Homeopathy and pregnancy: we guide you

Nausea, headaches, colds, cravings, hemorrhoids, heavy legs… Pregnancy has its share of minor ailments and inconveniences that are not always easy to manage. Especially since many drugs are contraindicated for pregnant women. It is therefore difficult to know how to treat yourself, because there are many alternative medicines, and they also not always indicated during pregnancy, in particular essential oils.

This is where homeopathy comes in, a therapeutic approach consisting in administering, in infinitesimal doses, a substance which produces, in higher doses, symptoms similar to those that one wishes to combat. Discussed at the scientific level because not having no effect shown to be superior to placebo during experiments, unlike conventional (or allopathic) medicines, homeopathy can however prove to be of great help for pregnancy ailments. This therapeutic approach is indeed safe for the fetus (no known teratogenic effect).

Homeopathy and pregnancy: the need for a comprehensive approach

Homeopathy is a special alternative medicine, in the sense that it aims to treat a person as a whole, and in a personalized way. It is therefore recommended, during pregnancy, to rely on the advice of a midwife or a doctor trained in homeopathy (or homeopath). We will then describe to him all our symptoms, even those that seem the most harmless, to be sure not to miss something, and to find the best homeopathic approach to the problem that we want to treat. Nausea of ​​pregnancy, for example, will not necessarily be treated in the same way if it occurs in the morning, accompanied by hiccups, or at mealtime, with vomiting as a result.

Can we practice self-medication with homeopathy during pregnancy?

While it may be possible to go and seek advice from a pharmacist trained in homeopathy to get rid of a minor cold or any other minor symptom, it is not not advised to self-medicate during pregnancy, even with homeopathy. Because in wanting to treat your illness yourself, we risk missing something more serious, which would require drug treatment.

Clearly, we can opt for self-medication with homeopathy exceptionally, but if the symptoms persist, worsen or are accompanied by other symptoms, we rush to see a doctor. And we will then make sure to consult a homeopathic doctor if we wish to continue to treat small pregnancy ailments with homeopathy.

Homeopathy for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy

To treat nausea and vomiting that may occur during the 1st trimester of pregnancy, there are different homeopathic remedies depending on the type of symptom. Here are a few, in a non-exhaustive way:

• Ignatia 5 CH for nausea aggravated by the sight and / or smell of food, and for which eating is relieved;
• Nux vomica 5 CH, when nausea is calmed by vomiting and the tongue is white (and is also recommended for acid reflux);
• Ipeca 5 CH when vomiting does not relieve nausea and is accompanied by hypersalivation;
• Cocculus 5 CH when nausea is aggravated by movement, transport;
• Sepia 5 CH when the nausea is morning, worsens with the sight or the smell of food, and that it associates with a mask of pregnancy (chloasma).

We generally recommend 4 to 5 doses per day, at the rate of three homeopathic granules per dose.

Heavy legs and pregnancy: which homeopathic treatments?

Homeopathic treatments for heavy legs in pregnant women are more complex than for nausea, because there are more formulas, which specifically respond to a certain type of circulatory problem (feeling of heavy legs alone, edemas, spider veins, varicose veins, reactions to the heat,…).

Here are some of the recommended treatments, usually with a concentration of 4 to 7 CH:

• Aesculus ;
• Sepia;
• Arnica (in case of hematomas in particular);
• Hamamelis ;
• Lachesis ;
• Pulsatilla.

We can more simply opt for the Hamamelis Compound formula from the Boiron laboratory, which is formulated from several plants with circulatory properties.

Note also that Aesculus and Hamamelis are also recommended to fight against hemorrhoids during pregnancy, in dosage of 4 to 6 CH.

Homeopathy and childbirth: preparing for and supporting contractions

Homeopathy also has its place at the very end of pregnancy, when it comes to preparing and supporting labor.

We generally recommend Actaea racemosa in 9 CH three weeks to one month before the due date, for soften the cervix.

Gelsemium can be given in case ofuterine inertia before full dilation, and taken at the start of labor, before going to the maternity ward. Caulophyllum is a little “THE” homeopathic treatment of childbirth, because it allows to regulate uterine contractions, make them more effective, and reduce the risk of retained placenta. It is generally taken in 5CH, every quarter of an hour.

Kalium Carbonicu is sometimes advised during childbirth to reduce pain.

Homeopathy to support the aftermath of childbirth

The aftermath of childbirth can also be taken care of by homeopathy. But for this key period even more than for pregnancy, the treatments and their dosage depend very much on each case. We can quote, in the disorder and in a non-exhaustive way: Arnica, Bellis Perennis or Staphysagria, all this to help healing, whether following an episiotomy, a cesarean, or simply to help the body to recover.

We can also go for homeopathic treatments to manage the baby blues (with Sepia and Pulsatilla in particular), fatigue, hair loss, milk rush and breastfeeding itself.

The best is still to seek advice at least from a pharmacist trained in homeopathy, or, better, to consult a doctor or a homeopathic midwife for a personalized prescription.

Sources and additional information:

• https://www.homeophyto.com/grossesse-liste-hom%C3%A9o
• “Homeopathy at all ages of women”, Claire Bialkiewicz, Editions Presses du Châtelet