Pregnancy is a special time in a woman’s life. It is a time when a woman pays close attention to her body. As her concern for her growing baby expands, her old attitudes toward self-care are revisited and often revised. During pregnancy, most women experience a heightened sense of smell. Familiar foods and cosmetics elicit unfamiliar responses. If this is your first pregnancy, appreciate that it is a unique time in your life. Take the opportunity to learn as much as you can about pregnancy. Use the experience to get to know your body. I hope your experience with pregnancy will be enjoyable and memorable.
Aromatherapy has specific applications that can enhance your experience of pregnancy. Knowing which essential oils to use and which to avoid is very important.
An average pregnancy is considered to take 40 weeks to reach full term. This period is split up into three trimesters.
The first trimester is an especially important time, when the risk of injury to the unborn is great. During this period the baby’s organs are just developing and are vulnerable to serious damage from exposure to toxins, drugs, and other influential chemicals. A pregnant woman’s heightened sense of smell may be Mother Nature’s way of helping her avoid things that could do harm to her or her baby.
There are some oils that should be avoided during the early months of pregnancy (see list below). They may, however, be safely used during the second and third trimesters for very specific applications.
Morning sickness is often one of the first signs of pregnancy. It can range in severity from a slight queasiness upon awakening in the morning to severe nausea and vomiting throughout the day. While the queasiness may be just a mild nuisance, the more severe forms of morning sickness can cause the mother to become dehydrated and undernourished, and can undermine the health of mother and baby. Here are a few aromatic remedies for morning sickness:
Avoid these oils during the first trimester:
Avoid these oils throughout the entire pregnancy:
Stretch marks can be prevented with a twice-daily massage throughout your pregnancy with one of these formulas. Rub the blend over the skin of the abdomen, breasts, and hips to increase elasticity and help preserve the skin’s normal texture.
Cocoa butter is a wonderful emollient that melts on contact with the skin in warm weather. If you live in a cold climate and find that this cocoa butter base sets up too hard, making it difficult to apply, you can substitute sesame, olive, or almond oil for the cocoa butter.
Melt the cocoa butter and stir in the essential oils. Store in a widemouthed jar.
For this blend, I recommend a mixture of almond and wheat germ oils for your carrier. Aim for approximately 90 percent almond oil to 10 percent wheat germ oil. Start by measuring 27 ml (just under 1 ounce) of almond oil, then add 3 ml wheat germ oil to equal 30 ml (1 ounce). Blend in the essential oils.
To use: Apply twice daily to the stomach area, breasts, and hips.
Although cinnamon is considered an unsafe oil during the first trimester, 1 drop diluted in a soluble solution such as olive oil or honey can be safely ingested to control morning sickness.
Hemorrhoids are congested veins around the rectum and anus. They are caused, or aggravated, by the pelvic congestion of pregnancy. To prevent and ease hemorrhoids, avoid constipation. Eat plenty of fiber and include psyllium seed in your diet.
Twenty drops of cypress oil dispersed in your bathwater will relieve hemorrhoid pressure. The cypress has a vasoconstricting action that will tighten tissue and shrink painful hemorrhoids.
Blend the essential oils into the aloe vera gel.
To use: Apply as a compress to relieve pain and swelling of hemorrhoids. Apply with a sterile cotton cloth or on a sanitary napkin.
Varicose veins are caused by congestion and poor circulation through the pelvic area. Many women develop them during pregnancy. The legs are affected, usually around the knee and ankle areas.
Elevating your feet above your heart for 10 minutes every day is an excellent practice that will prevent the development of varicose veins as well as ease the severity of existing ones.
Make a simple lotion to relieve restless legs and leg pain and to reduce and prevent varicose veins.
Blend the essential oils into the carrier oil.
To use: Massage the legs, working from the ankles toward the groin, and stroking in the direction of the heart.
Blend the oils into the milk.
To use: Disperse in a warm bath (a hot bath will aggravate varicose veins). You can make the application extra effective by elevating your feet as high as possible while you soak.
Massaging the legs from the ankle upward helps encourage circulation and prevent bloating during pregnancy.
Edema is an abnormal retention of fluids. Most pregnant women experience minor edema as a swelling of the hands, feet, and ankles. Minor edema is usually not threatening to the health of mother or baby, but it can be a signal that the kidneys are struggling. Elevating the feet can help reduce swelling. Dietary remedies include drinking plenty of water and natural fruit juices, and avoiding overconsumption of salts or sugars.
