 Homeopathy for Pregnancy and Childbirth workshop,
Thursday 1st March 2012
This will be a safe space for mums and dads (to be) to come and
ask quesitons and will include discussion of the context of homeopathy,
how remedies are made, how they are tested, dosage, repetition, and
potency, which symptoms are safe to treat at home and which are best
left to the professionals, plus case examples from my practice. Why Homeopathy?
Thursday 9 February 2012, 10am - 12noon
£8 per person, limited to 8 people due to lack of space, at Nappy Ever After: 96 Chalton Street, London NW1 1HJ Book your place now to avoid disappointment! Booking now available online Homeopathy is ideal for women in our childbearing years because it's a gentle system of medicine that is safe, non-toxic and non addictive - yet effective. Unfortunately, during pregnancy, too many of us suffer the discomfort of minor complaints rather than seek treatment because we are concerned about the side effects on ourselves and our unborn children from many common drugs. However, it is not always necessary to suffer through pregnancy, as homeopathic medicines and other natural methods are available to relieve symptoms - and best of all they are beneficial for you and your child. Homeopathic medicines are safe because they are so highly diluted so that only a minute amount of the source substance is used in their preparation. Even so, well used, homeopathic remedies can act as a catalyst to help your immune system and vitality to function at it's optimum, because they still contain nanodoses. By stimulating your vitality in pregnancy, homeopathy can benefit both you and your baby. By becoming as helathy as possible during pregnancy, you can give your baby the ideal conditions in which to thrive, and help to prevent future complications as much as possible. Physical and emotional changes during pregnancy may cause symptoms such as nausea, mild urinary problems, diarrhoea, constipation, heartburn, anaemia, varicose veins, backache, cramps, thrush or emotional distress. All these problems and other potentially complicated symptoms such as raised blood pressure and swollen legs, can often be helped by proffessional homeopathic treatment, whilst also being carefully monitored by your midwife or other healthcare professional. What complaints can be helped by homeopathy? The suggestions on this page are for complaints such as: morning sickness, constipation, sciatica, swelling, optimal positioning, slow labours, fast labours, exhaustion, bruising, emotional highs and lows, recovery from c-sections, tearing and episiotomies, and general recovery for you and your baby. If your symptoms are severe or chronic (persistent), consult a registered homeopath, your midwife and/or your general practitioner. If you are already undergoing a course of homeopathic treatment, please contact your homeopath before prescribing for yourself. In any case, don't take any remedies higher than 6c or 30c potency without consulting a professional homeopath. Dosage If you would like to try any of the remedies listed below, take them in a 30c potency and don't repeat them more than 3 times (three times a day for an intense acute attack, or once a day for three days for a less intense problem). If there is no improvement after three doses, try another indicated remedy or contact a practitioner. Morning Sickness Symptoms of morning sickness include nausea, occasional vomiting and tiredness. Many women experience these symptoms during the first three months of pregnancy, ususally in the morning when the stomach is empty, although it can occur at any time or all day. The traditional cure of eating a dry biscuit before getting out of bed is worth trying. Avoid rich, fatty foods and try eating little and often if your nausea is worse when you are hungry. Seek proffessional help if your vomiting is severe, for example if you are unable to keep food down and are losing weight or if it persists past your third month. Be sure to keep well hydrated. The following remedies are often well indicated for nausea in pregnancy:
Constipation is a common complaint in pregnancy because the hormones that prepare the muscles of the pelvis for labour, can also slow the digestive processes down. Adjusting your diet can often help mild constipation. Dietary changes that may help include: increasing you intake of fluids (especially water), fruit and vegetables; going easy on wheat products (as the gluten can have a clogging effect); and avoiding iron tablets as these can cause or exacerbate constipation. If you are concerned about your iron levles, use Floridix (a more easily absorbed liquid iron supplement widely availalbe in health food shops and pharmacies) and/or increase your intake of green leafy vegetables. Towards the end of your pregnancy, a certain amount of anaemia can be normal, in that you will be carrying so much extra fluid to accomodate for the pregnancy that the iron in your blood has become more dilute, but so long as the other clogging factors in your blood tests are normal, this should not cause any problems with increased bleeding or bruising (for more about iron and diet, see below). Any lasting change in your usual pattern of bowel movements should be assessed professionally but for a simple case of constipation in pregnancy, you could try one of the following remedies:
Contrary to popular belief, aches and nerve pain brought on by pregnancy tends to be in the pelvis and back, not around the sciatic nerve. Most women who think they have sciatica during pregnancy actually have pelvic girdle pain. Pelvic instability and symphysis pubis pain (where the two pubis bones at the front of the pelvic girdle are unstable and can rub together) seems to be increasingly common during pregnancy. In any case whether it's sciatica, pelvic girdle pain, or symphysis pubis instability, one of these remedies might help:
