How does aromatherapy support new mothers emotionally? Which essential oils you can use in birth and as a new mother.

First let's roll back to birth... Using essential oils through labour can help you achieve a relaxed natural birth. This in return can help you bond with your baby in an easy, natural way and go on having a successful breastfeeding journey.

Letting your birth partner rub essential oils on your back during birth is a beautiful way to relax, connect and reduce pain and stress.

Moreover, having a good birth, one that your natural hormones do what they need to be doing, will reduce the risk for postnatal depression and other mental health issues.

Essential oils to use in birth:

All the essential oils used in birth have a strong spiritual role, as well as physical one. 

During birth it’s ok to make the blend stronger (5-6%) as we want to help the birth process. Some of the oils which are not allowed to be used while pregnant will be beneficial during birth, for the same reasons they are not allowed during pregnancy.

The same essential oils can be used in the diffuser and often I find that labouring mothers like putting some of the diluted blend on a cloth and smell it as they go along.

The same oils that will help the baby come along, will help the placenta to come out.

often I find that labouring mothers like putting some of the diluted blend on a cloth and smell it as they go along.

Lavender - Relaxes, helps with pain. In early stages it can be used on its own (diluted or undiluted), directly on skin where the contractions are felt. Using Lavender on its own will ease anxiety and help the birth develop naturally.

Sweet Orange - Lifts the mood, helps to stay active. Only during birth it can also be used diluted in water or oil on the lips to stimulate dilation. There is a direct link between your lips and your vagina’s ‘lips’ during birth. Between your jaw and your pelvic. Singing, kissing, laughing - all helps. 

Clary Sage - Relaxing, promotes muscle relaxation. Great for rubbing on thighs. Grounding. Great for smelling and rubbing (diluted) on the belly and upper legs will help the process of birth by inducing release of oxytocin. Good oil to have in the diffuser. 

Jasmine - Aphrodisiac, strengths the sex chakra, uplifting, motivating, naturally promotes oxytocin, calms, grounding, opens the heart and makes us feel like we belong (need very little of it). 

Juniper Berry - Promotes oxytocin, Spiritually uplifting, cleansing and purifying. It enables listening, helps to avoid negative thoughts, helps to find an inner centre and inner truth, gives clarity and stability, helps to complete tasks and learn the lessons, removes obstacles from our path, helps to overcome the fear of failure.

Frankincense - This beautiful oil will be heavenly if it’s diffused at the sacred moment of birth (when mum transitions) as it creates a sense of sacred holiness, a sense of belonging to a great energy. 

It greatly deepens and slows down the breathing so more oxygen enters the lungs and thus the tissues receive more oxygen.

Calms the mind, focuses and sharpens the senses, purifies emotions, helps eliminate fears, anxieties, destructive thoughts. Stimulates the mind. Good for depression, anxiety and tension, helps us act differently to make a change in our way, increases intuition. 

Frankincense is very grounding and gives a sense of security.

Frankincense is great to use as incense in it's resin form (if you know what you're doing!)

Cistus - Most of the properties of this oil in traditional aromatherapy are associated with women and babies who have had a difficult, long, traumatic birth for any reason. Especially a birth where the mother's will is not being listened to. 

Even if the birth went well, the passage through the birth canal has many implications on the course of our lives as the first experience of arriving earthside. It’s an oil worth having with us at birth, even just to ceremoniously apply it on baby’s feet as a welcome to earth (diluted, by one of the parents).

Analgesic (relieve pain) Carrier oils (great base for making your blend): Avocado Oil, Black Seed Oil, Camellia Oil.

When preparing for birth I recommend: Make a rubbing blend to help induce the process of birth. Include: lavender, orange, clary sage, juniper berry, jasmin. During the labour, get your partner to rub this blend where you feel the contractions. If you start labour at home and find it all comes to a halt if you transfer to a hospital/ birth center, rubbing this blend will be a great way to restart the birth.

Birth alter

How does aromatherapy support new mothers emotionally? Which essential oils to use as a new mother.

Even if you had a wonderful natural birth, life with a new baby can bring a new set of challenges that you didn't know before.

Aromatherapy supports new mothers emotionally by reducing stress through calming essential oils like lavender, chamomile, and bergamot; enhancing mood with uplifting scents such as citrus (Sweet Orange, Bitter Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon for a start), Rose and jasmine; improving sleep quality using oils like lavender, Chamomile and sandalwood; promoting emotional balance with Rose, Frankincense, Patchouli; and encouraging self care and relaxation moments, which are vital for emotional health. These benefits can be experienced via diffusers, topical applications with carrier oils, or bath additives, always following postpartum safety guidelines.

Bath with baby is always a good idea to help bonding and relax

Specifically, lavender and chamomile are well documented for stress reduction and sleep improvement, while citrus and jasmine help uplift mood and combat mild depression common in postpartum periods.

*Diluted Jasmine applied on skin can increase milk supply with breastfeeding mothers.

That newborn smell

Aromatherapy also offers flexibility in use, including inhalation, topical application (properly diluted), and aromatic spritzers, making it accessible for new mothers. It is important to note that aromatherapy is a complementary approach and should not replace professional medical or psychological care if needed.

Essential oils can also help you treat any scars (vaginal or c-section), haemorrhoids, hair loss, and more.

Essential oils suitable for baby can help cope with colds, viruses and phlegm too. But that is a broad new subject and I will save it for another post!

Aromatherapy blend

Bonus!

Full proof recipe for baby massage oil that will induce oxytocin release with both baby and mother, great for massage, especially before bed.

Baby oil

One oil - so many uses. With the same oil you can: massage baby before bed, massage tummy for colic (under ribs and above belly button, clockwise), apply behind ears when there’s an ear infection, apply outside the jaw regularly when baby is teething, put on bum, use daily for strengthening the immune system.

50 ml bottle 1%

start by putting your essential oils in the empty bottle: Lavender 6 drops, Roman Chamomile 3 drops, Rose Otto 1 drop. Add your Carrier oil: Almond oil/ rapeseed & jojoba oils and fill the bottle.

Keep outside of direct sun and never use internally.

Essential oils

If you want to know more or find it all overwhelming and confusing, please join me on one of my upcoming workshops!