Aromatherapy oils

[Lovemybump1]

I've been researching into oils to use in labour and there is soooo much information out there I am now confused!! Doesn't take much mind!!from what I have read lavender is a fab one for relaxing and pain relief. Clary sage is good for after labour starts. Peppermint for sickness? Does this sound right?? Is grapeseed oil good for perineal massage? My aim during labour is to stay home as long as possible and to try and have a natural birth if possible. As a ftm, though, I am open to all change!! Thanks in advance x

 

[Anthrogirl]

I've heard that Thieves on the soles of the feet can help with labor nausea.

 

[chicka.chicka]

Just be careful with clary sage. It doesn't work for everyone. I had a lot of prodromal labor with my last one and so would use some clary sage to push it into active labor. Every time it would shut down the contractions I was having. I figured that my body just wasn't ready and so that's why it wasn't working. Then when I was finally in good, productive labor - 6 cm, 90% effaced and bulging bag - my friend rubbed clary sage on my feet to try to speed things along. Well, within half an hour everything shut down. Completely. I mean, I went over 3 hours with not a single contraction. They finally started picking up again, but I had a lot of bleeding and ended up transferring to hospital to just get the job done (I'm sure the clary sage had nothing to do with the bleeding, though).

So, just be wary of the clary sage. There are good reviews on it, but in the research I did there are just as many stories of it having the opposite effect, including my own experience.

Lavender is nice and relaxing, though. I have had some good luck with using peppermint to help with nausea as well, and ginger oil is supposedly good for that, too, although I've not had as much success with it and I can't stand the smell. LOL

 

[summer rain]

Thanks Lori for that about the Clary sage; that is the last thing I want to happen when I am in labour so I think I may give it a wide berth. The lavender is good but make sure you warn your OH or whoever is with you not to do what my OH did with my eldest; he actually tipped the drops of lavender into the carrier oil bottle-rendering the whole thing useless xx

 

[Kess]

Orange oil is great for nausea - I used it loads in early pregnancy. I used lavender in labour, as my entire plan was to keep as calm as possible. Clary sage, I actually had a long bath with it in just before playing in the garden with the dogs, during which my waters broke, so maybe it worked for me!

My MW made me a "preparation for labour blend" with jasmine, clary sage, grapefruit, ylang ylang in sweet almond and jojoba oils in a spray bottle which I applied to my bump in the last few days of pregnancy and rubbed in.

One thing, make sure you have some method of removing any oil you apply to the skin. My MW offered me a scent to smell during labour (something rose based I think), I liked it, so she put some in a carrier oil on my thigh for my DH to massage with. Next contraction hit, and suddely I hated the scent! She luckily had anticipated this possibility and removed it in about half a second with some rubbing alcohol I think, and I was happy again.

 

[Lovemybump1]

Thank you all for your replies. Definitely going to be getting some lavender. Might try clary sage for the last week or so. Look into orange oil or a mint for nausea as well, which apparently is very common during labour! X

 

[merristems]

Neals yard website has some labour blends cant add link using my phone though sorry! Rose, jasmine and lavender are all safe to use. You can add them to a burner, put them into spray bottle and squirt into air, add to almond oil for massage, add to flannel as a cool or hot compress.