Alaskan Herbs to help during pregnancy

Pregnancy is an exciting time in a woman’s life. Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily all roses and butterflies. There’s morning sickness, breast pain, and the worry of miscarriage. There are some herbs that you want to make sure you avoid, but today we are going to go over some herbs specific to Alaska to use during pregnancy. (Disclaimer: this information is informational only. Please discuss with your doctor or midwife before trying any of the following.)

Before Pregnancy

Raspberry Leaf Tea
Red Clover Tea

Making a tea out of red clover and raspberry leaf will help with balancing the hormones in addition to helping with fertility. This can be used for both women AND men.

During Pregnancy

Raspberry leafe tea – Overall, this is one of the best herbs to take while pregnant due to the amount of nutrients present. There is a an alkaloid called fragarine that is said to help tone the uterus, as well as prohibit the action of the uterus, helping keep the pregnancy longer. However, if there is any adverse reaction, like cramping or not liking taste after one or two cups, stop.

Strawberry leaf tea – Strawberry leaf tea works well with raspberry leaf tea for toning the uterus and helping to prevent miscarriage. It can help throughout the pregnancy and during nursing.

Yellow dock root tincture – Iron is a big nutrient that is needed during pregnancy. If you develop anemia during pregnancy, 30 drops of yellow dock root tincture can help.

Morning Sickness

Raspberry leaf and strawberry leaf tea will help alleviate morning sickness (even though it isn’t always just in the morning)

Milk production

A mild tea of raspberry leaves will help promote healthy milk. Add some Strawberry leaf tea and there will be an abundance of milk.

Sore Breasts

Red clover poultice – create a poultice out of the red clover flowers, rub on and keep on until dry. The fresh flowers are best, but dried will work as well. This can be used during pregnancy as well as during nursing.

Threatened Miscarriage

Even if you have been using the herbs mentioned above, miscarriage is still, unfortunately a possibility. Cramp bark (the bark of high bush cranberries) and Valerian can be used as a decoction to help stop the contractions and relax if there is a high amount of stress.

There are other herbs out there to help during pregnancy, so even though they don’t grow in Alaska, I will be going over those next week.