Pregnancy usually requires no treatment apart from sufficient food and rest. All women who are pregnant nowadays are involved in the orthodox antenatal care system and problems arising in pregnancy can be discussed with the doctor, who can run all the standard checks for complications. It is of course best to avoid taking anything unnecessary during pregnancy, particularly during the first three months. This includes herbs, which should be given the same consideration and caution as anything else taken in pregnancy. However, herbs, unlike chemically based drugs, are made up from the whole plant, which contains the ‘active’ constituents and also secondary healing agents, which balance the action of the primary ingredients. Treatment should always be sought from a registered herbalist.
Medical Treatment
Some problems that arise in pregnancy can often be prevented or lessened if treatment is sought prior to conception, if this is possible. Some of the commonly seen problems are better dealt with this way if planning allows. Someone suffering from constipation or irregularity of bowel movements before pregnancy may find that this gets worse during pregnancy. Someone with a weak or troublesome digestion may be the type to suffer more from ‘morning sickness’ or indigestion than others. Women who suffer from nasal congestion frequently find this gets worse during pregnancy, and this is a problem that herbs can treat well prior to conception, but is harder to treat during pregnancy. Herbs can serve a really useful function when there have been problems with the menstrual cycle, and there are also many herbs that can help the body to prepare for pregnancy. They also have a place postpartum—for example, stimulating milk production in breast-feeding mothers after the birth.
Herbs can also be helpful in aiding conception where this has proved difficult; many can also help the body prepare for pregnancy. Herbs are particularly useful in pregnancy for the minor problems that orthodox medicine cannot treat so safely. They are not meant to be a substitute for orthodox care, but can certainly help to smooth the path of pregnancy where necessary.
Morning sickness is one of the most common problems in early pregnancy, and usually seen between six and 14 weeks. For mild nausea it is often sufficient to eat little and often, and this can frequently be alleviated by eating ginger. The ginger can either be in die form of fresh ginger, which can be added to food and drinks such as herb and fruit teas (or rice water), or if preferred it can be taken in crystallised form or eaten in the form of good quality ginger biscuits.
Liquorice can also be used to settle the digestion. For more severe nausea, often with vomiting, this may require herbal formulae (acupuncture is also very useful for this). There are quite a few herbs that can help, but they need to be prescribed to fit the type of nausea. For mild to moderate nausea they can be helpful as long as the woman takes the herbs during the time of the day when she feels strongest; waiting until nausea strikes often means the herbs go down only to come straight back up again.
Indigestion, constipation, thrush, piles and heartburn are also all common problems and they can benefit greatly from herbal formulae.
As a general rule, herbs are better taken prior to pregnancy where possible, in order to prevent problems from arising, but can be really useful for those minor but irritating problems that can prevent pregnancy being the pleasurable experience it should be.
