I recently gave birth to my second child, a beautiful baby girl. We had a home birth and so received prenatal care from a local home birth midwife, Christy Santoro. (She's lovely. If you are interested in a home birth, check out www.motherlandmidwifery.com) Through this type of care, and because of Christy's extensive knowledge, I discovered a number of new remedies for the particular ailments I experienced throughout my pregnancy. Here are a few of my favorite rememdies - I hope they will help other pregnant women in the same way they did for me.
I suffered from extreme nausea for the first half of my pregnancy. It turns out that my nausea was often a result of low blood sugar. (This is a typical explanation for the "morning sickness" many women experience during the first trimester.) By focusing on my diet and attempting to eat some protein along with some carbs every time I ate, I was able to regulate my blood sugar and so regulate my nausea. Instead of eating three times a day, I had to snack almost all the time. Almonds and sunflower seeds became a regular part of my snacking..eggs made a great quick and easy protein part of my diet. I also ate a high-protein snack before bed as well as any time I woke up throughout the night. In this way, I was able to alleviate some of the extreme nausea I felt upon first waking in the morning. In addition, remembering to drink electrolytes in fluid helped keep my body regulated.
Apart from diet, my favorite remedy for nausea was taking homeopathic Nux Vomica 30c. It was truly amazing. One tiny pill, and my nausea was temporarily alleviated - at least until I could get some food into my system. I also found ginger tea and peppermint tea to be helpful at times...
I have had sore knees for a number of years, but during my pregnancy the aching in my knees and ankles was far worse than I was used to. In addition to taking calcium-magnesium and making bone broth, I found acupuncture to be my favorite remedy. It was quite amazing the difference a treatment made.
For headaches, I found that I either needed to a) drink water, b) eat some protein, or c) get some sleep. Ta-da! Headache gone. A nice head massage also helped quite a bit...when I was lucky enough to get one! Christy also recommended homeopathic Gelsemium 30c for headaches. I never did try it, but I thought I would include it here as I have become more and more interested in homeopathy due to my experiences while pregnant and postpartum.
I had tingly hands during the first trimester as well as the third trimester. Again, keeping an eye on my hydration was key, but I also drank liquid chlorophyll to help with my blood flow. I added one tablespoon to water or juice or ginger tea and drank it once a day. You can find liquid chlorophyll in its normal "grass-flavored" state or with a peppermint flavor. I also drank liquid chlorophyll towards the end of my pregnancy and into the first few weeks postpartum to help regulate my blood. Chlorophyll (plant blood, basically) has an extremely similar make-up to human blood and therefore can help make our blood stronger and healthier.
For heartburn, Christy recommended papaya enzymes, slippery elm lozenges, and/or liquid calcium-magnesium. All very successful! These things can be found at WholeFoods or any natural foods store.
These are only a few of the ailments I experienced and only a few of the recommended remedies. I was impressed with how well they worked for me, and I felt good about the fact that I could find some more natural ways to alleviate my aches and pains, making my pregnancy a more enjoyable experience. Here's to Mother Nature and alternative treatments!
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