Childbearing Year

Initiating labor

Initiating labor
(Excerpt from Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year pages 60 - 61)


The herbs used to initiate labor are listed here in order of increasing strength. With the exception of Castor oil (and there is some disagreement on that), these herbs will not
be effective unless the cervix is ripe. CAUTION: Do not try to initiate labor unless the fetus is at least 37 weeks gestational age.

* Get the uterus to begin contracting by "imagining" that it is. Don't try to force or push the feeling, just let it arise by itself. If your mind worries or focuses on the problem,
gently return yourself to the solution by affirming that labor has begun and that you will feel it very soon. As with all visualizations, this one works well with any of the other
remedies.

* Homeopathic Caulophyllum 200x, is reported as a good labor initiator. The dose can be repeated every half-hour for two hours.

* Labor can be initiated by stimulating the uterus. Rub the belly softly and persistently, with or without oil. Make an infusion of Blue Cohosh and use it as an enema. Have an
orgasm. Rub and gently pinch the nipples. All are safe and effective ways to encourage uterine contractions.

* Castor oil, a favorite herbal remedy of Edgar Cayce, is used internally and externally to stimulate the uterus, soften the cervix, and help initiate labor.

Rub Castor oil on the belly and cover with a warm towel if the cervix is ripe and labor seems near. Or use Castor oil as a stimulating purgative. The dosage and procedure for starting labor with Castor oil varies considerably from midwife to midwife, but
everyone uses some form of this treatment. Two ounces of Castor oil, two ounces of vodka, and two or more ounces of orange juice is the usual dose.
This is often followed with a hot shower. After an hour, the dose is repeated and an enema is given. The dose is repeated a third time one hour later and
another hot shower enjoyed. labor will begin 3-5 hours after the last dose if all is well.

* Blue Cohosh tincture, 3-8 drops in a glass of warm water or tea, is very effective in starting labor. Repeat every half-hour for several hours until contractions are
regular. If labor is not underway in four hours, use a dropperful of the tincture under the tongue every hour for up to four more hours or until contractions are strong
and consistent.

* Homemade or commercial herbal labor tinctures, based on Blue Cohosh and supporting herbs, are commonly used as a safe and reliable way to initiate labor.
Follow the directions on the tincture bottle or take 10 drops every hour until contractions begin. One midwife uses labor tincture hourly and homeopathic Caulophyllum 200x every half-hour. She says this establishes a smooth labor within five hours. Contractions build slowly when a labor tincture is used; do not discontinue until they become regular.

See Appendix II -labor Tincture.

 

External Uses of Infusions

External Uses of Infusions

A soak consists of an infusion that has been rewarmed after the plant material has been strained out. The affected body part is then soaked in the warm infusion.

If you soak your feet in an herbal infusion, it's a foot bath, an excellent way to soothe and heal the entire body, and absorb herbal benefits.

A sitz bath is a big soak! Two or more quarts of infusion are usually needed to fill a shallow bowl or pan big enough for you to "sitz" in.

° A bath is an enormous soak, like steeping your body in an infusion. You can prepare an herbal bath by putting the herbs directly in the tub, but my plumber made it clear to me that herbs and drains are incompatible. Some herbals say to put the herbs in a cloth and allow the bath water to run over them but I find the resulting bath too weak. If you want a strong herbal bath, try it this way: Infuse two quarts of your favorite bath herb, strain, and add the liquid to your hot bath. Ahhhhh!

Enemas, douches, and eyewashes are herbal infusions carefully strained and inserted into the proper body cavity.

Plant material strained out as an infusion still contains healing qualities and can be used to poultice. Simply place the damp plant material, warmed if desired, or fresh plant material grated, chewed, or crushed, directly on the body. Poultices are preferred for first aid and infections.

Make a compress by putting macerated fresh or infused dried plant material into a cloth. Compressing is recommended when using hairy herbs like Comfrey leaf which irritate sensitive skin. They are less messy than poultices, and are often the choice when dealing with internal organs and growths.

For a fomentation, take a clean washcloth or a small cotton towel, soak it in a heated infusion, wring it out, and apply. Fomentations treat breast congestion, sprains, muscle aches, and the like.

