Garden of Herbs for the Expectant Mother
Baby showers are full of cute items, numerous gadgets and a whole lot of stuff. But it can be much more rewarding for the expectant mother to get a garden of herbs and flowers she can use during pregnancy and after the arrival of her new baby, especially when accompanied by an I.O.U. for gardening help! Giving an expectant mother a special garden holds a deeper meaning as well; for while she is growing with the cycle of new life within she can share in the creative wonder of nature while nurturing herbs and flowers like fragrant lavender, sunny and emollient calendula, relaxing chamomile and catnip. Cultivating such plants will in turn help her care for herself and her new arrival naturally.
"Chamomile is so easy to grow and great for a baby," says Emma Ricci, an herbalist and midwife apprentice in the Rochester area. "Babies don't really get dirty so they don't need soap. A mother can make a bath bag with fresh chamomile, calendula, lavender and oats." Ricci also likes to make a post partum sitz bath tea for her clients out of chamomile, calendula, comfrey, St. John's Wort and yarrow mixed with witch hazel and a handful of salt. "It's a nice combination of soothing and astringent herbs to help speed healing," she says.
Ricci recommends herbs like lemon balm, which she says serve as a nervine tea that is relaxing and soothing for the mother after the baby is born and for the baby as well. Ricci adds, "Borage, with its pretty blue flowers, helps with milk production. But just planting pretty flowers of any kind for new mothers to pick and put in a vase is wonderful!"
Ricci's favorite herbs for pregnancy are actually wild crafted and are often the weeds others pull out from their gardens. Favorites include nettles because of their high nutritive properties, motherwort for its postpartum benefits to a woman's entire system, and red raspberry for its minerals and uterine toning qualities. "People tell me they don't take red raspberry because they're told it induces labor," Ricci says. "But raspberry is not oxytocic – it nourishes the uterus but doesn't cause contractions and it's great for women in all stages of life." Cultivated red raspberry leaves work as well.
Below are a few ideas for a gift garden; be it in pots on a porch or sunny window or planted out back in a special area just for the mother-to-be. All of the plants and herbs listed here are easy to grow and do well in full sun to partial shade. Herbs require few, if any, fertilizers. Be sure not to use any pesticides or chemical fertilizers on plants intended for use. Insect problems can usually be handled by washing leaves with mild, soapy water. Of course, the use of any plant or herb, especially during pregnancy or with a newborn, should be discussed with a midwife or healthcare provider prior to use.
Herbs for the Expectant Mother's Garden
BORAGE (Borago officinalis) – The blue star-like flowers of borage ease depression and increase milk flow. Flowers can be used as a tea and are edible and lovely on any salad, dessert, or side dish.
CALENDULA (Calendula officinalis) – Calendula flowers provide a skin-soothing gentle antiseptic bath when used in bath bags for baby washes. Flowers can be infused in olive, apricot or almond oil over a period of 1-6 weeks, strained through cheesecloth, and kept in a sealed jar for diaper rash and cradle cap treatment.
CATNIP (Nepeta cataria) – A relaxing and safe herb in the mint family that's great for colicky babies as a calming digestive aid. (You can make a light tea and offer a few drops or drink it yourself if you are nursing.) Catnip can also be added to a bath bag in the bath water. For teething, freeze catnip tea on the corner of a washcloth and offer the frozen pop for baby to gum away on.
CHAMOMILE (Anthemis nobilis and Matricaria recutita) – Calming and soothing in a wash, it is also often added to diaper ointments and salves. Lovely yellow and white chamomile is also a gentle aid to digestion when taken as a tea.
FENNEL (Foeniculum vulgare) – A tea made with licorice scented fennel is helpful for constipation, indigestion and heartburn that often accompany pregnancy. The seeds can be nibbled on for the same digestive issues, as well as for morning sickness. Seeds, leaves and flowers sipped in a tasty tea increase milk production and are useful for digestion and colic issues as well as relieving gas. I know a mother who was so happy with how fennel helped relieve her baby's colic she named her daughter after the herb! This is a tall herb so plant in the back of the garden or as a center piece.
LAVENDER (Lavendula sp.) – Lavender’s fragrant flowering wands are relaxing and calming in bath bags for both mother and baby. A pinch of flowers are a pleasant addition to any tea to calm nerves, relieve headaches and lift spirits. A strong tea of lavender, cooled, is a gentle remedy for insect bites on tender skin.
LEMON BALM (Melissa officinalis ) – A delicious and relaxing nervine tea, lemon balm also has topical antiviral and antiseptic properties. A great tea or tincture for nervous system distress and stomach upset, it is also useful in salves and oils. I like lemon balm as an ice tea with a few leaves floating on top.
OATS (Avena sativa and fatua (wild) – If you have a little more space, Emma Ricci recommends a 5’ x 5’ growing area for these, but they can be grown as an ornamental garden accent as well. These tall, lovely blue-green waving grasses produce traditional oat seeds whose green, milky tops are most beneficial. Oats are one of the most powerful nerve tonics and are useful postpartum or during any stress as a tea or tincture. Oats are also beneficial for soothing irritated or itchy skin in a bath and eaten as a nutritious and restorative meal.
RED RASPBERRY (Rubus idaeus) – A nourishing reproductive tonic high in iron, niacin, and manganese, red raspberry is useful during pregnancy and childbirth and throughout the reproductive years. Drink as a tasty leaf tea and don't forget to enjoy the berries too! Plant with space for next year's suckers to be out of the way with drooping stems of sweet fruit.
Other plants and flowers to consider for both their beauty and herbwifery include comfrey, roses, red clover, sage, passion flower, elderberry and traditional culinary herbs.
As an herbal educator and mother of two, I've made many jars of herbal baby salves and other herbal remedies, as well as nutritious pregnancy and nursing mother teas with wild oats, nettles, borage and red raspberry leaf. But for those who would prefer to simply admire their gardens and not delve into making their own herbal products, the Lavender Moon Herb Garden store in Honeoye Falls sells pre-made all-natural herbal products like Blooming Belly Butter, Sitz Baths, and gentle products for baby as well as a nourishing Baby and Me Tea that includes tonic and nutritive herbs like red raspberry, alfalfa, and nettles. Having a lovely herb garden to spend time in with a new baby is healing and healthy in itself; sitting beside a lush catnip plant with a colicky baby can be calming for both mother and child. Enjoying a connection to what blooms in our bodies and our yards is rewarding for the whole family.
Angela Cannon-Crothers is a contributing writer to Rochester Area & Genesee Valley Parent Magazine. She is an an educator at Herb Haven in Crystal Beach as well as a writer and author. You can visit her website at angelacannoncrothers.webs.com
This article originally appeared in the April 2011 issue of Genesee Valley Parent Magazine. Copyright 2011.
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