Herbs/Remedies for After Birth

[Fridaxsky]

Hi All!  

I was posting way back in the beginning and have been lurking as of late but haven't been posted much.  It's funny how by #3, life just seems to get a whole lot more hectic!  At any rate, I am into full-on birth/baby prep mode and am trying to get all of my ducks (and placenta bowls, herbs, cloth diapers, chux pads, etc.) in a row.

So.... what herbs/remedies are you all stocking up on for PP?  My midwife said definitely Arnica and I am having my placenta encapsulated with some alfalfa and red raspberry.  I've been amassing lots of other books on herbal and homeopathic remedies, etc.  but am just getting overwhelmed.  DD was a preemie so it was all hospital and prescription pain meds after as I was having to manage the pain while shuttling back and forth to the NICU.  DS was a planned homebirth (ended up transferring after an hour of pushing) but I put all my time into prepping for the birth and not what would happen after.  The recovery from that birth was not pretty - felt like an absolute train wreck, lots of pain, no energy.  This was all on top of a cracked nipple and a case of mastitis, then thrush which I think were made worse by the fact that I felt so awful anyway that I wasn't doing enough to take care of myself and work on DS's poor latch.  

I am hoping to ease some of the symptoms by being well-stocked up this time around.  What have you all used/are planning to use for after birth?  Or what books do you recommend to have on hand for some good, straight forward information?  DH is a librarian so I've been exploiting his access as much as possible.  

Thanks ladies!!!

[SynEpona]

Somewhere in the Homebirth section of the MDC forums, there is a 12+ page thread of 'not-so-typical' homebirth supplies, which I relied on heavily when making my labour/hospital/recovery lists. Much of the info is specific to HB, but I found lots of tips & ideas that were helpful even for hospital birth.

There is a pretty good summary of all the ideas on page 12 of that thread :) (Last time I looked it was back on page 3 or 4 of the homebirth forum, I might remember to go find it again & link it here, but my pregnant brain may forget!)

[Italiamom]

What I am doing for after labor are:

- Watching my iron levels NOW.  I'm trying to really focus on getting plenty of iron, because I know that will make a serious difference postpartum.

- I'm making an anti-hemorrhage tincture (blue cohosh, witch hazel bark, shepherd's purse, and valerian root), which should be nice to have on hand as an early preventative.  I had some trouble with the placenta and bleeding last time, and so I'll have this handy if things start to look any less than perfect when it comes to delivering the placenta, or any postpartum bleeding.

- I'll making another big jar of pregnancy tea (red raspberry leaves, alfalfa, nettle, and mint), only I'll exclude the mint for postpartum.  The nettles and alfalfa should help to re-boost my iron stores, and the RRL will help my uterus return to normal size.

- I've got herbs on backorder to be making a postpartum depression tea mix (licorice root, RRL, rosemary, skullcap), which I'll try to drink once a day.  I battled with PPD with DS, and I'd like to do whatever I can this time around to be proactive about it.

- I have a recipe for after-pain infusion that I'm sort of waiting to order herbs for (cramp bark, blue cohosh, hops).

- I have a bottle of afterease tincture, and a bottle of cramp bark tincture ready to go.  I used the cramp bark tincture with DS, and it was amazingly helpful.  The Afterease has gotten good reviews in this DDC, so I bought some of that as well.

- I've got some rescue remedy spray on hand and waiting for my mood!

- You mentioned the arnica, and I've got some of that too!

- I'm making up herbal satchels to make sitz spray, or do sitz baths postpartum (recipe here)

This is the book that my midwife consults a lot, and I've been relying on it this pregnancy.  It's got tons of great info, and simple, easy recipes and instructions in the back.  I think it was maybe $9, and SO worth it to me!

[ursusarctos]

Are you guys using homeopathic arnica or the actual herb?

[Italiamom]

I'll be using a homeopathic arnica -- this one.

[Baby_Cakes]

I went on a bit of a spree with Earth Mama Angel Baby, and got the Mama Bottom Balm, the Bottom Spray, and the Nipple Butter for myself.  I have plenty of cold packs and will freeze some pads with witch hazel for sure.

I'm also having my placenta encapsulated, which I think is going to make a world of difference!