We were talking about herbal baths with the baby on the other thread, but I thought it deserved its own thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicole730 
I've only heard of these wonderful sounding herb baths, what do you put in the tub? I love taking baths and DS only took baths with me for the first year or so of his life. I would love to cuddle and bond with new baby in the tub once we are both ready. Thanks for your help!
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There are lots of different recipes....most of the ones I've seen include Comfrey, Shepherd's Purse, sea salt, Uva Ursi, and garlic, then variations on that theme...I really love the smell of the one I've used in the past--to me it just totally evokes all the good parts of birth! I actually kept a teensy bit of it (dry) after my last birth just so I could sniff it from time to time--just the smell makes me have a let-down!
So, I decided to mix my own this time and get as close to that as possible. I ordered the herbs in bulk through Mountain Rose Herbs.
I'm using:
one part (about 1 Tbsp) each:
myrhh,
garlic (I like the dried minced garlic rather than the powdered),
sage
comfrey root
and two parts (about 2 Tbsp) each:
comfrey leaf
Shepherd's Purse
uva ursi
sea salt
lavender buds.
I'll make about 7 or 8 packages--one for each bath, and one for pouring on maxi pads to freeze for using post-partum.
To use, place one bundle of herbs in a gallon of water (you can wrap the herbs in cheesecloth or put them in a knee-high stocking to make straining easier, but make sure they have enough room to steep well). Bring the water to a boil--let it boil for 20 minutes or so, then turn off the heat and let it steep, covered, until it cools. Strain or squeeze out the herbs and save them in a refrigerated container. Pour the herb tea into your bath.
The next day, boil a new bundle of herbs along with the refrigerated ones...follow the same procedure each day--saving all the previous herbs to use the next day. This way, you'll be able to get the most use out of the herbs, and you should be able to get an extra bath or two!
Here are some other recipes I've collected, mostly from here at MDC. Some of them have amounts/instructions, some don't:
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1 ounce of cinnammon chips (antibiotic)
1 ounce lavender (antibiotic)
1 ounce of myrrh (anti-microbial)
1/2 ounce comfrey (tissue healing, anti-inflammatory)
1/2 cup sea salt (antiseptic)
1/2 ounce chamomile (relaxing)
1/2 ounce calendula flowers (heals hemorrhoids, eases swelling)
1 ounce Shepherds Purse (for bleeding, healing)
1 ounce Uva Ursi (prevents infection)
1 clove Fresh Garlic
1 ounce Arnica (swelling, bruising)
Optional:
1/2 to 1 ounce Frankincense
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½ ounce Rosemary leaves
2 ounces Comfrey leaves
1 ounce Shepherds Purse
1 ounce Uva Ursi
1 C plain sea salt
1 3-4" piece of fresh ginger root
1 whole bulb of garlic
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Post-partum Herbal Bath
1/2 c comfrey
1/2 c shepherds purse
1/2 c uva ursi
1/2 c sea salt
1 bulb garlic
Add everything but garlic to a big pot of water, heat to barely breaking a boil, then reduce heat to barely a simmer. Meanwhile peel and crush the cloves of garlic. After 20 minutes of simmer, remove from heat, strain out herbs, and add crushed garlic.
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- witch hazel
- comfrey
- yarrow
- rosemary
Mix equal parts of each ingredient; add one tsp. herbs to each cup of boiling water; cover and seep for 15 mins; add to approx. 4" of warm bathtub water; sit down in it and relax for 10 mins. Tear or no tear, it is a very comforting bath.
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Comfrey leaf, Uva Ursi, German Chamomile, Shepherd's Purse, Lavender, Sea salt, St. John's Wort, Echinacea Purpurea, Yarrow, Sage
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My midwife just brought me a package of the herbs she mixes for her clients, but I forgot to ask her what all is in them. I could tell it had comfrey,garlic, sea salt, lavendar, and chamomile flowers, but I'm not sure what all else. It smelled pretty good though!
Hope this helps!
