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Urban Farming. Healthy Living.

Essential Oils for Pregnancy & Childbirth

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The best essential oils for Pregnancy and childbirthThere are a lot of things I regret in my former unhealthy life…

but I think the winner was how uninformed I was with natural solutions during pregnancy. Honestly, I was uninformed about EVERYTHING pregnancy related, from natural birthing options to what a healthy diet should look like (FYI it shouldn’t involve Taco Bell every day). It’s a miracle I made it through that adventure. But I did. And after suffering from various health issues over the years, it’s led me to a healthier lifestyle and some great natural solutions.

I now have two healthy children (ages 9 and 11), and one healthy husband. We’re all healthy up in heh-yah, yo’ (at least for the most part). Nobody’s perfect and we sure aren’t either, but we stick pretty well to our real food diet, avoid processed foods, and enjoy the perks of farm living which provides a good dose of hard work, along with some labor, immune-boosting good bacteria, fresh air and sunshine.

Why Essential Oils?

Well, my adorable friend, I’m glad you asked. Dive into the science of the active compounds of essential oils, and you just might be blown away. Two years ago I started using essential oils and they’ve changed my life!

Did you know that plants contain many different compounds? It’s true. You can experience health & wellness benefits from using essential oils in your everyday life!

A true natural solution is WHOLE AND PURE, not fake and synthetic.

In a world with the word “natural” being thrown around like candy (and even candy is being called natural), it’s hard to know what’s good and what’s bad. 

When I was deciding which essential oil company to go with, I’m not gonna lie, I was a little overwhelmed. In my research, however, I found that I fully trust and love. What it came down to for me was the purity and quality of their product.

Sourcing a plant is one of the MOST IMPORTANT aspects of producing high quality essential oils. Different soils and different environments can have vastly different amounts of active compounds, as much as 50%! They specialize in a special kind of sourcing called co-impact sourcing, which means they develop long-term relationships with Artisan and small-scale growers. Because most farmers have to rely on one payment at harvest time, which makes it difficult to support their families, the essential oil brand I love offers installments throughout the year as quality and potency requirements are met. They also help the farmers organize themselves into cooperatives, which helps sustain the entire community. This helps ensure a long-term supply of the highest quality product while providing schools, health clinics, water systems, and cooperative buildings for the communities.

Does every essential oil company do this? Not even close. That’s why I only use & sell doTERRA.

Are Essential Oils safe for Pregnancy and Childbirth? 

The short answer is ABSOLUTELY. The long answer is…there are some things you need to know before using essential oils during pregnancy and childbirth. It’s not rocket science, it just takes a good dose of common sense, which I trust you have. Right? Right?! Just kidding, I know you’ve got this.

What to know before using Essential Oils for Pregnancy and Childbirth:

1. Know the difference between hazard and risk. 

“We live in a world replete with toxic substances, yet ‘hazard’ should not be confused with ‘risk’. The presence of a toxic substance (hazard) is only problematic if exposure is sufficiently great (risk). Roasted coffee contains furan and bezo[a]pyrene, two known carcinogens…yet coffee is not considered carcinogenic. Almost all edible fruits contain acetaldehyde, a probable human carcinogen. But bananas are not considered carcinogenic because the amounts of acetaldehyde are extremely small, and because there are large quantities of antioxidant, antimutagens, and anticarcinogens also present in the fruit. It is a similar story with coffee.”

– Robert Tisserand, Essential Oil Safety, p. 3

Let’s face it, ANYTHING can become toxic at high levels. For heavens sake, you can die if you drink too much water. Proper dosage is important with anything. In my opinion, telling pregnant women to avoid all essential oils during pregnancy is like the FDA saying that because a few people don’t know how to properly care for raw milk means nobody should be allowed to drink raw milk. “No milk for you!”

2.  Imagine your baby’s size, and keep that in mind when choosing a dose.

Did you know that essential oils are found in many foods that we ingest every single day? Potatoes, apricots, figs, apples, peaches, carrots, chicken, fish, asparagus, bananas, celery, grapes, guava, tomatoes, milk — all of them have significant essential oil constituents. 

“It is arguable that the human body will be able to metabolize and eliminate essential oil constituents more readily than synthetic pharmaceutical drugs, since they are found not only in many spices and herbs that have been consumed by humans for thousands of years, but also some common foods.”

