Conscious Choice: Herbs for New Moms and Babies

May 2000 | Herbs for Health

Herbs for New Moms and Babies

by Meg McGowan

As parents caring for our children we tend to revert to memories of our own childhood. Unless we have questioned the products that we grew up with, we are inclined to reach for those same familiar names as our baby-care essentials. But there are some things we would do well to keep in mind. For instance, everything that is applied topically, is absorbed into the bloodstream. Thus, it is best to use only the purest and safest natural ingredients on our babies and children as well as ourselves. Herbal products are a wonderfully gentle way to welcome infants into the world and to ease new mothers through their life transition as well.

Wise Ways Herbals produces Motherstar Massage Oil formulated by former midwife Miriam Massaro for use during or after birth. During labor and delivery it can be rubbed on the abdomen to support the uterus and applied to the perineal area to facilitate stretching and prevent tearing. Massaged into the abdomen in the weeks following birth, Motherstar Oil helps the uterus contract and return to its normal state. Massaro recommends using the oil until postnatal bleeding has stopped. Wise Way’s organic Calendula Oil is a nourishing and healing oil that can be used in numerous ways. Women often experience sore or cracked nipples when breastfeeding. Calendula Oil applied to the breasts soothes nipples and helps them to heal. Rubbed into the abdomen, Calendula Oil reduces residual stretch marks. The oil can also be used for infant care to relieve diaper irritations. Massaged into baby’s scalp, it alleviates cradle cap.

For new mothers, Burt’s Bee’s Wise Woman Comfrey Comfort Salve is another alternative for relief from tender nipples and stretched skin. Sweet almond oil, olive oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, and wheat germ oil are blended together for a rich, emollient base. Comfrey and lavender and vitamin E work together to stimulate cell growth and regeneration.

Burt’s Bees’ also offers gentle herbal products for babies’ bottoms. Baby Bee Skin Cream combines almond oil and beeswax to create a moisture barrier, preventing chafing and redness. Aloe vera gel is added to help heal and soothe skin irritations. It can also be used on baby’s face and body as a moisturizer. Baby Bee Dusting Powder is an alternative to products containing talc, which is often mined with asbestos. Instead, the powder contains a blend of absorbent cornstarch, baking soda, natural clay, and slippery elm bark. The slippery elm bark, in conjunction with powdered myrrh, eases the discomfort of diaper rash and promotes healing.

California Baby addresses diapering needs with both a Diaper Area Wash and a Diaper Rash Cream. The wash includes witch hazel, which acts as an anti-inflammatory and encourages healing, along with calendula and aloe vera. The cream combines chamomile, arnica, comfrey, and calendula to ease burning and aid in healing, along with vitamins A and E and a calming essential oil blend.

California Baby’s line of aromatherapy bath products supports the emotional needs of both mother and child. Bath Blends — Calming, Light & Happy, Colds & Flu, and Overtired & Cranky — are available with or without bubbles. Calming includes the relaxing essential oils of chamomile, lavender, and clary sage. Light & Happy is a blend of uplifting citrus oils: sweet orange, tangerine, and pink grapefruit. Eucalyptus, fir needle, and tea tree oils in the Colds & Flu blend clear congestion and combat bacteria. Overtired & Cranky utilizes mandarin essential oil, which has mild tranquilizing properties, and chamomile, which is quieting and comforting. Bath Blends with bubbles include a bubble wand for an extra bit of bath-time fun. Soapbark and yucca provide natural bubbles.

Aromatherapy Spritzers are available from California Baby in two blends to clear the air, Overtired & Cranky and Fresh Lavender Antibacterial. Aromatherapy Body Mists from Perfect Scents were created to enhance the Perfect Stretch Workout, but two of the mists are ideal for giving new moms a much needed boost when normal sleep patterns and baby’s needs are at odds. Joyful Rising includes essential oils of spearmint, grapefruit, patchouli, and lime, reconnecting consciousness and body in a fluid, gradual manner. Revive is more direct and vigorous. It centers and energizes with essential oils of sandalwood, birch, orange, grapefruit, peppermint, and black pepper.

An herbal-care package for the new mother might include herbs recommended for tiredness and exhaustion by Anne McIntyre in The Complete Woman’s Herbal: A Manual of Healing Herbs and Nutrition for Personal Well-Being and Family Care (Henry Holt, 1994). One cup of tea or one teaspoon of tincture three to six times a day, made of equal parts wild oats (Avena sativa), skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), ginger (Zingiber officinale), vervain (Verbena officinalis) and dang gui (Angelica sinensis syn. A. polymorpha), will revitalize and nourish the nervous system. McIntyre suggests adding a little licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) to flavor the tonic and support the adrenals.

To increase and enrich the milk supply of breast-feeding mothers, McIntyre recommends blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus syn. Carbenia benedicta, Carduus benedictus), borage (Borago officinalis), chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum syn. C. zeylanicum), dill (Anethum graveolens syn. Peucedanum graveolens), false unicorn root (Chamaelirium luteum syn. Helonias dioica), fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare), garlic (Allium sativum), goat’s rue (Galega officinalis), nettles (Urtica dioica), raspberry leaves (Rubus idaeus), saw palmetto (Sabal serrulata syn. Serenoa serrulata) and vervain. Penelope Ody, in Home Herbal (Dorling Kindersley, 1995), suggests a weak tea of anise (Pimpinella anisum), catnip (Nepeta cataria), dill or fennel sipped three times a day for breast-feeding mothers whose infants are suffering from colic. Ginger, German chamomile (Chamomilla recutita) and slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) infusions are also beneficial for that purpose, according to Andrew Chevallier in The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants (Dorling Kindersley, 1996).

Consider giving herbal care products as presents for a first Mother’s Day, for baby showers, or to welcome a birth. An expanded awareness about the products we use to care for our children’s bodies and ailments is a gift beyond measure. To extend that awareness, encouraging new parents to look beyond old patterns of behavior in caring for children’s emotional needs, you may want to include a copy of Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt’s book Giving the Love That Heals: A Guide for Parents (Pocket Books, 1998)

Resources

Burt’s Bees, 800-849-7112,

California Baby, 310-277-6430

Perfect Scents, 708-957-1141

Wise Ways Herbals, 413-238-4268

DISCLAIMER: Choosing a holistic approach to medicine means choosing personal responsibility for your health care. Herbs for Health offers a doorway through which to enter the realm of herbal healing, an invitation to further investigation on the part of the reader. It is in no way intended as a substitute for advice from a health care practitioner.

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