Pregnancy and herbs part2. Miscarriage prevention and treatment, how herbs can help

Miscarriage prevention and post-miscarriage treatment.

Miscarriages happen more frequently than most people realize, especially in the early weeks of pregnancy. The longer it progresses, the more challenging it becomes. Prevention is always the ideal approach, particularly for women with a history of one or more past miscarriages or those experiencing symptoms like bleeding and cramping that suggest a potential miscarriage. According to Anne MacIntyre in her book "Woman's Herbal" it is estimated that about half of threatened miscarriages can be prevented.

Miscarriages and premature delivery are serious problems where preventing works far better then treating. 

It must be very clear that, if there is something wrong with baby's development and the body somehow knows that things aren't going right, then no amount of any kind of herbal medicine will stop the process from happening.

 

What are Herbal Medicines for Preventing Miscarriages

Herbal medicines have been long established as safe and beneficial for helping prevent miscarriages. These natural remedies can provide support to the body during pregnancy, helping to maintain a healthy environment for the developing fetus. They can also help address underlying issues that may contribute to the risk of miscarriage.

 

Preventing Miscarriage 

When it comes to preventing miscarriage, it's important to take the necessary precautions to ensure a healthy pregnancy. While we can't predict the future, there are steps we can take to minimize the risk. One such step is using the best medicines available at the safest and most effective doses.

Wild Yam and Cramp bark are two of the strongest, but safest, herbs to release cramps, spasm and tension in the belly and pelvis. They may be relied on to have a positive effect and in addition the Wild Yam, like the berries of the Chaste tree, acts to help support the production of progesterone, a hormone that is much needed to sustain growth and development, especially in the early months of the pregnancy. Raspberry leaf is a greatest tonic to the womb in general and can be used at all aspects of pregnancy, Fennel and Liquorice root are to help bind the other herbs together and make them easier to absorb, providing synergistic actions, last two can be exchanged for something like Peppermint or Chamomile if the mother had different preferences.

 

Preventative formula:

Wild Yam 100ml

Cramp bark 100ml

Raspberry Leaf 60ml

Liquorice root 60ml

Chaste tree berry 60ml

Fennel seed 40ml

For a mother who had a history of miscarriage, or if there were other reasons to think that she might be vulnerable to it and we wanted to act preventatively, recommendation would be 4 ml (approx. one tsp) twice a day. If, however, the mother is getting symptoms that were suggesting that a miscarriage might be threatening now, recommendation would be using 4 ml up to 4 times a day until the crisis had passed and then go back to the 4 ml twice a day.

 

Relax and rest

If the pregnancy is going to miscarry and the body has set about to make it happen, then there are no drugs or herbs that will stop it. But we can't know that until it's happened so, in the meanwhile, if there are threatening signs that a miscarriage might be possible, there is every reason to take a complete break from anything that is not completely essential. This means, if possible, stop any work, and any other activities that put strain on the mind or body and just to relax!

People relax in different ways, passive or active. Best way is to ask yourself a straight question “what do I know, and trust will relax me?”   Asking a friend or family member for support, it’s always great idea, they may help with relaxing.

It has been observed now many times, by herbalists and mothers that a threatened miscarriage is like a storm that can pass by if the woman takes shelter from it.

Sometimes there is no way to stopping it, and then we must believe that Nature knew what it was doing and that what was happening in there was not going to be compatible with a healthy life ahead. Sometimes it really is just a bad patch that can pass if we let Nature in and do whatever it takes to unwind the internal spring and let go for a while.

 

 

Miscarriage happened

If a miscarriage has happened, we will want to do whatever we can to prevent it happening again, to do so it will be very helpful to know what the most common reasons for miscarriage are and, wherever we can, do whatever we can to treat the cause. These are the main reasons:

 

Foetal abnormality - this is a leading cause for miscarriage and, as a consequence, if the body is determined to abort the pregnancy there is nothing that we can do to prevent it.

Hormonal imbalance - especially progesterone levels are low. There is no herb right for every woman, but Chaste berry, is especially good for this in most cases. Used daily use in a single small dose over several months has been seen to help a number of women who have experienced multiple miscarriages in the past carry a healthy baby to term and it’s rated by herbalists extremely high as a herb to increase fertility and to help prevent miscarriage.

Physical obstruction - usually from endometriosis, fibroids, or the same kind of overgrowth that happens in endometriosis but that then breaks through the muscle layer of the womb (adenomyosis) Nature can still often find a way and many women do carry successful pregnancies to term with these obstacles, but if they are causing too much of an obstruction to conceive or carry then there may need to be an open-mind to a surgical option. There is also a lot that herbs can do here, and I will dive deeper to this topic in my future posts.

Viral infections - such as the flu or herpes. If this might have been the case in the past miscarriage, this could become an issue

Genetic disposition - if there is the wherewithal to get tested, it may be of much value to see if the woman has the gene polymorphism known as MTHFR. This has been clearly linked to a significantly greater risk of miscarriage, but it can be remedied by taking 1-4 grams a day of something called methylfolate, which is basically an active form of folic acid, and something that is readily obtainable.

General debility - this can be a big subject, and an open mind and holistic approach can be needed to address it properly. Is the woman too stressed, is she well nourished, how is her home life, how is her general health? This is where an experienced herbalist can be of much helpful

Cervical incompetence - This is when the cervix gets too thin or wide before the pregnancy reaches a safe term. There are surgical options for this that should be carefully considered and using herbs such as pregnancy tonics may go a long way to help as well

 

 

Treating Miscarriage

A woman should have the choice as to how she wants to best navigate this difficult process, some women will prefer to stay at home and get through it in their own way, there is no law that says she must go into the conventional system and

However, there are a few key signs to look for which would mean that medical attention needs to be immediately sought out. Getting a high temperature is one, bleeding that is still happening after 5 days or that soaks a pad in less than half an hour is another, a malodorous discharge is a third. These are all signs that it may be necessary to get a 'D & C' (dilation and curettage) or to take Methergine (a drug made from an ergot-rye fungus derivative that powerfully contracts the uterus. The reason these interventions may be needed are to prevent the main complication of miscarriage, namely 'retained products' with the subsequent risk of serious infection.

That said, if the worst has happened, and there has already been a miscarriage, or if there can be no doubt that a miscarriage is now in process (the membranes have broken, and the cervix has dilated - something that a midwife can confirm) then there are some herbs that can be of much help to move the process forwards and help the body and the hormones to rebalance as quickly as possible.

Post-miscarriage formula:

Calendula 50ml

Yarrow 50ml

Angelica root 40ml

Black cohosh root 40 ml

Peppermint, Liquorice or Fennel 30 ml

Dosage will be 7-8 ml three times a day, or 10ml twice a day until finished, that will be about 10 days. These doses are, no doubt, quite high, but this is the level that will be both effective and save.

After this, move to 2 ml of Chaste berry tincture taken each morning for several months before trying again and then using a formula provided at beginning to prevent further miscarriage.

 

Emotional healing

The hardest part of miscarriage for many women is deep emotional impact of it. Women can be so traumatised by that experience, so even though they so still want to have a child, they have felt terrified at the prospect that they might have to go through it again.

A miscarriage can bring profound loss and grief to a person and, this can be a very isolating experience. There are herbs to help prevent miscarriage, and herbs to help ease its passage if it is already happening, but there is no herb to fix grief or loneliness. Support of friends and family plays here great role.

 

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