Homeopathic Remedies for Morning Sickness

There are many, many homeopathic remedies to alleviate the symptoms of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.  These remedies are safe, fast acting and totally benign for babies and mothers.  Even if you have experienced severe morning sickness with each pregnancy you can successfully use homeopathy to shift your experience and have a positive first trimester.  Dilclectin – an allopathic drug commonly prescribed for morning sickness is NOT the only solution during pregnancy. 

 For more information on specific remedy pictures and direction on how to choose a remedy please refer to my website- www.pipermartin.com   - and my e-book – A Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy.  There is an in-depth section that deals with nausea and vomiting and includes instruction on dosage, potency and frequency of the remedies.   Choose the experience of a Vibrant Pregnancy, you’ll be glad you did.

Homeopathic Remedies for Fear of Vomiting

For specific information on remedies, dosage and homeopathy during labour please access my website and e-book – A Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy - www.pipermartin.com 

Fear

Many women have a fear of vomiting during labour or during pregnancy.  This is not a fear that is limited to being pregnancy,  but because the possibility is greater during pregnancy it really seems to become more intense. 

Physical Symptoms 

The remedy for this fear is Arsenicum 200C.  Arsenicum is made of Arsenic and is one of the remedies to treat food poisoning and a fear of being poisoned in general.  All of the symptoms for an Arsencium person go to their stomach and bowels.  they become very agitated, anxious, restless and alternate between wanting to vomit and wanting to have diarrhea.  Sometimes both occur simultaneously. 

Control

Arsenicum is a remedy that really wants to be in control and pregnancy and labour are both life experiences that do not really allow that.  It is the feeling of being out of control that creates the distress around vomiting.  If you have vomited and are afraid of it happening again to the point that it is causing you anxiety then try a dose of Arsenicum 200C.  If the vomiting creates a panic attack in the moment try Aconite 1M – two pellets. 

Most importantly try and work with allowing yourself to feel out of control, even temporarily so that you may work with labour more effectively. 

Homeopathy and Breech Babes

Breech babies are usually born by Cesarean because there are very few birth professionals that are trained or willing to catch them.  Pulsatilla is a remedy to turn a breech babies.  The reason this remedy works is because the baby and mother both understand that it is anatomically easier to be born in a head down position.  The remedy will just remind them both of this information. 

  The mental/emotional aspect of Pulsatilla is a mother that is having a hard time making a decision.  Breech babies usually spend time in a variety of positions before committing to bum down, they are up, down and sideways as if they cannot decide how to descend.  Pulsatilla mothers are irresolute as well, unsure about who to have at the birth, where to give birth, feeling confident and sure one moment and weepy and frightened the next. 

Pulsatilla just bring everyone into commitment. 

Pulsatilla works to create an optimal environment to give birth naturally, when labour begins it will regulate contractions as again false labour patterns, irregular patterns and contractions that float all over the body are part of the Pulsatilla picture. 

For more specific information on this remedy, dosage and other homeopathic knowledge please visit my website (www.pipermartin.com) and access my e-book – A Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy.

Support during Your Birth

Who will support you through your birth experience?

• Consider your health care professionals – midwives or doctors
• Doula – a labour support person solely there to provide information and assistance to the mother and father.
• Homeopathy – remedies to move you through labour quickly and efficiently.
• Massage therapy – there are massage therapists that attend births and provide amazing hands on touch during labour.

If you are a sexual abuse survivor you may need to work with someone who can really help you navigate language, environment, sensation etc. to help you to stay present during your birth. 

Consider what makes you feel safe and try hard to implement those elements into your birth experience.  It will decrease the time of your labour and create a welcoming atmosphere for your new babe.

What Babies Want – Movie Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipjp9dC3tjo

 

This is a fabulous movie that lends amazing insight into how incredibly aware our babies are right from the beginning.  If you are pregnant or considering having a baby please watch this video – it is inspiring, emotional and real.  When I am taking the case of a baby or mother when we discuss the birth story there is always a reaction from the baby.  It can be intense crying if the birth was hard or just some verbal cooing if it was gentle.  They always have something to add and this movie just reaffirms what I have seen with my own eyes.  Babies are aware, conscious beings.

The Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy – Review

A Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy is an e-book available on-line at www.pipermartin.com  It was written exclusively by Piper Martin, a classically trained homeopath that specializes in treating pregnant women, newborns and families.  It is an accumulation of both homeopathic  and clinical information gathered by Piper over the past 12 years both in her private practice and through attending births. 

What’s in It?

• Information on induction of labour – remedies beyond Cimicifuga and Caulophyllum, the most commonly prescribed remedies. 
• Remedy suggestions for shifting the position of the baby from breech or posterior to anterior and vertex. 
• Exact prescribing information on remedies for labour, including a special section for sexual abuse survivors on using homeopathy to assist you in managing trauma during birth. 
• There is a postpartum section which is a list of five remedies that can be used for the week following the birth for a speedy recovery.  there are also remedies to guide you along in your breastfeeding  journey. 
•  The newborn section has guidance on how to support a newborn through birth trauma and suggestions for sleep, vaccination and much more. 

This little guide book is available for $10.00 at www.pipermartin.com

Homeopathic Remedies for Back Labour

Back labour is usually long, painful and difficult to manage without pain medication.  There are solutions.  Anatomically you and your baby both understand that there is an easier way to be born.  A posterior position means that the baby’s back is facing your back, an anterior position means that the baby’s back is facing outward.  An anterior position is the optimal position for birth.  Labour progresses faster because the baby’s head is applied to the cervix in a way that allows dilation to occur.  The pain is less intense and focused on the abdomen as opposed to the small of the back.  I have two main suggestions – the first is seek out a chiropractor that treats pregnant women and newborns.  They will be a valuable part of your support team, both as a pregnant woman and as a new mother.  Chiropractic can greatly influence the length of your labour.  Adjustments during pregnancy support your body’s own desire to create free passage for your baby. 

The second suggestion is to consider homeopathic remedies.  The main remedy for a posterior position is Kali carb200C.  This remedy will work during pregnancy, it is not necessary to be in labour to take the remedy.  If you know your baby is posterior and you are nearing the end of the your pregnancy go ahead and take a dose.  If it is going to work it will create a shift in position within 24 hours.  Take two pellets one time and wait 24 hours.  If you are in labour and experiencing most of the sensation in your back then you can take two pellets of Kali Carb200C at that time.   A Kali Carb situation is one in which the woman is asking for intense counter pressure on her back.   This remedy will create a shift within a few contractions. 

 There are several other remedies that are also appropriate to take for a posterior presentation – to access information on these remedies please look for my article on Posterior Presentations, Issue 58 in Midwifery Today.    You  may also refer to my website and e-book – A Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy.

Fear during Labour

Fear during labour can slow down or completely stop your labour from progressing.  Fear is the number one reason women do not go into labour when they are due.  We are like animals in labour, if we do not perceive the envionment as safe we will not give birth.  It really is that simple. 

The first question you need to ask your self is what do I need to feel safe? 

The second question is what are my fears about giving birth?

 Make a list and start finding ways to comfort yourself, create a safe environment, find supportive care providers and make a birth plan you can live with.  It is worth the time and effort it takes to nurture yourself and  your baby in this way. 

There are specific homeopathic remedies for specific fears.  When a woman comes to see me for a homeopathic induction what I am most interested in are her fears.  If she and I can figure out very specifically what her fears are then we can find a remedy to match them.  This seems to just lift the intensity of the fear enough so that she and the baby can go ahead and do what they need to do.  Some examples of remedies and their corresponding fears are:

• fear of the pain – Aconite
• fear of a Cesarean birth – Staphysagria
• fear of something being wrong with the baby – Pulsatilla
• fear of having a bowel movement during labour – Arsenicum
• fear of dying during labour – Aconite and Arsenicum
• fear of tearing/being cut – Staphysagria

For more specific information on remedies and homeopathic induction please access my website and e-book available on the site – The Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy.

Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are acute episodes of anxiety that can be really intense.  During pregnancy they may be caused by a wide variety of fears.  Some of the most common are a fear of the pain, fear of losing control, fear of tearing and fear of having a Cesarean.  Panic attack symptoms can have both a physical impact and a mental/emotional presence.  They can range from:

• pacing, insomnia, restlessness
• sweating, heart pounding
• memory loss, light headed
• diarrhea and stomach pain
• nightmares
• extremely fearful thoughts that won’t be shifted

Panic attacks can be triggered by many situations depending on your specific fear but as pregnancy, labour and generally motherhood are quite out of control situations it is fertile ground for panic attacks.  How to deal?  Here are my suggestions:

• try to identify your triggers, the things that send you into a panic attack
• support yourself if you know you are going to be triggered
• allow yourself to experience and then recover from an anxiety attack
• at a deeper level try to understand what the fear is on a chronic level

Homeopathic remedies will act to remind your body of what is real in the present moment.  There are two main remedies to consider. 

Aconite 1M – Panic attacks that come in episodes, intense, acute and directly related to a specific situation.  Two pellets as needed when the symptoms of heart pounding, sweating, restlessness or fear of dying come on.  For example:

• transition
• precipitous births
• traumatic births – risk of death to mother or baby
• women with a sexual abuse history – during vaginal exams, an invasive or painful procedures, dissociation during labour etc.

Arsenicum 200C- Chronic disposition to anxiety – always there at a low level and then triggered into action by specific situations.  Arsenicum people need to feel safe and secure or the underlying belief is that they will die.  It is hard to reassure them that they are ever really safe.  They do a lot of research, reading, try to seek out the best professionals etc. in order to achieve this state.  Some Arsenicum situations/triggers include:

• fear of disease, germs, getting sick and then ultimately dying
• fear of being poisoned – ironically this is a food poisoning remedy
• in labour Arsencium women hate feeling out of control – they fear things like having a bowel movement on the table, tearing and the overwhelming sensation of pushing is generally the worst part of labour for them.
• postpartum women that need Arsenicum worry about how much milk their baby is getting, anxiety about being alone with their baby, fear something terrible will happen to their baby.

For more information on these remedies please visit my website – www.pipermartin.com

Aconite and Opium for Trauma and Fear

There is a homeopathic remedy made from Opium.  Opium and Aconite both share the homeopathic rubric:  fear of the fright remains.  Literally it means that a fear has landed in your body and is not cleared.  The fright remains within you and is triggered into action each time you approach a similar set of circumstances. 

Aconite looks like panic attacks, anxiety in crowds, acute anxiety with heart palpitations, pacing, sweating, nightmares and high energy.  This is the acute state of fear – it is very intense and present but appears in episodes.  When the fear settles down into a persistent, chronic place you need Opium.  Opium addresses the desire to just withdraw, sleep, numb out completely from any and all pain.  The motivation for this behaviour is a deep fear state. 

When women experience birth trauma they and their babies can go into an Opium state.  Birth trauma is not really an accurate term as I feel the trauma is already present, it is the circumstances of the birth that bring the fear to the surface and sparks it into action. 

Opium works very well for women that are paralysed with fear, especially on a physical level.  During second stage a woman needing Opium will act as if they are not even in labour.  All contractions will either slow entirely or cease and she will snore in a deep slumber between pushing/contractions.  Her face will be dusky and she will prefer the room to be dark. 

Postpartum,  Opium women have major issues with constipation, snoring, and sensations of numbness in their reproductive organs.  They will likely have the very, very sleepy babies – ones that need to be wiped down with a cool cloth to wake to nurse.  This is even the case in natural, home births in which the babies do not encounter drugs. 

It is possible to clear fear from your body.  Pay attention to feelings of distress on a mental/emotional or physical level.  Your body is trying to express and move forward.  Use homeopathy to support this movement.