Hello,
I am going to be a mother for the third time (praise God!) but have run into a few complications during this pregnancy.
My husband (naturopathic doctor) and I follow a very healthy, slow food, slow living lifestyle, and have increased our health since that last pregnancy, and were expecting this one to be glowing with health. I also love the book "Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year" and follow the same thought pattern, and heal with herbs.
Early in the pregnancy (11 wks) I began bleeding and contracting- we thought I was miscarrying. I used the herbs from the book and bedrest and love, and the baby stayed!!! After an ulstrasound diagnosis, we found that the placenta was covering the cervix, and had partially detached- so I was put on very limited activity, etc.
Again we have used healing herbs and common sense and things seem to be healthy again. (I am now 16 weeks along)
However, after a recent airplane trip across the country, my two young boys and I have contracted what appears to be Fifth Disease.
This scares me, as I cannot find any information on natural treatments that would help. We of course are staying exclusively at home now, and trying to overcome the sickness with herbs and rest.
But what I am worried about is the possible complications that could happen to my (unborn) baby. There is a 30% chance (more or less) that the baby will be infected as well, and could lead to a type of anemia in which she cannot produce red blood cells.
Do you have any experience with pregnancy and Fifth Disease, or can you recommend any herbs that would be helpful to 1) prevent the baby from becoming infected or 2) help her heal from it without complications
My first thought was to increase my own iron levels, but my husband said that if she cannot make RBC, then that would be useless.
The "standard" medical procedure (even among our local midwives) is wait and see- with weekly ultrasounds- which I am not a huge fan of.
Thank you so much for your thoughts and time!!
Hello,
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I know that Fifth Disease can cause a great deal of worry but do try and believe that your body will do what is best for you and the baby. In almost all cases, there are no complications, but there is a small chance of miscarriage, especially if it is contracted in the early stages of pregnancy. Certainly everything that you have been doing, is wonderful.
It is true that there really is not much that you can do except relax and try to stay focused on having a healthy baby and remembering that is really is rare for issues to occur. There are, however, steps that can be taken. Take echinacea - Infusing dried Echinacea augustifolia root is best - One ounce of root steeped for eight hours in a pint of water is the daily dose for a person weighing 125-150 pounds. When infection is acute, full dose should be taken for a minimum of seven days. For tincture - dose is 1 drop for every 2 pounds of body weight, taken every several hours. After the seven days, you can drop the dosage down to 2-3 times a day.
Take care of yourself, rest as much as possible and support your immune system. Drink herbal infusions daily, make nourishing soups with powerful anti-viral components such as astragalus root, onion, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, ginger and tumeric. If you are not familiar with infusions, Susun has a new site that discussing method and herbs used: http://nourishingherbalinfusions.com/
Susun is not usually online, but she does offer phone consultations if you would like to go into deeper detail with her. I am including a link for you if you wish to book one. http://www.herbalmedicinehealing.com/store/store_results.asp?Category=3&SubCat=1034&Section=Consultations
Wishing you well and let us know if you need anything else.
blessings,
Kim
You can get your health questions answered by Susun in one of two ways. Join the health hotline teleseminar on Monday and Thursday evenings 8pm EST, through the winter months. Or you may register for a private telephone consultation. You can also join the free women's health forum where hundreds of wise woman can help you. Sign up for the free herbal healing ezine, filled with wise woman wit and wisdom. Visit the Wise Woman Bookshop for online university, gift shop, bookshop, digital downloads, and more. Go to www.susunweed.com for a complete list of offerings including radio show and free videos.
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