Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn

Pregnancy, childbirth and the newborn

Inquiries received by Ainsworths

The love experienced between a mother and child is surely the greatest gift of a lifetime. Pregnancy, childbirth and nurturing an infant is a wonderful and fulfilling journey throughout which your self awareness and natural instincts expand. You are more sensitive to feelings during pregnancy than at any other time and for good reason. Feelings are our means of knowing truth from fiction, reality from illusion. However pleasurable or painful this may be, it reminds us of who we are and what we need along life's journey, even if it is the child that is prompting the reminding. If we're wise, we will listen to ourselves and learn by following the feeling, rather than ideas of others who cannot know for us.  By making decisions based on what feels comfortable we will feel most at ease. To deny our feelings is denying ourselves - the part of us that knows - and the more we ignore ourselves the greater the discomfort, resulting in the usually painful lesson of dis-ease.

Homoeopathy is a natural therapy based on resolving dis-ease by enabling free expression of who we are. When we express our true feelings we feel more ‘ourselves', which enables us to become whole beings, accepting of who we are and comfortable with the ever changing conditions of life. Homoeopathic remedies are chosen by ‘ourself' - our symptoms.   These dictate the remedy which reflects the true state we are in physically, mentally and emotionally, at any moment, and restores our natural balance. The remedy found for any given symptom picture unites the whole of you, mentally, physically and spiritually, treating you as a complete being and not separating each part.  In this way, they restore balance to yourself and your child as whole.  Homoeopathy enables you to help your self in the most natural way by validating your own feeling.  Learning how to help yourself with homoeopathy will always be exciting, especially so when caring for a child.

What type of inquiries do we encounter at Ainsworths?

The following are a brief list of the varied encounters we have experienced with pregnancy and childbirth.

Infertility

Homoeopathy can help in both male and female cases of infertility as indicated by thefollowing case. A lady contacted us, as a last resort, about her daughter whose periods had ceased, she was desperate to have children but was infertile due to polycystic ovaries. Her ovaries were due to be removed within a fortnight of the call, rendering all chance of a pregnancy impossible. Unfortunately she was unable to consult a homoeopath and after a discussion was sent Folliculinum, which she took over the following week, before presenting for surgery as arranged. However, her pre-operative scan showed allthe cysts had disappeared and surgery was cancelled. Within a month her periods normalized and she gave birth to a little girl within the following year.

Pregnancy sickness

Morning sickness is often the first contact with homoeopathy, since conventional drugs are too dangerous to use in early pregnancy. The presentation varies considerably, some women are affected by movement or rest, others by the smell or even sight of food, providing them an opportunity to appreciate the importance of individual symptoms in selecting a remedy.  Frequently a well known constitutional remedy such as Pulsatilla or Sepia is indicated, although lesser known remedies like Apomorphine and Symphoricarpus are sometimes required, particularly for intense nausea in the absence of other guiding symptoms.

Backache and Ligament pain

These are common features of pregnancy and both respond well to remedies. Arnica and Bellis perennis are extremely valuable at this stage of pregnancy and often Kali carb or another constitutional remedy might be required.

Threatened miscarriage

Although this may well be a medical emergency, having remedies to hand can make a very real difference to the outcome and ease pain and stress. Specific remedies suchas Viburnum and Sabina have proved invaluable, depending on symptoms, when taken as soon as a problem arises under the guidance of a homoeopath.

Anxiety and Panic

The first pregnancy is full of surprises and changes can be disconcerting for themother-to-be. In response to many requests for a safe remedy to alleviate stress and instil calm we formulated Emergency Spray a non-alcoholic BachFlower essence containing a mixture of remedies safe to use at any stage of pregnancy, labour and for distraught babies. Homoeopathic remedies for anxiety such as Aconite, Arsen alb, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla are very specific but Bach Flower essences are more general and have the added advantage that you cannot overuse them.

Breach presentation

We have many inquiries for this and I recall one case in particular where the husband called back to relate that the single dose of Pulsatilla taken at bedtime allowed the baby to turn around during the night when his wife was more relaxed. Both were delighted that the pressure of a Caesarean delivery was no longer hanging over them.

Childbirth

Many pregnant women calling us ask about remedies for labour and for many years wehave discussed the possibility of them taking Caulophyllum and Arnica prior to childbirth to ease delivery of baby and placenta.  This has proved to be a wise decision provided the doses are limited in number and other remedies are at hand during delivery, especially; Aconite, Arsen. alb, Belladonna, Chamomilla, Cimicifuga, Coffea, Emergency Spray, Gelsemium, Ignatia, Kali carb, Kali phos, Natrum mur, Nux vom, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla,Sabina, Secale, and Sepia.  Since you cannot anticipate the progression of an individual labour it is sensible to have a good kit of remedies available to cover all eventualities.

Postnatal problems

These include Baby blues, sleepless nights, breastfeeding problems - starting and stopping lactation, mastitis and repairing episiotomies or vaginal tears.  Homoeopathic remedies have a profound action in these areas resolving matters speedily, crucial when there is a demanding baby to attend to.

Baby

The newborn baby may also require attention and typical inquiries are for; colic, circumcision, nappy rash, ear, nose and throat complaints, coughs, and teething. The soothing effect of Colocynth or Dioscorea are remarkable in a frantic case of colic, similarly Chamomilla in a fractious teething infant.  The first baby presents many challenges and homoeopathy is a valuable answer to most diseases and complaints throughout early childhood.

Vaccination issues

The most vexed issue is whether or not to have your child vaccinated and the emotional pressure to do so is relentless. A plethora of new vaccines have been introduced which only exacerbate the problem for the small number who react adversely. Who can really know the long term effect of vaccinating against  diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, meningitis, chickenpox, pneumonia and TB? We have a huge number of inquiries about this subject and always present the parents with a balanced view fromwhich they can then decide for their child. Some are happy to rely on constitutional treatment from their homoeopath, others elect to give a homoeopathic course of the conventional vaccines, and a few proceed with conventional vaccination whilst antidoting the side-effects with Thuja or homoeopathic vaccines.

Conclusion

Advising pregnant mothers at is extremely rewarding, especially if it's their initial contact with homoeopathy. There's so much they can achieve with even a little guidance and the great satisfaction of knowing that this safe and effective therapy is able to cope with almost all situations that may be encountered.