I have become more interested and slightly more knowledgeable about herbs in the last year and decided that I wanted them to be a part of my pregnancy. I have said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but I am not a doctor of any sort. If you are interested in herbs and how to use them please read on and I will mention a few trusted herbalists who have books that might be of interest to you. As usual, if you are pregnant you should speak with your physician before starting anything new (though don't be surprised if he/she isn't on board with your ideas).
Here are the herbs I use on an almost daily basis. I change it up each day to make sure I get a balance of the nutrients and also keep the flavors interesting.
NETTLES - Ah-mazing. I wish I could cleverly explain just how great this herb is, but I'm afraid the following will have to do. Nettles are considered a tonic and can aid in the treatment of nearly any disease or discomfort due to it's high nutrient content and gentle action. This is the type of herb you could use every day and only see good effects (this is not true of all herbs considering that most have very strong actions and can take a toll on the systems of the body). Here's just a sampling of what this herb has to offer.
- Can be used as a tonic during pregnancy
- Has been historically used to enrich and aid in milk production of breast feeding mothers
- Contains a good amount of vitamin K which is particularly difficult to kind in the modern diet.
- According to Rosemary Gladstar in her book Herbal Healing For Women, "It is one of the best sources of digestible plant iron and is rich in calcium, vitamin A, and chlorophyll.
- Is an antihistamine and good for dealing with allergies (I learned of this trait too late to utilize it for my Husband's Spring allergies, but will definitely be using on my own when the Fall comes around).
This is a bare-bones list of the offerings of nettles, but you can learn a great more from Rosemary Gladstar and Susun Weed. These women have decades of experience not only studying these herbs, but using them in their homes and with their families and friends. There are so many herbalists I could recommend to you, but these two specifically speak and write about herbalism and women, so they might be of more direct use to you.
RED RASPBERRY LEAF - Also ah-mazing. This herb has some confusion floating around it, so make the decision to use it or not for yourself once you are fully aware of the information (which means doing more research than just reading this post).
- Used as a uterine tonic, this herb helps to tone the uterus and prime it for pre, during, and post- pregnancy.
- Rich in vitamins B, C, and E. Also rich in Calcium (one of the most easily assimilated forms of calcium), iron, potassium, and phosphorous.
- Useful in increasing milk flow
This is also a nutritive and tonic herb that does not build up in the system and is therefore non-toxic. Yes, you can have too much of a good thing so don't go crazy.
RED CLOVER - I think you've caught on by now... ah-mazing.
- When paired with raspberry leaf, this herb helps the body assimilate the goodness in it's partner herb (while also imparting it's own).
- Often used in the treatment of infertility
There is so much more to this herb that I just have not studied, so I would suggest reading into it further.
Well, those are my top three herbs. You might be interested to know that I had taken a liking to nettles long before I was pregnant or considering becoming pregnant. It just made sense to have an herb that would give me nutrients that I was probably missing in my daily diet (which is almost completely paleo, so very nutritious indeed). I began incorporating red raspberry and red clover once I learned about the calcium benefits and the fact that women begin to lose bone density around age 30...I'm only 3 years from that mark so I'm chugging the stuff like it's going out of style. I hope this helps, and as I mentioned before go check out Rosemary and Susun because they are a wealth of knowledge and so easy to read. Thanks for dropping by!
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