Home Birth Midwifery Service

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Well Pregnancy Tea Infusion (Hot or Cold)        

These wellness and healing herbs have been used in woman care and pregnancy for generations.  An infusion for female reproductive organs, Red Raspberry Leaf was commonly used by native North Americans long before Europeans came here.

Here is the "basic recipe" that can be added to, according to your specific pregnancy needs or taste.

• 1 part Red Raspberry Leaf
• 1 part Nettle Leaf
  
• ½ part Alfalfa Leaf

Add to this "basic recipe" any of the following healing & helpful herbs...

• ¼ part oatstraw, (for a strong circulatory system)
• ¼ part chamomile, (for relaxation and sleep)
  
• ¼ part Butcher's Broom, (for varicosities or swollen veins)
  
• ¼ part lemon balm, (for calming the mind)
• ¼ part lemon verbena, (for a pleasant lemon flavor, relaxation & digestion)
  
• ½ part mint, if not using homeopathic remedies, (for flavor & digestion)

Buy the herbs bulk at a natural foods store, such as a food coop, or herb store, or online at Mountain Rose Herbs.

Mix the dried herbs together in a quart jar and stir the dry herbs with a clean, dry chop stick or table knife. Cover tightly and keep in a cool, dark place.

To make a quart of tea: Put a couple tablespoons of your dry herbal mix in a large tea ball or basket into a quart jar with the chain hanging out. Pour very hot, nearly boiling, water over the herbs and steep 5 minutes (longer than a 5 min. steep is beneficial but may be bitter. Get used to the taste with less steeping and add time till you like it.) Steep with the jar lid on. Drink hot, warm, or cold... sweeten as you like, with sugar, honey, stevia, agava... and enjoy!

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 Postpartum Herbal Sitz Bath  

• 2 oz. of:
• Rosemary,
• Shepard's Purse, and
• Uva Ursi
• 1 oz. each of:
• Chamomile Flowers,
• Comfrey Leaf,
• Marshmallow Root,
• Plantain,
• Lavender Flowers, and
• Calendula

• 2 oz. of sea salt.

Combine and mix dry herbs and salt in a large bowl.

Store in an air-tight container or Ziplock bag, in a cool, dark place

Click here to buy all these herbs and the salt at Mountain Rose Herbs

In Childbearing Year, author Susun Weed recommends using herbs like yarrow, rosemary, golden seal, oak bark, witch hazel, sea grate bark, and myrrh specifically for healing perineal tears. She does caution that if you have stitches you should limit yourself to one sitz bath a day.

How to Prepare your Postpartum Herbal Sitz Bath...

• Place four ounces of your herbal sitz bath blend into a nylon knee high and tie a knot.

• Boil 1 gallon water,turn off.

• Place your herbal sitz bath blend "tea bag" into the boiled water and cover.

• Let it sit and steep for at least four hours.

• Pour steeped liquid directly into a shallow warm bath.

• Sit the tea water for 15-20 minutes.

• Repeat several times a day if you do not have stitches, and enjoy the powerful healing

   of a simple herbal sitz bath!

Not only are the herbs healing,

but this little bit of time for YOU

can be cherished as well!

Relax, Enjoy, Cherish, Heal...

Instructions on making your own herbal preparations

from

Mountain Rose Herbs

Fill a clean tube sock with uncooked rice

& lavender flowers.

Tie a knot or sew the end.

The sock can be heated in the microwave for two to two-and-a-half minutes; the length of time depends on the power of the microwave.

The sock will hold its heat for about one hour and can be reheated as needed.

While Emergen-C is indeed a great electrolyte booster, the high content of vitamin C can cause excessive bleeding after birth, surgery, dental work or other "bleeding potential" events. High doses of vitamin C can promote anti-coagulation. Caution should be exercised when employing this powder during labor.

For a better option, try this Labor Aid Mix:

• 1 qt. water
• 1/3 c. honey
• 1/3 c. juice from a real lemon
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 2 crushed calcium tablets