How Lavender can Make Your Birth More Comfortable
My name is Ellie Waddington. I am a Hypnobirthing Teacher, ante-natal instructor and positive birth coach. I absolutely LOVE providing my clients with all manner of tips and tricks to help them have a positive birth experience.
Are you scared of all the stories that you’ve heard about birth and how painful it is? Are you you constantly googling natural methods of pain relief for labour? I absolutely understand and I am here for you.
Today I am going to talk to you about lavender and why you should seriously think about using this common but mighty plant in your birth preparation.
What is Lavender?
Lavender is an evergreen shrub that is commonly found in lots of people’s gardens. You may well already have some in your garden! In the summer it grows gorgeous sprays of deep purple flowers and the scent is just heavenly. It has been found all across the world and has been used therapeutically and medicinally for centuries in many forms including essential oils, in cooking and in soaps and lotions.
Over-all it is considered a very safe herb to use as it isn’t easily confused with any other plants and there are no known negative side effects unless you have a specific intolerance to lavender.
How can Lavender help in birth?
Lavender is a great “all-rounder” with so many uses that could benefit you while you’re in labour.
Relaxation – Lavender can help lower your heart rate and relax you during labour. It has been used to help people with anxiety and insomnia for years and in more recent years we’ve been starting to see how it can help relax you while you birth your baby. It’s particularly effective if you’re already using it alongside your Hypnobirthing practice as an anchor.
Uplifting – Lavender has long been known to be a mood enhancer. If birth starts to take a different path than you intended and you start to feel yourself getting a bit tense and panicky, take a good sniff of lavender and it could help boost your mood and help you re-focus. An absolute must for a positive birth!
Pain relief – Lavender has been used to relieve pain for centuries as it contains anti-inflammatory properties. Recent studies have shown that it can potentially reduce discomfort during labour as well. Studies in 2000 and 2016 have shown that around 56% of women who inhale lavender scent during labour report a significant reduction in pain levels.
Cooling – Labour is hard work! Using Lavender oil in a compress or in a room diffuser can help to keep you cool if you start to feel hot and uncomfortable during labour.
Ways to Use Lavender in birth
Lavender bag – If you grow lavender in your garden, it is very easy to dry out and sow yourself a lovely little lavender bag to scrunch and sniff during labour. It means that you’re in control of how much you inhale and you can simply put it away if the scent becomes over powering.
Massage – A great way for your birth partner to support you during labour. Using correctly diluted lavender essential oil for massage during labour can help relieve stress and tension and also gives your birth partner a job so that they don’t feel like a spare part!
Diffuser – Electric diffusers are a great way to fill your birth room with the scent of lavender. You can choose how much to drop into the diffuser and you can choose to turn it off and on and again whenever you feel like.
Scented candles – A great option if you’re having a home birth (many hospitals and birth centres don’t allow candles) or even if you’re labouring at home but planning to go to the hospital later.
Hot Compress – Another job for your birth partner. The hot water combined with lavender essential oil will have the most wonderful relieving and soothing effect on your lower back. This is a particularly useful trick to have up your sleeve if you’re experiencing back labour.
Please note: Aromatherapy is a complementary therapy to be used alongside your health care and is not intended to replace medical advice.
