Herbs and Natural Remedies for Pregnancy and Birth

The placenta has been used in rituals throughout the world and through time. This may involve burial under a certain kind of tree, drying for use as a lucky charm or even ingestion as a medicine. Placenta: The Gift of Life combines the experiences of midwives, doctors and naturopaths with our ancestors' traditions, and saves some old recipes from oblivion.

Articles in Midwifery Today 52 include My Top Favorite Complementary Modalities, Chiropractic Care in Pregnancy, Vegan Pregnancy, Blue Cohosh Abstract and Response to Blue Cohosh Abstract.

Shiatsu is in essence very simple: It is a particular way of touching a body. It is similar in some ways to massage, aromatherapy and reflexology, yet it is also profoundly different, as it draws on the Eastern traditions of yin/yang, meridians, elements and Zen. It includes work with muscles, ligaments and skin, releasing physical tension and promoting relaxation. It also works with the energetic pathways (meridians) and encompasses work on the emotions, the psyche and the spirit. It is a form of communication-reaching beyond the physical and tangible form to touch the essence of life itself, which is invisible.

The main difference between the experienced practitioner and the novice is the ability to interpret the information received through touching in this way. Many of the essential aspects of this way of touch, this form of communication, can be accessed after relatively little training. In this respect it is different from acupuncture and herbalism, which view the body and its energy in similar ways. Obviously you need to train for several years to be able to insert needles into the body, and you need to have a thorough understanding of Chinese herbs to begin to prescribe them safely.

From Shiatsu: Another Tool for Keeping Birth Normal - by Suzanne Yates. This article was originally printed in MIDIRS, 12/98, and appeared in Midwifery Today Issue 61, Spring 2002

Combining the benefits of water and exercise helps create better birth. The women I have worked with tend to have fewer interventions, shorter labors and less c-sections. They show fewer complications in the prenatal period and recover faster. The benefits of water are ancient knowledge. While there is no formal documentation of outcomes of labor due to water exercise, I know from three years of observation what is true. It makes perfect sense for the pregnant body to gravitate toward a water environment.

From The Prenatal Water Workout- by Jill Cohen, from the Midwifery Today web site.

What are the appropriate uses of medicinal herbs based on tradition and science? Botanical Medicine in Midwifery Practice will help you find the answers. Learn the use of extracts and the differences between standard, alcohol and water base preparations. This book also includes a glossary of plant categories and a comprehensive list of herbal resources, products and supplies. The final section consists of information about essential herbs for women.

The windflower is one of the great homeopathic polychrests (drug of many uses). This herb has long been used to change unfavorable presentations prior to the onset of labor. The remedy is most effective when administered before the presenting put is deeply engaged in the pelvis and before the bag of waters ruptures.

How does it work? Pulsatilla is essentially soft and changeable. On the physical plane, the uterus grows asymmetrically, and the baby fits in there any way it can. Given in potency (a pharmaceutical process which progressively dilutes natural substances and then vigorously shakes them, thereby releasing dormant energy), pulsatilla stimulates the uterine muscle to grow more evenly. In. response to a change in shape, the baby willingly and naturally assumes the most advantageous position-a gentle intervention.

From Using Homeopathy to Turn Babies - by Patty Brennan. This article first appeared in Midwifery Today Issue 24, Spring 1993.