recommendations for PP/birth/healing/BF herbs?

[ithappened]

Does anyone have any recommendations for herbs/teas/etc which are useful in the weeks immediately following birth to help with physical healing, BFing, PPD and overall well-being?

[smokeylo]

Let's see...

Traditional Medicinals makes a nice Mother's Milk tea that can be good for breastfeeding.

Comfrey and afterbirth herbal sitz baths are wonderful -- you can make a tea from them and use it in the peri bottle, or soak pads in it and freeze them. I also looooved witch hazel in my peri bottle.

Arnica taken after the birth can be helpful.

[Sweetiemommy]

Wishgarden Herbs make a line of products to assist with delivery and postpartum. Just google them and check out all of the fun stuff!

[camprunner]

http://www.wellinhand.com/newmama/index.html

I used this sitz bath in my bath tub for several weeks after having a bad tear. It was wonderful! I actually knew the woman who makes this when I was growing up and it was a coincidence that I found a recommendation for this product on MDC.

[ExuberantDaffodil]

I bought comfrey and shepherd's purse loose leaves really cheap, brewed them together, and put them in my peri bottle. Not only did it feel extremely soothing on my peri-area, I healed up quite quickly.

RRL tea is also good for helping your uterus shrink back to it's pre-pregnancy position/size, and it reportedly good for breastfeeding, too. I add nettle to mine, since it is a good nutritious herb.

Other good herbs for breastfeeding are chasteberry (vitex), blessed thistle, anise, fennel, and fenugreek. A lot of nursing mom teas will have these herbs in them.

[desertgirl351]

Arnica is great. My last birth was my longest and hardest for me as he was my biggest (8lb7oz), posterior and had a 15 inch head. I pushed for almost 4 hours before he figured it was time. Anyway, I took lots of arnica, my pregnancy tea and herbal baths (a couple a day for 2 days then just when I felt like it) and felt way better than after either of my other births, although I had done a herbal bath after DD too. I never had to walk bent over and other than afterpains felt so great!!! It also took the swelling down so much faster than before as I swell pretty bad down there. For the bath I use lavender, uva ursi, shepherd's purse, comfrey, yarrow, a bulb of garlic and sea salt. I took DS in with me and he liked it. Also, Both his and DD's cord stumps fell off in 3 days. I think it is due to the baths healing it faster. If I had know all that my first time, although it was a hospital, induced, very emotional birth, I'm sure I wouldn't have felt like I had been run over by a dumptruck for a week and had swelling for about two. I will be doing all of the above this time around for sure!!!