 

 

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Raspberry leaf

Raspberry leaf

 

Susun talks about raspberry leaf on blogtalkradio. She talks about how raspberry plants grow, how to harvest the leaves and how to dry them. As well as other info
This audio is just over 3:00 minutes long.

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Soothing Sitz Bath, Healing Bath

Soothing Sitz Bath, Healing Bath
Soothes inflamed and tender tissues, heals trauma, lubricates 

Soak 2 ounces/60g dried or 8 ounces/250g fresh mallow (pictured)
or comfrey roots, leaves, and/or flowers in 2 quarts/liters of cold water in a pot overnight.
Then bring to a boil.
Cover, remove from heat, and steep for 4–6 hours.
Strain.
Warm the liquid, pour it into a small tub and sitz in it.
Alternately, pour it into a hot bath.
Or refrigerate and drink it. A dose is a cup or more a day —heated or iced, sweetened or not — daily for at least ten days.

Excerpt from: Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way

Red Raspberry Infusion

Red Raspberry Infusion with Susun Weed

Susun Weed and her granddaughter, Monica Jean discusses the benefits of red raspberry leaf and demonstrates how to make a nourishing herbal infusion.

 

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Ecstatic Birth Sheila Kamara Hay

Ecstatic Birth Sheila Kamara Hay.

Susun interviews Sheila Kamara Hay.
Sheila Kamara hay is a leading visionary, advocate and coach devoted to unveiling the ecstasy available in each moment at the intersection of sensuality, life and birth. Founder of the global ecstatic birth movement, a Yale and Columbia trained cultural sociologist and longtime sister goddesses, sheila empowers women to honor their feminine flow and locate their fierce feminine power while they birth their most sacred creations and re-birth themselves in pleasure. Sheila trains birth practitioners and expectant moms to integrate the most holistic birthing tool, pleasure, in birth preparation and support. Sheila is a sought after speaker and teacher guest teacher at mama gena's school of womanly arts and orgasmic birth pain to power childbirth education program, and has taught at the en*theos online academy, the birth institute, choices in childbirth, and numerous virtual conferences.



this episode Q&A includes:
• difficulty eliminating and urinating- cumin seed, yellow dock, lavender..
• pain- what's not working- it's ok to be in pain- take enough pain reliever to relieve the pain..
• oregano oil- lots of other mint preparations to experiment with that are not essential oils
• what defines healthy fats- omega 3:6 ratio..
• there are not any right answers left- doing the best we can..
• cervical health, hpv, cervical dysplasia..
• high blood pressure- drugs and herbs working together..

Witch hazel

Witch Hazel stops bleeding and more

Susun talks more about Witch Hazel, including it's ability to stop bleeding. Midwives use it for postpartum bleeding. She also talks about other uses.

 

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Herbs for Labor, part 15

Herbs for Labor, part 15
c. Susun Weed

Come and sit with us. There is room for you in our circle. Hold hands with us and hum with us. We are celebrating. We are celebrating this ordinary day, this special moment. We are celebrating ourselves and each other. We are dancing in the give-away breath. We feel the heartbeat of the earth in our hearts, in our wombs. We are learning that we are already wise.

“This is the last time we will be together my precious ones,” says Grandmother Growth. Is that a tear glistening in her eye? Or a spark of light from the woodstove reflecting off her cheek?

“Our lives change more quickly than those of the plants. They sing their songs, each plant its own special song, through the centuries. What you learn about them will be true and valid not only now, for you, but for your great, great grandchildren. And the wisdom of an old wise woman like myself is fresh enough for you young women, when it pertains to the real Ancient Ones, the plants. “Our time together now ends. What comes next? Be alert, and be at ease. Be aware of the shifts in patterns. Be deliberate, and go with the flow. Stay focused, and jump at opportunity. What is coming? What is being born?

“Your birth bags are stocked with herbs that help during labor -- and at other times, too. Use the common plants lavishly and often. Use the few exotic herbs you have only rarely, when in great need. Most of the remedies are safe, even in unwise hands. Protect those that are not, so no harm comes from them.