– Robert Tisserand, Essential Oil Safety, p. 148

 

When deciding on a dose to use, you first have to know that essential oils are very powerful, and the dosage is unlike anything you’ve used before. A FEW DROPS of an essential oil is considered ONE DOSE. Because essential oils can cross the placental barrier, it’s possible that portion of the essential oil that hasn’t been metabolized by your liver or enzymes in your bloodstream could reach your baby. Remember, at the proper dosage, this is fine. The problem lies when toxicity levels are reached. 

A study was performed in pregnant rodents where scientists injected 1,8-cineole (a common constituent found in many oils). The conclusion of the study was determined that when injecting 101 mg/kg for 10 days there was no adverse effects, at 500mg/kg for 4 days affected fetal liver enzymes, and at 682mg/kg for 18 days was toxic to both the mother and the fetus.

How does this compare to humans? Well, let’s just say if you wanted to give your body 682mg/kg for 18 days, that would mean an 130 lb. woman would need to use 2.5 bottles of an essential oil, every day, for 18 days.

Yeah.

 

Like I said before, it’s a good idea to have a good dose of common sense in the area of essential oils. It’s important to maintain the proper dosage of a FEW DROPS each usage, spacing the applications anywhere from 30 min to 1.5 hours apart.  

Are there any essential oils I should avoid during pregnancy and childbirth?

You will see recommendations for avoiding essential oils such as Birch, Cassia, Cinnamon, Cypress, Fennel, Lavender, Myrrh, Oregano, Wintergreen, but one thing to remember is that as long as you keep in mind proper dosage and stick with pure therapeutic grade, essential oils can all be metabolized by the body properly. 

“You will find warnings everywhere about which oils you should and should not use during pregnancy. These previously were very valid concerns because of the impurities that were so prevalent in the oils available and the threat that they posed to a developing fetus. But now that we enjoy the purity of oils it is no longer an issue” 

-Dr. David Hill

Essential Oils for Pregnancy 

Use all the essential oils! Just kidding. Actually, there are some essential oils to keep in mind to use less of during pregnancy and childbirth (listed below), but for the most part, many essential oils are safe during pregnancy as long as the dosage is kept in a moderate amount. Here are my favorites:

Essential Oils for Childbirth

  • The Balance blend
    BALANCE OIL   ADD TO CART (free shipping)
    The grounding blend is a blend of the essential oils spruce, ho wood, frankincense, and blue tansy. Grounds as balances emotions. Diffuse or rub on the wrists.
  • The Elevation blend
    ELEVATION OIL   ADD TO CART (free shipping)The Elevation blend is a blend of the essential oils wild orange, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin, bergamot, tangerine, and clementine with a hint of vanilla. Invigorates and sustains energy.
  • The Clary Calm blend
    CLARY CALM OIL   ADD TO CART (free shipping)
    The Clary Calm blend is a blend of the essential oils of clary sage, lavender, bergamot, Roman chamomile, cedarwood, ylang ylang, geranium, fennel, carrot seed, palmarosa and vitex. Great for enhancing uterine contractions *only to be used once labor begins, NOT to induce labor*

Essential Oils for Postpartum Care

 

 

The best essential oils for Pregnancy and childbirth

 

ABOUT DANELLE

DaNelle started to take an interest in a healthier lifestyle after suffering from two debilitating chronic diseases. On a mission to create a farm of her own, DaNelle forced, or rather 'lovingly persuaded' her husband to purchase a ranch home on an acre of land and transform it into their very own urban farm. DaNelle blogs at Weed 'em & Reap where she writes about the sustainable backyard farming, traditional food, & natural remedies.

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Comments

  1. Thank you for all your great information. I’m always looking for ways to go more natural and love finding others who strive to do the same. Keep up the good work!

    Reply

  5. Some of the purest essential oils should be avoided during pregnancy and internal use should not be used without an aromatologist’s advice regardless of brand. I’m not understanding why you are quoting only part of Robert Tisserand and not all. Please DaNelle reconsider what you are sharing with others. Robert Tisserand and all those vintage aromatherapists have been using unadulterated essential oils and studying their chemical constituents for years. Even the ones that sell EOs promote safety; why would they do that if it wasn’t needed and it affects their sales?

    Reply

    • Hi Maria,

      I’m not sure if I understand why you think I am only quoting part of Robert Tisserand. The reason I have “…” in the middle of the quote is because he lists all the carcinogens by name. It does not change the quote.

      Robert Tisserand clearly points out in his book that all essential oils must reach a toxic dose before there is harm. He also points out that the toxic level is very high, and in all toxic cases, it’s by accidental overdose. Because there are many schools of thought in Brittish vs. French aromatherapy, I chose to stick with the one backed by the most research, not by scare tactics.

      Reply

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