Herbal Medicine for Pregnancy and Beyond
Over 3500 years ago, Sumerians and Egyptians chewed on willow bark to reduce fever and relieve bodily pain. In 1897, a scientist “discovered” the active element of willow bark, salicin, and the first pharmaceutical was developed, aspirin.
Whenever people look askance at me as I refer to herbal teas and tinctures as medicine, I tell them that many pharmaceuticals are based in plants. The major difference is that modern drugs isolate one feature or active ingredient from the plant, remove all other elements, and then target a single issue: a headache, fever, or cramping.
Herbs are different. As living matter, they have many properties and simultaneously address multiple issues rather than respond to one condition. Let’s take nettle, for example, an herb that grows wild throughout New England, including in the parks of Springfield, and is no less than a superfood. Nutritionally, nettle is high in iron, calcium, and protein. Nettle also cleans the kidneys and purifies the blood. It is known to reduce swelling and inflammation. For pregnancy, nettle acts as a direct tonifier for the expanding uterus. Nettle is not a magic bullet for curing any particular bodily issue, but rather it creates strong systems to respond to discomfort, infection or disease, building overall health.
As a midwife, I love to discuss building overall health with my pregnant or postpartum clients. This conversation includes a consideration of diet, exercise, sleep, relationships, stressors, and, yes, herbal medicine. From the wisdom of centuries of midwives before me, and my own observation over the years, I believe that, in pregnancy and postpartum, herbs can play a critical role in building immunity, reducing pain, lessening depression, calming the nervous system, giving energy, eliminating constipation, increasing bile flow so the liver can function better, and much more.
In the first week of January, the Springfield Community Birth Circle, led by the Springfield Family Doulas, had an “herb share” in which participants discussed plant remedies that they employed in their pregnancy journey. One woman detailed how a red-raspberry, mint, and nettle tea had nourished her uterus throughout her pregnancy and gave her energy. Another described a postpartum tincture with motherwort, cramp bark, lemon balm, and black haw that eased after-labor pains and balanced her hormonal fluctuations. The group also shared which herbs prevent or lessen hypertension: hops, skullcap, valerian, hibiscus and rosehips. In addition, we reviewed herbs that are helpful for topical healing (either from vaginal or c-section birth): comfrey, calendula, aloe vera, slippery elm bark.
The circle ended with one of the participants saying that she’d like to start growing some of these herbs discussed for the birth community in Springfield. Imagine that: Our own medicine for our own residents grown on our own soil. Several of the members of the group said they were already growing some herbs and suggested that we share notes and find which ones we were missing. Since then, an excel sheet has been started, listing herbs that will grow in our New England climate and their uses for our health. Now, we are scanning seed catalogues and looking forward to the warm spring ground to begin our humble, but no doubt visionary, community apothecary.