by Kara Maria Ananda
I am so grateful to have an abundance of the highest quality essential oils at my fingertips to support my current journey through pregnancy, birth and beyond.
I've long valued the benefits of essential oils for mamas and babies, using aromatherapy massage oils with my pregnant clients and blending beautiful labor oils and mists to bring along in my birth bag as a doula.
The experience of growing and birthing a baby is an extraordinary one, in which a mother experiences changes physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
It's also a sensitive developmental period, in which women are very aware that chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pollutants, and environmental influences can effect our baby's health significantly.
Thus, natural and pure essential oils from plants are a nurturing and gentle addition to a women's self-care tool kit during pregnancy, birth and beyond.
In early pregnancy, my most used oils were for digestive support, emotional support and skin care. I also used other specific oils for immune and respiratory support as individual issues came up over the months.
Ginger
This spicy earthy root creates a beautiful energizing essential oil produced from fresh ginger in Madagascar. Ginger became a strong ally to me during this year, as I experienced pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting throughout the entire length of my pregnancy. Thus, ginger has been on hand - by my bed, in my bathroom, by my desk and in my purse. I have not been without ginger oil for months and months and it's been greatly valued and appreciated to calm my digestion and queasiness while also promoting courage and confidence.
Lemon
This essential citrus oil is bright and refreshing and is a great combination with ginger to smell or diffuse. I loved diffusing ginger and lemon essential oils together in the morning first thing, to help me start off the day with greater ease. The combo is like ginger lemonade, so good! Lemon is also naturally cleansing, so a great oil to freshen the air with.
Bergamot
Bergamot is another beautiful citrus oil which is very beneficial for boosting mood and emotions. Pregnancy can bring lots of emotions along the journey, and bergamot is one of my favorites to reach for to smell or to mix in blends for massage or diffusing to brighten my spirits.
Peppermint
Peppermint is one of many pregnant women's favorite oils for digestive support and calming the tummy. Avoid peppermint during breastfeeding, as it could reduce milk supply.
Cardamom
Cardamom creates a spicy sweet aroma that is very effective at suppressing queasiness, and thus another great supportive oil for the digestion. Cardamom also blends well with ginger to smell or diffuse, with a scent evoking chai.
Lavender
Lavender is the most popular essential oil used in the world for good reason. It supports calm, relaxed feelings as well as having benefits for the skin and body. Lavender is a wonderful oil to have in your essential oil toolkit for a multitude of purposes, but especially for reducing stress and enhancing restfulness in pregnancy.
Ylang Ylang
Ylang ylang is a beautiful floral essential oil that is calming and uplifting. It's a favorite oil to blend with bergamot, lavender and other relaxing oils for an emotionally balancing aromatherapy experience. One of my favorite uses for ylang ylang in pregnancy with with lavender and geranium in a warm foot bath with epsom salts and baking soda - this is a great way to ground and release stress at the end of a day, as well as to ease tired pregnant feet.
Melissa
Melissa is the essential oil of the lemon balm herb, and thus has a lemony sweet and green scent. Melissa is a precious oil that is very gentle, yet highly effective at calming the nervous system as well as supporting the body's immune system.
Geranium
Geranium is a sensual floral essential oil that is balancing for the skin, supportive of the immune system, and has calming and grounding effects on the mood.
Immortelle
Immortelle is an amazing doTERRA blend of essential oils, including frankincense, Hawaiian sandalwood, myrrh, and rose, which is wonderful to massage on the growing pregnancy belly to support skin appearance and tone.
You can also view this blog and other blogs about empowered self care at:http://karamariaananda.com/blog/essential-oils-pregnancy
Kara Maria Ananda is a Healing Arts Educator, Holistic Business Coach, Speaker, Writer and the founder of Maia University. She is the creator of global online educational programs for visionary women including the Healing Arts Business Academy, the Women’s Healing Arts Teacher Training and the Awesome Birth Teacher Training. Kara is an advocate for empowered living, women's health, transformational leadership and conscious business. Find out more and contact her at: www.KaraMariaAnanda.com
