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HOW TO USE AROMATHERAPY OILS

There are many different ways to use oils, massage, in the bath, footbath, shower, inhalation and room diffusers. The two most effective ways to use essential oils is by external application or inhalation. (Never orally and during pregnancy never douche)

Pregnancy and birth are one of the times when I believe aromatherapy can help to ease the body and the mind to deal with the experience that you and your body are about to go through. During pregnancy your body goes through many changes, both internally and externally, how we feel and how we look changes dramatically. Pregnancy causes dramatic hormonal changes and puts a huge strain on the body we should therefore do everything we can to ease this and make life with a bump a pleasant experience.

The changes that are happening within the body may cause you to have morning sickness, aches & pains, backache, excessive tiredness & exhaustion, insomnia, stretch marks, indigestion, oedema – all things that can be helped using aromatherapy and leading a healthy lifestyle. Remember that the absorption of level of the foetus is 5x that of an adult, so everything that you eat, drink and apply to your body is taken on board by your developing baby.

So how can aromatherapy help you through your pregnancy labour and life?

MORNING SICKNESS

Place a bowl of water with 4 – 6 drops of spearmint oil on the floor by your bed overnight; this will gradually help to calm the stomach. Use this for 3-4 nights consecutively and the morning sickness should ease. 

EASING EXHAUSTION

A blend of Lavender, Grapefruit and Orange carried in Grapeseed oil can help. A gentle massage using this blend can work wonders or add a few drops of the blend to your bath for a relaxing and uplifting time.

Give yourself some calm time using a blend of Lavender and Chamomile in Grapeseed oil a short time spent relaxing can give you the energy you need to keep going. A gentle massage using this blend or adding a few drops of the blend to your bath will help to ease any aches and pains including backache and will ease insomnia promoting a relaxed and calm well-being.

STRETCH MARKS

Aromatherapy oils are not a miracle cure if you already have stretch marks using oils will not make them disappear nor will they necessarily stop them happening. Some of you will never get stretch marks it depends on the elasticity of your skin. However by using oils you can increase the elasticity of your skin and nourish it helping to lessen the affect.

Try using Stretch Mark Oil - a mix of Lavender, Mandarin, Sweet Almond and Wheat germ oils. You should massage wherever you feel you are likely to get stretch marks, this could be your legs, abdomen, arms. When you are massaging the abdomen do so in a clockwise direction.

All I can say is that during two pregnancies I used this mix of oils and no I don’t have stretch marks!

CONSTIPATION

Not a subject that we like to discuss but one that can happen anytime during your pregnancy. Additives in food, reduced exercise, hormonal changes, plus huge pressures on our digestive system can result in constipation.

First of all eating well will help alleviate this as will drinking plenty of water. Eating fruits and fibre especially dried fruits such as figs and prunes, have muesli that contains bran for breakfast. Muesli also contains oats, which are a great natural cleaner of the bowel, cleaning mucus and absorbing toxins as they pass through.

How can aromatherapy help? Patchouli oil mixed as 30 drops patchouli to 30ml Grapeseed rubbed over the entire abdomen in a clockwise direction. Start at the bottom RHS rub up to under the breasts and down to the LHS covering ALL of the abdomen. The patchouli oil and the massage in the clockwise direction will help promote movement in the bowel.

OEDEMA

Although swelling in the ankles, fingers or wrists can be extremely common in pregnancy and is usually nothing to worry about, there are occasions when if it happens in conjunction with high blood pressure or protein in the urine and this can be indicative of pre-eclampsia or toxaemia, you should therefore always consult your doctor or midwife if this happens.

If you do have oedema and you know that it is just one of the things that happen, then there are ways to deal with it, have a rest (you will never have a better excuse to put your feet up!) for selling in your ankles lie down and raise your legs up and rest on some cushions – making sure that your feet are higher than your heart. For swelling in your hands and fingers raise your hands above your head, open and shut your hands i.e. make a fist and release.

Body brushing is another way help your self starting at your toes (regardless of where the swelling is) and brush up your leg do the same with your arms, start at your fingers and brush up your arms, remember you are always brushing towards your heart. For the abdomen brush in a clockwise direction. Also use as a massage oil, massaging the body in the same way, massaging the oil into the back will allow the oils to be taken on board quickly through the CNS (Central Nervous System).

For greater effect use body brushing in conjunction with Fluid Relief Oil, a blend of Ginger, Lavender and Mandarin in Grapeseed oil.

PREPARING FOR THE BIRTH

Whilst for many especially first time mums this may be an anxious time – for the majority of us, by the time we approach the 40-week mark we are ready to have a baby. Again the more prepared we can be the better and the easier it should be. Raspberry leaf tea, – now well known for its uterine toning properties, helps to dilate the pelvic muscles and generally helps to make ready for the birth.

SOFTENING THE PERINEUM

No one wants to have stitches if you can possibly help it. You should start this preparation one week before your expected due date. Mix 5 drops rose oil in 5ml sweet almond oil, once a day rub a little oil along the perineum this helps to encourage elasticity in this area, which helps prevent tearing during delivery and therefore the need for stitches.

Does it work – I used it and I would thoroughly recommend it!

DELIVERY TIME

At last! It is happening you are about to meet your baby. You and your baby have spent the last few weeks of your pregnancy preparing for this moment. Giving birth is a wonderful and empowering experience to be enjoyed.  For most of us labour is hard work and you will need all the energy you can muster.

Aromatherapy in childbirth is now! More and more midwives are embracing the benefits that it can bring.

On a personal note in 2001 I had my first baby and I took in my oils to use during my labour, I was not given a lot of encouragement. However in the same hospital in 2003 when I had my second baby the difference was amazing not only did the hospital supply aromatherapy oil burners, but everyone was interested to know what I was using.

To ease the pains of labour massage is great, using Labour Blend Oil, it promotes feelings of relaxation, wellbeing. Oils to use during labour are a mix of lavender and geranium is a Grapeseed or Sweet Almond carrier oil.

Continued >>>>

How to Massage  | Massage for Babies | Aromatherapy & Pregnancy | Childbirth | Oils

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