Blend the essential oils into the almond oil and mix well.
To use: Massage the legs, working from the ankles toward the groin, and stroking in the direction of the heart.
Back pain is common during the later stages of pregnancy, and massage with essential oils can bring a wonderful relief. As the body is changing and stretching, the added body weight puts strain on the muscles. Hormonal changes cause the ligaments around the spine and pelvic to soften.
To use: Pain and discomfort can be minimized or erased by a gentle massage with this blend.
An aromatic bath can ease back pain and general spinal stress.
To use: Disperse the essential oils into a warm bath and soak. This blend will also ease the pain of ligament stretching in the groin area and help prevent constipation.
As the baby grows bigger it pushes on the stomach, causing indigestion and heartburn. Foods that were previously tolerated well can begin to cause problems. It is a good idea to avoid spicy foods, fatty foods, and overeating in general during the third trimester.
Dissolve 1 drop of sandalwood in 1 cup (235 ml) of honey water, a tablespoon of aloe vera gel, or a solubol solution. Sandalwood has a slightly bitter taste and the sweetness of the solubol solution makes it more palatable. Taken this way at night, sandalwood will also help you sleep.
Blend the essential oils in the almond oil and mix well.
To use: Massage over the stomach and liver area to relieve painful indigestion or heartburn.
Toward the end of pregnancy, in the eighth month, you can begin to use one or two of the forbidden oils such as clary sage and fennel. These two are excellent for strengthening the womb and stimulating milk production.
One or 2 drops of either clary or fennel oil can now be added to stretch mark oil for local application. In the last weeks of pregnancy, one drop of fennel taken in a cup (235 ml) of hot honey water will stimulate estrogen and help prepare the body for producing adequate breast milk.
Many midwives routinely use aromatherapy to ease labor and facilitate childbirth. Specific oils are chosen for their calming, energizing, and uplifting effects, as well as for their delicious scents. Massage is a natural way to support and nurture the laboring woman, and the addition of aromatherapy enhances the positive effect.
Besides the lower back, shoulders, and legs, the reflex corresponding to the solar plexus located on the sole of the foot is massaged to minimize stress during birthing. There is also a pressure point located alongside the large toenail, which provides a degree of relief from the most intense labor pains.
Prepare massage oils that will be used during labor in advance. To prepare any of the following blends, fill a 1-ounce (30 ml) bottle with almond oil, leaving a little room at the top. Add the essential oils, cap, and shake.
Applying pressure to this point alongside the big toe can help relieve labor pains.
Many midwives use jasmine in a compress on the lower abdomen to help expel the placenta. Disperse 5 drops of jasmine into a basin of hot water. Wet a clean towel in the basin, wring it out, and place the warm, wet towel over the abdomen following birth.
If the perineum has been cut — an episiotomy — and there are stitches, they can be healed quickly with essential oil skin washes. Cypress tightens the tissue, and lavender soothes and helps heal the site of the episiotomy. Everlasting decreases scarring from surgery or stiches.
To use: Disperse the essential oils into a basin of hot water. Wet a clean washcloth in the basin, wring it out to make a warm compress, and place it over the episiotomy site.
After giving birth, some women experience a period of depression. This depression can range from a slight letdown after the exhilarating experience of labor and delivery to a severe and acute depression that renders a mother incapable of caring for, and bonding with, her newborn. Acute postpartum depression is a serious problem and can be life threatening. A new mother who appears listless or distraught should never be left alone to care for her infant. The emotional and physical support of other women is crucial, and medical intervention is indicated in severe cases.
Some essential oils that are helpful in relieving mild postpartum depression are bergamot, cinnamon, clary sage, clove, geranium, grapefruit, jasmine, neroli, orange, petitgrain, and rose. Place a drop or two of any of these oils on a handkerchief or tissue and inhale the scent periodically throughout the day.
To promote lactation, massage breasts with either of these blends.
Aromatherapy oils can help ease sensitive breasts during pregnancy and following birth.
Too often, our modern culture treats menopause as a disease. Some women do experience this period as a turbulent time, but menopause is a natural stage in a woman’s life and should be approached as the beginning of a new cycle rather than the end of youth. Menopause can actually mark the beginning of the most powerful and productive time of a woman’s life. In Thailand a woman enters menopause with a celebration, announcing to friends and family that she has grown beyond her childbearing years. In many primitive societies a postmenopausal woman enjoys an elevated status. She often assumes the role of a shaman or healer within her tribe. If you are approaching or entering this cycle of your life, learn about women who have done well and survived menopause in a strong way.
