Anbody Taking a "Gentle Birth" Formula?

[mochimama]

My midwife recommended I begin taking her homemade "Gentle Birth" Formula at 35 weeks. It has blessed thistle, red raspberry, bayberry, false unicorn, blue cohosh, motherwort, wild yam, and skullcap in brandy.
I'm at 36 weeks and have been procrastinating taking it for fear of early labor. I'm still quite busy at work and things won't wind down for another week or so. She said it'll take about a week for things to start moving, but I'm just scared to do it. With dd I never had a single contraction (that I noticed anyway) before being induced after a slow fluid leak. I haven't had any noticeable contractions with this babe either.
Anybody out there taking something similar? Do you think it'll really make for a gentle birth? I'd love to go into labor like some of you mamas already effaced and dilated and everything, but it's just so scary!

[BookishVonLiberal]

Give it to me, I'll take it. I'm having difficulty finding a local source of herbs/tinctures etc.
But I would cheerfully take a labor tincture if I had access to it.

[thechuzzle]

I started taking it at 35 weeks, and I would go ahead and do it. If it starts to bother you stop taking it, otherwise I think it will only help when the time comes.

[guestmama9904]

so all of the mentioned herbs are ok at 35 weeks?

[Katielady]

Originally Posted by arismama!

so all of the mentioned herbs are ok at 35 weeks?

I'm not sure about the blue cohosh- it really depends on the concentration. I know that in high doses, it can induce labor pretty strongly.

mochimama, I'd ask your midwife for more info from an outside source (article, book, etc.) on these herbs and their use at this stage in pregnancy. Preparing for labor would be great....induction at 35 weeks, not so great.

[mochimama]

I researched them a while ago and I remember blue cohosh as coming up with not super positive reviews. But my midwife swears by this formula and she's got quite a bit of experience. I'm getting a little tired of researching everything, I just want to trust her, maybe I'll start taking it. If I go into labor tomorrow it might not be such a bad thing--I can give this stupid report I'm working on to someone else to finish!

[ambotchka]

Wanna share the recipe? I'd like a "gentle birth"!

[Bella Catalina]

I am taking Mountain Meadow Herbs' Gentle Birth tincture. I have been on it for two weeks and don't see much happening... but with anything like this, nothing will happen until your body is ready.

[guestmama9904]

i was reading a book by herbalist Aviva Jill Romm and she says there was a study in 1998 in the american pedicatrics journal that found blue cohosh taken in pregnancy can increase the chance for heart attacks in newborns. freaky. but she says black cohosh ahs completely different properties and is ok.