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Chamomilla is a remedy that is extremely sensitive and reactive to PAIN.

Chamomilla babies react to pain by SHRIEKING.

They are CAPRICIOUS – unable to figure out what they need or want.  They seem to want to be held but MUST BE MOVING! They might want to nurse but pull off shrieking every 2 minutes, want a toy then fling it away etc.

WORSE FROM TOUCH – the last thing a Chamomilla baby wants is your finger in their mouth.  This will make them angry and the shrieking will increase.  They are sensitive to pain and touch definitely aggravates the sensations.

FACE will have one red cheek.

Chamomilla can be used for anything causing pain in which the person is reacting as I have described above.  With regard to babies this usually occurs during teething and ear infections.

What will Chamomilla do?  Ease the pain and allow them to SLEEP.

Try 2 pellets of Chamomilla 1M one time.  If it works then just leave it alone, if it works then wears off you can give another dose.  If it doesn’t change anything then you have the wrong remedy.  If you thought it was Chamomilla but it didn’t work then the next remedy to consider would be either Nux vomica or Coffea.  More on those remedies in upcoming posts.

There are teething “combinations and formulas”  available at the health food store.  If those work it is because one of the remedies in it is the remedy your baby needs.  If you can figure out which one it is and give it in a higher potency in a single dose it will have a much more dynamic and lasting effect.

If you have specific questions on homeopathy and babies please take a look on my website at my e-book – The Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy which contains a section on newborn and baby homeopathic care.  My website – www.pipermartin.com.

I would love to cater to the needs of all the mammas out there reading this so please comment and send me your questions and I will respond with homeopathic knowledge for you.

We will begin simply with Arnica.  Arnica is the most frequently used remedy in my house.

Helmets or Arnica?

Arnica for children and babies can be used in a 200C potency. A dose is two pellets, depending on the severity of the injury or shock you may need to repeat the dose a few times over the space of an hour.  It is just fine  to touch the pellets to give them to your baby.  It is best given as close to the time of the incident as possible, for this reason I suggest carrying this remedy in your diaper bag, purse or car.

Arnica is used to treat:

Birth Trauma

Babies that enter the world with shoulder dystocia, forceps or vacuum extractions need Arnica.  There will be bruising, swelling and pain associated with those injuries and Arnica will deal with the shock and pain as well as speed the recovery along.  This will reduce the possibility of interference with breastfeeding as when babies are injured in these ways they are often unable to turn their heads or open their jaws wide enough to breastfeed optimally.

Shock

Shock may happen for a baby in a situation such as  a car accident with your infant.  Nurse your baby ASAP and then give them and yourself a dose of Arnica.  This will reduce shock and muscle strain from movements such as whiplash.

Head Injuries and Falls

Babies do fall off of the bed, the change table, onto wood floors when learning to walk, against counter tops and coffee tables.  When this happens give them a dose of Arnica 200C to reduce the likelihood of head injuries, to reduce pain and eliminate bruising and swelling.

If you have questions about how to use Arnica please feel free to visit my website – www.pipermartin.com and email me directly.  Arnica has many other uses during pregnancy and postpartum and outside of those conditions as well.  To access more info. on using homeopathy during pregnancy check out my two e-books available on my website – www.pipermartin.com

The Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy

Birth Kit Essentials

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Homeopathy has several excellent cough remedies and babies tend to get a few specific types of coughs.

WET cough

Antimonium Tartaricum 200C

This remedy is excellent for babies and the elderly as the chest is full of mucus but they do not have either the  strength or the know how to expel mucus from their chest.  They will typically be sweaty with a low fever and tired.  Usually people in this state are not discharging from their nose so on taking the remedy they will start to have a runny nose, this is preferable to it staying in the chest.  Babies also will tend to either vomit or poop out mucus – the remedy will facilitate this movement.  Prop your babe up in the bed by folding a blanket and placing it under the fitted sheet, usually babies in this state will want to sleep lying on your chest, sitting in a car seat or propped up.   Ant-tart 200C – two pellets one time, wait and see what shifts, the mucus should start to emerge.

DRY Coughs – Croup

Aconite 1M – wakes at midnight (or thereabouts) with a high fever, fright and a dry, barking croup cough.  Usually everyone is panicked and Aconite will soothe the inflammation, the fever and the fright.

once the Aconite state passes the next remedy to follow is usually Spongia 200C….

Spongia 200C – This remedy is a croup remedy.  It has the characteristic, DRY, barking cough.  The dryness is an important part of the picture, the cough is dry, the lips are dry, the nose is dry.  Once the dryness starts to change and the cough becomes mucusy another remedy will be necessary to move through that phase of the illness.

Hepar Sulph 200C – This is the last remedy that is usually needed to finish croup.  It is mucusy and the child is usually quite sensitive and bad-tempered.

A HAT for all weather!

HATS

Your baby should always be wearing a hat.  It will create a calmer baby.  Their fontanelles are still open to the world and they need protection.  Choose hats that are  close fitting, warm and SOFT.   Lots of babies sweat on their heads, this is not a sign they are too warm.  Sweat is the most functional way your body has of discharging and babies have the discharging down! when they are new.  All the encounters they have with chemicals etc. passes through and out – sweat is efficient because it doesn’t get stuck or infected.

