There are so many things on your mind when you have a new baby and one of the last things tends to be you. What can you use aromatherapy for at this stage of your life? How about stress, difficulty sleeping, pain…? In my article Giving Birth with Aromatherapy, I mentioned how to help wounds heal by sitting in a sitz bath, or a bathful of water up to your hips with lavender (lavandula angustifolia) or cypress oil (cupressus sempervirens). You can still do this when you get h

The Spanish have a lovely term to encapsulate giving birth. "Dar a luz" meaning to bring to the light (literally "give") conjures up this wonderful image of a newborn baby being pushed into the world. If you have been considering a natural birth then the use of aromatherapy might have crossed your mind. But before putting any of this into your birth plan, you must check with your midwife that he/she is happy to allow it. Also, before you start, use the oils cautiously. T

(This follows on from my post part 1 of Giving Birth with Aromatherapy; also refer to Aromatherapy during Pregnancy.) HOW TO USE THE OILS The essential oils, if used for massage, are blended into a carrier oil. Maximum is 2 drops of essential oil to 5ml of carrier oil. As your senses will be heightened during the labour, you can reduce this to 1 drop of essential oil per 5ml or carrier. You must be precise with the measurements. The blend can then be massaged into the ski

(This is an article I wrote back in 2003. Dug it out of my archives and will publish 2 more in this series.) Almost 20 years ago, few people would have been familiar with the word aromatherapy. It has entered our vocabulary so easily, has sneaked its way into toiletries, candles and food. What does it actually mean? One explanation is: the use of essential oils extracted from natural or plant souces to treat an ailment or maintain a person's well-being. MASSAGE Aromathera