During pregnancy, it is especially important to eat well from a wide range of foods, as this will provide you with the extra trace minerals and vitamins that you need. If you are on a restricted diet or wish to take vitamin and mineral supplements, then it is important that you do take professional nutritional advice. Personally, I recommend using Moringa as a supplement. During pregnancy, it is also recommended to increase your intake of iron rich foods to keep up with an increased demand (your body needs all that iron to produce not only your baby, but also the placenta and all that extra blood to supply them both and you). Foods rich in iron include green leafy vegetables, blackstrap molasses, dried peaches and apricots, beans and lentils, whole grains, seeds (especially sunflower and pumpkin), and eggs. Vitamin C can help the body to absorb iron so have a fresh citrus drink (orange, grapefruit or just a squeeze of lemon or lime in water) with your meals to increase you iron intake. Avoid tea and coffee, especially with a meal, as it can prevent iron from being absorbed. Iron tablets (commonly prescribed on the NHS) often have side effects such as constipation so ask your health food store or pharmacy about alternatives such as Floridix if you need extra iron and are not able to get it from your diet. Many of the above foods (especially black-eye beans and blackstrap molasses) are also high in folic acid, an important trace mineral that helps with the absorbtion of iron and is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Avoid smoking and alcohol as these have been shown to damage your health and that of your child. If you want to cut down on these, be sure to disucss this with your homeopath, midwife and/or GP as they can support you in this in a number of ways. Be sure to get plenty of rest and sleep and to exercise regularly. Yoga has been found to be particularly helpful during pregnancy, both physically, emotionally, and for optimal positioning of the baby (more on this below). If you are in North London I can personally recommend Yvonne Moore for Pre&Post-Natal Yoga & Childbirth Education in Primrose Hill NW1, Archway N19 & Camden Town N7 - 020 7794 2056. Also, be sure to get enough rest and sleep. Miranda Castro has written here about how to get a good night's sleep during pregnancy, including suggeted remedies that might help. And don't forget the sex! Whether you've gone off it or are enjoying, for once, the spontinaity of not worrying about getting pregnant, homeopathy can help with any sexual problems you may be having during your pregnancy . Optimal positioning of the baby As well as pre-natal yoga (see above), scrubbing the floor on all fours during the last few weeks is one way of trying to ensure an optimal position for the baby - with it's head down and with it's spine along your belly and not your spine. Being on all fours turns your belly into a lovely hammock, and the rocking scrubbing motion helps them sway into position. The homeopathic remedy Pulsatilla is also known to have turned many breach babies around, even at the last minute in the hospital. But please do not use it routinely or repeatedly and check with a homeopath first whether it is appropriate in your situation. How can homeopathy help during the birth? There are many remedies that can be effective in dealing with possible problems during childbirth, such as a cervix that is slow to dilate, pain, excessive bleeding, retained placenta and other difficulties (Smith 1998, Using homeopthy during pregnancy and labour, Midwifery Digest 8(3) 283-6). I am happy to advise you and your partner or other birth companion on the use of remedies in labour, and can help you write up a birth plan that includes remedy suggestions for any eventuality you may be concerned about. I can also make sure you have a kit with a selection of remedies available tailor made for you. For example, the following remedies are often required by some women, both before, during and after labour:
Healing after the birth After birth, you can use homeopathic remedies to speed up healing for yourself and your baby:
Breastfeeding Be sure to find out as much as possible about breastfeeding before the birth, so that you already have the information you need, or know where to get it easily, when you really need it (most likely immediately after the birth and in the middle of the first few exhausted nights). For example, did you know that colostrum (the first milk) is rich in vitamin K, which makes the vitamin K offered to babies at birth, either as an injection or orally, hilghly unessessary? And did you know that until babies expel their first poo (meconium), they can often feed almost constantly in order to try to relieve the discomfort? For more practical information on how homeopathy can help with breastfeeding problems, please see here. Babies and children tend to respond quickly to homeopathic treatment. There are homeopathic remedies to help relieve the pains of colic or teething, nappy rash and more serious problems, as well as for many other acute childhood afflictions (for more information on this, please come to my workshop on 14th February 2012 on Homeopathy for Childhood Diseases). For information on if, when and how to treat Fevers, please see here. Vaccination The question of whether or not to vaccinate your baby is not always easy for parents, so be sure to educate yourself as much as possible about this issue before the birth. Some vaccines are now given immediately after birth, unless you specifically stipulate otherwise, so make sure you have done enough research on this issue yourself to make a fully informed decision. For more information about vaccines, please see here. Recommended books and further information: For more resources for parents and parents to be, see here.  "A must have for any holisticly-minded mother. A very clear guide on to how to use homoeopathy for physical and emotional problems encountered during pregnancy, birth and infancy. And much more besides, with all sorts of more general information and advice: the book has been an essential companion to me during my pregnancies and my children's early years. You won't be wasting your money!" Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth Ina
May Gaskin, America's leading midwife, shares her exceptional birthing
wisdom in this intuitive guide to childbirth. By sharing a wealth of
knowledge generated by three decades of experience she explains why the
natural birthing process, when left to its own devices, can proceed so
beautifully on its own. In this invaluable book Ina May teaches you:
what really happens during labour; how to create a safe, comfortable
environment for birth in any setting; tips for maximising your chances
of an unmedicated labour and birth; the risks of anaesthesia and
caesareans; and, what your doctor doesn't necessarily tell you. "Ina
May's Guide to Childbirth" is an inspiring read and gives women the
opportunity to take back the fear of childbirth by regaining confidence
in their bodies. It tells you everything you need to know to have the
best birth experience for you - whether in a hospital, birthing centre
or the comfort of home. Buy it here. Below, Ina May talks about her latest book, Birth Matters: a midwife's manifesta
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