Essential oils for pregnancy

Essential oils for pregnancy

Pregnancy is the time of joy for most women. And although the mother may feel healthy and happy, a number of conditions related to the pregnancy can arise, which cause the mother discomfort or even distress.

Essential oils together with professional massage may be used to ease the discomforts and provide a sense of nurturing when the mother may feel rather vulnerable.

Also, the use of essential oils for pregnancy is quite appropriate as the mother has the heightened sense of smell during pregnancy. Nowadays stress becomes common in our daily lives and it affects pregnant women as much as the rest of the world. Caring use of essential oils for pregnant women may help to reduce the stress.

Where massage is not possible, the pregnant woman still can experience the benefits of appropriate essential oils in bath, foot bath, inhalation, diffusion, or compress.

Next are some problems encountered during pregnancy.

Backache

Many women experience some lower back pain due to changing shape of their body. The essential oils such as lavender, cajeput and lemon may provide relief from pain and help tone the muscles supporting the increased weight.

Constipation

Bowel sluggishness is common in pregnancy. Essential oils for pregnancy such as German chamomile, neroli, sweet orange, and black pepper may be of help in massage of the abdomen always in a clockwise direction.

Fatigue and insomnia

Fatigue can occur at any stage of pregnancy. The body is adjusting and is providing energy to foetal development and growth. Increased weight, physical discomforts, and anxiety may lead to fatigue and inability to have a good night sleep. Essential oils for pregnancy such as lavender, Roman chamomile, sweet orange and neroli are soothing to use in bath, massage, or diffuser to help feeling more relaxed.

Heartburn

Heartburn occurs in later pregnancy due to compression of the stomach. Essential oils for pregnancy such as Roman chamomile and lavender could be used for bath, diffusor, or massage of the abdomen and middle back.

Leg cramps

To relieve cramps essential oils such as geranium, lavender and cypress can be used in a foot bath or black pepper and ginger in massage of the painful muscles.

Morning sickness

Essential oils of ginger, lavender or spearmint may be relieving as an inhalation or used in a compress over the stomach. The same oils may be used on the pillowcase at night or inhaled from a tissue.

Oedema

A hand or foot bath with essential oils of lime, sweet orange, grapefruit, or geranium may relieve fluid retention.

Stretch marks

Stretch marks on the abdomen, buttocks, breasts, and thighs are caused by excessive weight gain and appear when the skin becomes overstretched. Unfortunately, when they appear, they are permanent, even though they become less prominent with the time.

Stretch marks can be prevented by applying massage oil blend to the places where they commonly appear. The essential oils such as neroli, mandarin, lavender, geranium, frankincense blended in wheatgerm, apricot and avocado carrier oils may help.

Our aromatherapist formulated Pregnancy body oil to use on the body to avoid stretch marks during pregnancy.

Varicose veins

Varicose veins can be alleviated or prevented by using a massage blend with essential oils such as geranium, cypress and lemon in calendula, wheatgerm and sweet almond carrier oils. Massage should be performed in the direction from the ankles to thighs.

Or use our pre-made varicose veins essential oil blend

Preparing for birth

Essential oils such as bergamot, grapefruit, neroli, jasmine, rose and lavender may help to provide relaxation when used in diffuser.

Here are some essential oils for pregnancy:

• lavender
• sandalwood
• mandarin
• grapefruit
• ylang ylang
• patchouli
• lime
• Roman chamomile
• bergamot

All essential oils should be blended in soothing carrier oil such as sweet almond by a certified aromatherapist before application.