath (or foot bath), that's stunning if it's an infused oil or cream that you put on after the shower, so good. If it's a tincture blend that you carry around in your purse and take with your meals, excellent! If it's going for a walk out in nature, merely noticing the trees and breathing in that fresh air, mmm perfect. Everyone is different. It's about actually finding what works well for you and making this experience as easeful as possible, so you do you!
Building a relationship with herbal medicine throughout pregnancy and postpartum can be very rewarding and supportive and can help shape your birth journey. Weave it in with nutrition, exercise, a balanced lifestyle, a positive perspective, and sounds like a recipe for an optimal childbearing experience.
How and where can you get all these herbs? Bay Area recommendations: Five Flavor Herbs in Oakland, Lhasa Karnak in Berkeley (two locations), Alembique Apothecary in West Berkeley, and Scarlet Sage in San Francisco. There are also various places to purchase herbs online, which also gives you the (more affordable) option of buying in bulk. Here a few suggestions for buying herbs online: Mountain Rose Herbs, Starwest Botanicals, and Oshala Farms.
References:
The Natural Pregnancy Book, Aviva Jill Romm