“There are so many parts of the plants that we can choose from. You have tinctures of the roots of blue cohosh, black cohosh, wild ginger, angelica, dong quai, ginseng, wild yam, cotton, and trillium. You have tinctures of flowering tops of catnip, skullcap, motherwort, life root, passion flower, hops, lobelia, and marijuana. You have the leaves and stalks of nettle and raspberry. And the oil of the seeds of evening primrose. Now, let us add a berry to our collection: Shisandra (Shizandra chinensis), the five-flavor berry. “Shisandra tastes sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent all at once. Five flavors indeed. It is one of the top fifty herbs used today in China, and has been one of the most important tonic herbs there for more than 2000 years. It is widely used in modern Japan and Russia as well and American herbalists are coming to appreciate its many talents.

“Bright red shisandra berries contain large amounts of forty different lignans which act as tonic adaptogens. It is one of the few Chinese herbs used as a tincture, though one can also simply eat the berries, drink berry tea, or make a decoction of the dried berries. To make your tincture: Fill a jar 1/3 full of dried shisandra berries; fill the jar to the top with hundred-proof vodka. Cap tightly and label. Shake daily for a week. It is ready to use in six weeks, but it gets better the longer it sits.

“Shisandra is an herb of longevity. It reduces physical exhaustion and fatigue and promotes restful relaxation. (Helpful for the birthing woman.) Even one dose of shisandra tincture improves brain efficiency and activates the central nervous system. (Helpful for the birthing woman.) Several doses close together can lower blood pressure. (Helpful for the birthing woman.) Regular use builds overall strength in mind and body, increases physical and mental work capacity, improves all reflexes, and increases endurance. (Helpful for the midwife.)

“Shisandra is especially helpful for women who are ‘bundles of nerves.’ High-strung women may want to use a dropperful of shisandra tincture daily throughout the pregnancy to help make their labor easier.

“In Chinese medicine, shisandra treats ‘deficiency’ states: characterized by passivity, weakness, thin or thready pulse, paranoia, withdrawal, depression, and non-specific pains relieved by touch. These women also will benefit from shisandra throughout pregnancy.

“Think of shisandra as a combination of motherwort, nettle, raspberry, and ginseng. Like motherwort, it calms. Like nettle, it energizes. Like raspberry, it tonifies and gives strength to labor. Like ginseng, it increases endurance. Shisandra is not an herb that will push labor, or even push the birthing woman. It does the opposite: bringing calm strength and compassionate reason to fraught situations.

“Try one of these preserved, salted shisandra berries that the Siberian shaman gave me when she stayed here last winter. Put it in your mouth. Close your eyes. How many flavors can you count?”

You close your eyes and savor the berry: Salty. Sour. Sweet. Acrid. Pungent. Bitter. All five flavors. And when you open your eyes, you are sitting in the woods, in an old, deserted birthing circle in northern Ontario. There is no sign of Grandmother Growth or her cozy home. You are alone. Or are you?

Your birth bag is full; and so is your heart. Filled with treasures enough to last a lifetime. A lifetime of memories of delicious tastes and intricate stories that weave herbs and women, birth and death, together in a spiraling dance. Surely the healing cloak of the Ancients will guide you home, to your own bed, and your own life.

Read more about Pregnancy and herbs in Susuns book:
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year

Read the rest of this series as a member of Susuns Personal Mentorship website.
www.wisewomanmentor.com

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Wild Ginger

Wild Ginger

Wild ginger (asarum canadense) is an important midwives plant and used to help move the birth along. It is rarely used, and only in special cases.

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Herbs for Labor, part 14

Herbs for Labor, part 14
c. Susun Weed

We have returned from our ginseng expedition and are seated by the woodstove, cups of honeyed hot sage tea at hand.
“Here’s something we won’t find in the forest,” says Grandmother Growth, holding out a thin, brownish-yellow root.

As we pass it around, we notice how flexible it is, and that it is almost odorless. The taste is a little acrid and astringent, but also slippery.

“This is cotton root; actually, the bark of the root. That’s why it bends so easily.

“Let’s make a decoction,” she suggests. Using heavy scissors, she snips a large handful of dried root bark strips into a pot of boiling water.