By the time a woman is 45, most of her ovarian follicles have ripened and ovulated, leaving just a few to secrete estrogen and progesterone. Over the next few years these too will most likely be used up, and her two ovaries will no longer function as active glands. Her production of feminizing hormones will virtually cease. Ideally these changes occur gradually and, as her monthly cycles come to an end, a woman’s body adjusts to the change in its hormonal environment. Many women, however, experience a sudden onset of menopause following a hysterectomy or other gynecological surgery, ovarian or uterine cancer, or chemotherapy treatment for breast or other cancers.
There are a variety of unpleasant side effects of the hormonal imbalances that are common to this stage of a woman’s life. She may suffer from hot flashes, heat rashes, night sweats, and insomnia. Her symptoms may include irritability, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. She may develop vaginal atrophy and dryness, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Some women begin to experience panic attacks and feel as if they are dying. Others want to, and even contemplate suicide.
Hormone replacement therapy is often prescribed to relieve such unpleasant symptoms and to reduce the health risks associated with menopause. But most women experience only a few of these symptoms, and these for only a brief period. The radical hormonal adjustments of a medically induced menopause, however, can cause multiple and acute symptoms, complicating recovery from what was most likely a difficult and unsettling event in a woman’s life. Routine hormone replacement therapy is not recommended for women with a family history of breast, uterine, or ovarian cancer, liver disease, thrombosis, fibrocystic breasts, migraines, or endometriosis. Moreover, many women are now turning to alternative therapies and choosing to address menopause as a natural phase of their lives rather than as a malady requiring medical management.
To counteract menopausal symptoms, ensure your diet is rich in nutrients. Consume an abundance of clean water, fresh vegetables and juices, and whole grains. If they are not already a part of your diet, introduce soy products and sea vegetables. Now is a good time to add vitamin supplements to your health-maintenance program: antioxidants, B-complex vitamins, and especially vitamin E, which is in the membrane covering every cell in the body and is vital to life.
Avoid overconsumption of alcohol, caffeine, carbonated sodas, sugar, refined carbohydrates, and fatty foods. Besides being nutritionally deficient foods, they tax the immune system and deplete the body of crucial minerals. It is particularly important in midlife to get adequate minerals, especially zinc. Colloidal mineral supplements, derived from the clay of ancient seabeds, provide a broad range of these necessary minerals in an accessible form. Colloidal particles are so small that they can remain suspended in liquid or gas, but unlike dissolved particles, they retain their whole form.
Dioscorea villosa, or wild yam root, rediscovered in the 1980s, has actually been used to treat menopausal discomforts for centuries. According to the Chinese pharmacopoeia, shu-yu (wild yam) is tonic, restorative, and cooling; it benefits the spirit, brightens the intellect, and prolongs life.
The primary active ingredient of the wild yam is thought to be diosgenin, which acts much like a natural progesterone, performing as an adaptogen, or balancer in the body. Formulated into a skin cream, the active ingredients are absorbed transdermally, which makes the wild yam an excellent complement to aromatherapy remedies. There are many different wild yam creams commercially available. Some are formulated with herbs and essential oils for a synergistic effect. If you choose to use a wild yam cream to alleviate menopausal discomforts, look for a cream that contains lavender, geranium, angelica, spikenard, fennel, sage, clary sage, or melissa. These oils are considered prehormones and phytoestrogens. They help balance the hormones and, through their own actions, can alleviate menopausal discomforts.
The following formulas address specific problems that are often associated with either menopause or premenstrual syndrome. These blends can be mixed into a massage or body oil, or added to a bath. To make a bath solution, dissolve the essential oils in 2 ounces (60 ml) of solubol or milk before adding to the bath. For a body or massage oil, mix the essential oils into 2⁄3 ounce (20 ml) of either apricot or macadamia nut oil to which you have added 1⁄3 ounce (10 ml) of either borage, evening primrose, or rose hip seed oil.
All of these blends will enhance a woman’s health and can be used throughout the life cycle, but they are particularly beneficial during midlife.
This is an excellent blend for treating unpleasant premenstrual or premenopausal symptoms.
This blend should not be used during pregnancy or lactation because of the sage.
This blend, which stimulates and balances masculine energy, is helpful in situations in which estrogen is dominant.
A comforting blend to use during a rough time. Use this blend to treat stress or insomnia.
Use this uplifting blend during times of hormonal imbalance or depression.
This warming blend is energizing to the libido.