Herb Question for the Midwives/Doulas

[Lizzie9984]

At this point, I need one of 2 things to happen---Either these contractions gotta stop for a while so I can REST, or the babe needs to come OUT! I'm at my wits' end here, so pooped out it's not funny anymore.....My question is, I have Motherwort on my herb shelf, and I'm aware of the labor properties of it----Would a cup of Motherwort tea be advisable?

I wouldn't be askin' if I wasn't at the end of my rope....

[Undercover Hippie]

I have no idea though I can go consult my Herbal for the Childbearing Year in a bit. Have you tried a glass of wine? That and a hot bath might calm your uterus down enough to get some sleep, I have heard many MWs recommend that.

Did you cross post over in the Birth Professionals forum?

[Lizzie9984]

Originally Posted by Undercover Hippie

I have no idea though I can go consult my Herbal for the Childbearing Year in a bit. Have you tried a glass of wine? That and a hot bath might calm your uterus down enough to get some sleep, I have heard many MWs recommend that.

Unfortunately, we don't have any wine at all....Otherwise, I'd have definately tried that by now

Did you cross post over in the Birth Professionals forum?

That's a good idea, I didn't think to do that!

[Undercover Hippie]

Okay, after reading the Wise Woman Herbal by Susun Weed, it sounds like relieving pain/seeking relaxation might be safer/more easily accomplished than stimulating labor.

False labor: There is no such thing as "false labor." Early contractions, which may begin up to a week before the birth, are considered helpful by Wise Women who understand the cyclical patterns of birth and who remind us that early labor tunes up the system and tones up the uterus. It is important to eat and sleep regularly if you have early labor. Use the following remedies to ease discomfort when necessary.

*Try a hot bath and a shot of whiskey or other spirits just before bedtime if early labor pains keeps you awake.

*Ease early labor discomfort with Lobelia tincture. Use a dose large enough to produce relaxation; Lobelia is a stimulant in small doses. Thirty to sixty drops, taken in water once or twice, fifteen minutes apart, is usually effectve, and may be repeated as needed.

*Use 5 drops of Motherwort tincture or 25-30 drops of St. John's Wort tincture at half-hour intervals to ease the pain of early labor.

Most of the stuff to initiate labor is similar to our sticky above. Then she gets into the stronger oxytocics like cannabis, blue cohosh, and cotton root bark but cautions against using them when you don't know *why* labor is stalled, lest you cause any dangerous stress to mom or baby.

There are also remedies for an unripe cervix or rigid os that is preventing labor from progressing... have you checked yourself to see how your cervix is?

[Undercover Hippie]

Oh, and in my doula training we learned that prodromal or prolonged early labor can be positioning issues. We were taught stuff like using hands & knees, lunges, lifting up the belly with each ctx, etc.

[melissakc]

When I went through this, a warm bath for 20-30 minutes (belly submerged if tub is deep enough), a Benadryl (if you are not opposed to medication), and a nap made all the difference! I felt sooooo rested and wonderful.

[Lizzie9984]

Tara, believe it or not, I can't reach my cervix anymore Haven't been able to do that since last weekend, and even then, it was a toughie to reach. All I could tell then was that I wasn't dilated, but nice and soft, and pretty high up there.

However, as far as position of the babe goes, I palpated him/her a few hours ago. I'm definately going to try to get the babe to move somehow, I noticed, quite clearly for a change, that they're not facing front or back, but rather to the side, the right side to be specific---It took me a while to realize I was poking and prodding a shoulder! He/she IS head down, though, I just need to get them to turn a little. This explains why so far all day today, it feels like someone's trying to rip my spine out during the contractions, I've spent most of the day wandering around the house trying to get comfy sitting, standing, laying down, etc....And there goes one now, geeeeeeebus that huuuuuurts!!!!! ........Holy moley, I suppose I should count my blessings that it's not in the front, too.....Although with each contraction, I AM lifting my front, it's sort of unconcious, even though it doesn't do my back any good.

I also took a shower a while ago, but the only thing that did was relax my back muscles enough to crack, snap and pop all the way up to my shoulder blades when I bent over. Felt GREAT for all of a few seconds til a contraction kicked in. I kept having them IN the shower, talk about a buzzkill.

[chrysalis]

how long have you been having ctx's??? i'd say you are on your way to birthing that baby...i forgot are you UC'ing or are you having a homebirth or hosp? it sounds to me like you are close to transition if i do say so myself. probably when we don't hear from you anymore til baby is here...you do sound like you need some pain relief more than what you have been doing already...and someone to consult w/ by your side.....a MW...a doula....a nurse....a dr. i feel for you. thinking of you tonight..............