A few weeks ago, at a check-up, when midwife Mary learned I was traveling to Ann Arbor for my cloth diaper start-up kit, she enthusiastically encouraged me to visit Indigo Forest and handed me a list of highly recommended homeopathic aides for labor, delivery and recovery. So, shell-shocked from my $400 cloth diaper excursion, off I went to what some might call "hippy land" or in my case, Indigo Forest. I walked out of the shop, located in an industrial park off of Jackson Road, near Zeeb and I-94, on the second floor of a back-building, $55 poorer and armed with a bunch of stuff I didn't know what to do with.
Well, I've since figured it out (sort of) and added to the arsenal, which includes oil of comfrey, raspberry leaf tea, lavender oil, tea tree oil, evening primrose oil, arnica montana, caulophyllum thalictroides and cimicifuga racemosa.
What does this stuff do? Well, here is what I mustered:
Oil of comfrey: A mix of vitamin e oil, avocado oil and comfrey extract, this is to use during birth to help stretch the skin and after birth, in a bath, to help aid in healing.
Raspberry leaf tea: Said to strengthen and tone the muscles of the uterus, helping them to contract more efficiently during labour. Research has found that drinking a strong brew during the weeks prior to delivery helps to shorten the second stage of labour by making contractions more effective. Sipping the tea during and after the birth is supposed to help the uterus contract back down to size, reduce after birth bleeding and help initiate the let down of breastmilk. Supposedly, to get this to work, you need to make it really strong (let it steep at least 4 hours) and drink 2 or more cups a day. I can't handle the former - I brew it at night and strain it in the morning - but the latter is harder than it sounds. That's a lot of tea. Hot or cold.
Lavender and Tea Tree Oil: For aromatherapy use during labor, and for use in healing baths after birth.
Evening primrose oil capsules: Not to be taken before the 37th week of pregnancy, evening primrose oil is supposed to help soften the cervix, "ripening" it to encourage or speed labor. Administered orally or topically.
Arnica montana: Generally recommended to reduce the fatigue, bruising, and trauma of labor; to control bleeding, prevent hemorrhaging, and minimize the strain on soft tissues. After childbirth, it eases afterpains, assists in the contraction of the uterus and relieves retention of urine after long labor.
Caulophyllum thalictroides: Used to strengthen the uterus so that it can effectively produce proper contractions in labor. They can be continually used during labor or to start it up again if it should stop.
Cimicifuga racemosa: For use with the former. Supposedly excellent as a liniment for back labor, it is also used to relieve pain and cramping in the womb. Relieves muscle pain, which is one reason it works so well with the former, a uterine stimulant.
Will any of this work? Help? I don't know, but I'm willing to try. Some would say my use of these, coupled with my chiropractic visits, doula-hiring and midwife, makes me a hippy. But I say keep the patchouli - I am simply trying to ease my baby into this world. And anything that might help that happen is worth a shot.