SLEEP

Most people notice that their babies sleep well in their car seats and for some babies it is the only place they will sleep.  I think the secret of this is warmth and tight wrapping.  What if you layered your baby, including a hat for sleep and then swaddled them with a warm blanket? I think it would be as successful, your baby would sleep longer and it would not be difficult to get them to sleep.  This tight wrapping soothes the nervous system and the warmth is the degree they need to be comfortable. They are not boiling in a snowsuit, hat and shoes in their car seat.  They need to be warm and wrapped when they sleep.  Wrap as long as you have a big enough blanket.  Babies that are premature or have had a challenging birth especially need this sleep environment.

Nux vomica 200C

one of the most sensitive and chilly babies is Nux vomica.  Nux vomica is a remedy for babies that get colic from overstimulation.  This can be very slight or things we do not perceive as stimulating such as leaving their bedroom.  They need things to be very quiet, calm and warm.

Warm up your babes and see if that helps the sleep and calm time during the day.  For more information on homeopathic treatment for babies please visit my website and access my e-book – The Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy.

Homeopathy can profoundly impact pregnant women emotionally so that they are available to give birth.

We have no drugs for fear during labour, our only option is to numb the sensations but that does not address fear.

 Homeopathy addresses fear in labour- which impacts the mother and the baby.

If you are interested in learning more please email me through my website at www.pipermartin.com.

November 5th, 2011

10-5 pm

held at West End Midwives

$150.00 per person

www.pipermartin.com

Location:  West End Midwives, Toronto

Time:  November 5th ~ 10-5 pm

Fee:  150.00

 This will be a group of midwives and midwifery students so the conversation will be relevant and focused on midwifery and how homeopathy can be used as a powerful tool.  If you want to join us please act quickly as space is limited.  You can contact me directly at www.pipermartin.com to register.

Homeopathy is an excellent choice if you are experiencing postpartum depression because it is safe for you and your breastfed baby. Homeopathic medicine  works in a deeply curative way.  The difference in using homeopathic medicine to treat depression is that you will be asked to consider why you are feeling low – it is not just put down to a hormonal shift and treated as a temporary thing.  I commonly see Postpartum depression in situations such as:

• women that are sexual abuse survivors that have had a c-section or a traumatic birth
• women that are recovering memory of sexual abuse through their birth experience
• women having a third baby, something about three seems to tip the edge of feeling out of control
• women that are depressed in their “normal” lives but keep themselves too busy to feel
• women that have used substance, work, exercise other coping measures that are not as available in the postpartum time
• women with challenging relationships – now they are vulnerable and more aware of the position they are in

I have noticed over the years that when babies or children are in highly stimulating situations for periods of time they have a need to discharge that experience.  They show this reaction to stimulation by:

• screaming – fighting going into car seat, being changed or dressed
• fighting – with siblings – acting out
• crying – with no real cause
• restlessness – unable to settle into a task or quiet time
• inability to sleep
• inability to nurse or eat
• frequent bowel movements
• tics
• becoming ill with fevers and cold after a big event

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• Cimicifuga and Caulophyllum are best used in a 15C or 30C potency when contractions have already begun.
• Use them to augment your labour.
• Take two pellets of Cimic, let them dissolve.  Take two pellets of Caul. let them dissolve.
• Wait 15 min.
• Repeat
• Do this every 15 min. until an hour has passed.  If they are going to work they will be working strongly within the hour.

Working means regular contractions that are productive, these remedies are especially good for women having contractions but their dilation is not changing.  The remedies will make the contractions productive.

For more specific information on how to use homeopathy during labour please check out – www.pipermartin.com for two on-line e-books – The Homeopathic Guide to a Vibrant Pregnancy and Birth Kit Essentials.

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Imagine a life with no shame… what if you were free to think and feel and act from your heart?  What if you could show who you are with your Whole Heart?  This is my topic this week on The Whole Woman, September 1st, 2011.  www.VoiceAmerica.com or i-Tunes – The Whole Woman.

I see many women who would like to have a home birth but hold back because they want to make husbands, mothers, in-laws or even their own children feel comfortable.  The courage to declare what you want without the fear of people being angry with you or losing their support is what it means to operate without shame.  Shame is about the fear of disconnection.

To give birth and allow yourself to  feel fully all the sensations of birth,  both the intensity of the experience and the bliss following it is also what it means to operate without shame.  Birth is not neat and tidy, it is alive and messy and vital.  You cannot numb out just the “bad” parts, you have to be willing to have a Whole Experience.   Part of this is a physical dimension of being seen – having discharges of blood, amniotic fluid, sweat etc. is also all part of being vulnerable and exposed (and alive)…

I love this quote by R.N., Susan Diamond:

“Most Western women have never been physically tested until we go through labour and birth,,,, have not gone eighteen or twenty-four hours without food or sleep…allowed ourselves to go a day or two without a bath or shower, without brushing our teeth and doing our hair and makeup.  Even fewer of us would allow anyone else to see, smell, or touch us, unwashed, sweat-soaked, naked, oozing mucus, blood and feces from our nether regions.  When faced with the forces of labour, we can’t hide the fear, the anxiety the responses to pain… all the inhibitions and trappings of our social selves are peeled away as our bodies thrust and heave, vomit and grunt, cry and leak.  The animal is there for everyone to see.”

isnt’ that brilliant! who would want to pass that up? HA!

be alive.

for more on this topic check out this insightful Ted Talk by Brene Brown on Shame and Vulnerability.

We will be discussing the work of Brene Brown and her findings about shame and connection on The Whole Woman this Thursday, September 1st/11

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html