photo adapted from jessica.diamond
After birth, at minimum your perineum is sore and chances are, you may have some minor tearing. A soothing herbal bath is great for promoting healing and also good for helping baby’s cord stump to heal. The Hamilton Midwives’ website has the recipe but I simply went to the drug store for a large bag of Epsom salts and then our local Holistic Healing store and purchased the following herbs (small bottles) in concentrated liquid form:
- Calendula
- Shepherd’s Purse
- Uva Ursi
- Comfrey
Beside my tub, waiting to be used
Depending on the size of my bath, I add a few drops of each (up to a tsp) along with a cup of salt. The herbs don’t all smell beautiful so I sometimes add a drop or two of an essential oil like orange or lavender.
Well.ca doesn’t have all the herbs but I’ve found that their prices on the essential oils to be quite reasonable and of course they offer free Canadian shipping, no minimum. {Yes, this is an affiliate link.}
I can’t claim with certainty that this bath is a miracle worker but in both of my previous births, I’ve healed quickly with no complications. Both John and Chloe’s cords also healed beautifully and fell off quickly as well. I think this was in large part due to the frequent herbal baths that baby and I had during the first week or so.
Did you use any sort of herbal bath after birth?
- Read more in our Simply Baby series!
- This post links to Works for Me Wednesday
Definitely saving. Hopefully, I can use it for future use!