![]() ![]() Lavender flower buds can be incorporated into tea-just take care not to steep too long to avoid a bitter taste!-and can also be made into a tincture or glycerite. Lavender is a calming, sedative nervine that can be incorporated in multiple forms to improve sleep and ease anxiety during pregnancy. Some practitioners and pregnant people opt to wait until the second trimester to use any herbs, even those considered safe in pregnancy. Note: These herbs are considered safe in pregnancy however, it’s always important to check in with your health care provider before taking herbs in pregnancy. Consider using tinctures, glycerites, oxymels, syrups, powders, electuaries, and other herbal products with no to low water content that are right for you. ![]() It can be helpful to use forms other than infusions and decoctions, as high water content can lead to more frequent urination, which is a concern that is already present in pregnancy, so there is no need to contribute further to it. When working with herbs for sleep, one thing to consider beyond the particular herb(s) to use is the delivery method. But other times, the use of sedative and nervine herbs is extremely helpful for promoting a restful night’s sleep, especially when used in addition to easing daytime stress. Sometimes by minimizing daytime stress, sleep comes easier and sedatives are not needed. If you choose to use any herb or protocol discussed here, it should always be under the supervision of an experienced midwife, obstetrician (OB), or your medical provider. This excerpt on herbal support for insomnia comes from Session 1 of the intensive, in which clinical herbalists Lisa Olson and Shona Richter MacDougall also walk you through the use of some nutritive and tonic herbs that can be incorporated into daily life during pregnancy, herbs for easing stress and anxiety, and topical support for stretch marks, itchy skin, and general discomfort.Īs you can imagine, we need to be especially careful when using herbs during pregnancy, as it’s a time when we need to be concerned about the safety of the growing fetus, the health of the pregnant person, and maintaining the pregnancy. In our new Herbal Support for Pregnancy Intensive available in The Herbarium, you’ll learn how to use herbs in a safe, effective way to ease insomnia and other common complaints during pregnancy, as well as how to prepare for birth physically and emotionally. ![]() In a 2007 National Sleep Foundation survey, 84% of pregnant Americans experienced sleep issues at least three nights/week (National Sleep Foundation, 2007). Men with lower education levels, poor health and a higher number of children more often had short sleep, as reported in Sleep Medicine.Insomnia during pregnancy is common, and can be caused by a variety of factors-hormonal changes, nausea and vomiting, an increased need to urinate, pregnancy-related aches and pains, having to sleep in a position that one isn’t accustomed to, and worries about the pregnancy, the birth, and life with a new baby can all keep someone up at night or make it difficult to sleep through the night. Parents with insomnia more often had symptoms of depression than those without insomnia. Sleep debt was more common for men, at 10 percent versus almost 5 percent of women. ![]() They found that insomnia was more common for women, with 10 percent reporting it, along with 6 percent of men. Researchers evaluated the participants’ problems falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings, too-early awakenings and sleep quality as well as “short sleep” – defined as either a two-hour difference between self-assessed sleep need and actual sleep duration or a sleep duration shorter than six hours per night. They provided data before their child’s birth and several more times in the baby’s first 24 months of life. Participants were recruited during pregnancy when almost half were expecting their first child. The researchers studied a population of 1,667 mothers and 1,498 fathers in Finland who were part of a long-term study. ![]()
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