Essential Oils for Pregnancy

Essential oils can be a wonderful tool to use during pregnancy.  I have been asked by several different women what oils I would recommend. Sadly, this is not a topic I can share my personal experiences with. It has only been a year and a half since I first started using essential oils and my baby is 6 1/2 years old.  Picking an oil or several oils really depends on the exact issue someone wants to address.

Here is a quick breakdown of these oils:

1. Geranium - This is a powerful floral oil. It supports several systems in the body including the liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and kidneys. It has been known to help with emotions, hormones, and oil on skin and hair.

2. Ylang Ylang (I love the way this one smells) - It is commonly used as an aid with hormones, libido, mental fatigue, anxiety, frustration, stress, stomach issues, oily skin, and emotional balance.

3. Lavender - The top uses for this oil are sleep issues, stress, anxiety, teeth grinding, focus, concentration, pains, headaches, and emotional balance. It also promotes skin healing.

4. Grapefruit - This oil is cold pressed from the rind of grapefruits. It is often used to aid with weight loss and cellulite, sugar cravings, oily skin and acne, detoxification, lymphatic and kidney systems, breast and uterine health, hormones, gallbladder support, and emotional well being.

 5. Roman Chamomile - This oil is steam distilled from flowers. It has been known to assist with stress and shock, dry skin and sore nipples, sleeplessness, cramps, anger and irritability, and emotional balance.    

While I have no intention of getting pregnant again (I'm 41 years old), I wish I had been using essential oils back when I was pregnant.  I can see that Ginger (aids with nausea), Peppermint (relieves digestive upset) and wild orange (energizes and lifts mood) could be on the top of the list too. Here is a picture of me when I was pregnant:

I still remember being horribly uncomfortable and exhausted. I made a decision to avoid caffeine, soda, and pain killers, which means I would have LOVED using essential oils for little pick-me-ups. Oh well, live & learn, right?