“I’ve added an ounce of dried root to a quart of water. Instead of taking the pan off the heat, tightly covering it and infusing the herb, we are going to leave it right here, on the heat and uncovered, while we talk. We’ll adjust the heat so it simmers, and stir it occasionally as we chat. It is decocted when the liquid is reduced by at least half. (You can pour it in a measuring cup if you want: two cups or less of decoction is your goal.)

“Cotton root bark is a very useful medicine. But it must be harvested when the energy and medicine is in the root, not the flowers or seeds. It is best if tinctured fresh and stored for later use; the activity of the dried root dissipates quickly. It is most effective the year it is harvested.

“Use only organic cotton root. Cotton grown for clothing often contains chemicals not intended for ingestion by humans. Cotton root bark is considered completely safe to use, producing no side effects when used for no longer than a few days, at most, and having no known interactions with drugs.

“Cotton root bark is the equivalent of ergot (and ergot-based drugs, like pitocin) in its ability to jump-start uterine contractions, but much more dependable and far safer. Sips of the decoction or a dropperful of the tincture, taken frequently, bring on the menses, bring on a miscarriage, bring on labor, bring on birth, bring on the placenta, and help during menopause. It is especially helpful in improving uterine tone. Fullness and heaviness in the pelvis are strong indications for the use of cotton root.

“Even though it is an emmenogogue, cotton root successfully checks hemorrhage after childbirth, during menopause, and menstrually. It also alleviates pain and flooding, especially for women with fibroids or endometriosis. In fact, about 90 percent of women with endometriosis will respond favorably to cotton root, but many of them will lose their period for the 6-12 months of treatment.

“She is an important herb for all fertile women and a great ally to the wise midwife,” says Grandmother Growth as she stirs the steaming decoction.

“This decoction, sipped after a fertilizing intercourse, interferes with the ability of the corpus luteum to produce progesterone, thus preventing implantation of the ovum. This ability to stop progesterone production can end a very early pregnancy if the decoction is taken before the placenta is formed and hormonally active. No decoction? 1-4 dropperfuls of the tincture of the fresh root can be taken repeatedly until bleeding and contractions are well established.

“Please make an appointment for a clinical D&C before using cotton root bark or any strong emmenagogue to bring on a missed period. If pregnancy has occurred and the conception remains, it is likely to be malformed, if studies on rats are any indication.

“Cotton root bark contains oxytocin, which initiates uterine contractions. In addition, there are active ingredients in cotton root bark that increase the number of receptor sites on the cells that absorb oxytocin. This increased uptake of oxytocin causes a marked increase in the number and strength of uterine contractions. Although it is no longer marketed by Eli Lilly or listed in the USP (as it was from 1860 to 1880), cotton root is still widely used to initiate labor in post-term pregnancies, PROM, and when labor stalls, or when the uterus seems boggy or unresponsive.

“Cotton – Gossypium herbaceum – is in the hibiscus family, with okra, marshmallow, and hollyhock. Like all malvas, the leaves and roots contain soothing mucilages, traditionally used to counter snake bite and dysentery.

“In China, cotton is both as an aphrodisiac and a male contraceptive. The roots, chewed, stimulate the sexual organs and revive flagging interest. Gossypol (concentrated in in the seeds, but also found in the root of cotton – and now synthesized rather than extracted) blocks the production of sperm and hinders their mobility, supposedly without affecting potency. Long term use (60mg for six months) is been linked to both heart and liver problems.

“Although cotton seed tea is a traditional remedy in the Southern States for intermittent fever and to increase breast milk, it is not considered safe, especially for men. A large amount of cotton seed oil in the diet (it is in many processed foods) is associated with temporary infertility. Fatal poisonings have occurred in animals fed cotton-seed cakes.

“And now, I think it is time for me to feed the fire and go to bed,” says Grandmother Growth with a yawn. “Tomorrow we’ll continue our studies. Now it is time to dream. Please accommodate yourselves. You know where everything is. Goodnight and green blessings.”

Thanks to the writings of Sister Zeus, Maude Grieves, and Aviva Romm. And to the oral tradition of the nameless African women whose herbal knowledge helped them – and we, their children – to survive in new worlds.

Read more about Pregnancy and herbs in Susuns book:
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year

Read the rest of this series as a member of Susuns Personal Mentorship website.
www.wisewomanmentor.com

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