Pregnant And Using Essential Oils – Is There A Risk?

pregnancy

Whilst a woman may feel confident placing herself in the skilled hands of a professional Aromatherapist during pregnancy, she is understandably less confident when buying ‘Aromatherapy’ products off the shelf. Considering it is a scientific fact that much of what we put on the skin is absorbed into the body, this is a particularly important time to be really selective on the quality of ingredients you are introducing to your body and that of your baby, both now and after birth.

Certified organic skin and body care products are guaranteed to be free from potentially harmful chemicals and artificial fragrances, so are the perfect choice for daily skin care.

Essential oils should almost always be very dilute for skin application and need to be even more so for use on infants, children and during pregnancy so it is always a good idea to choose products which have been formulated by a professional aromatherapist. Certified organic essential oils have the extra assurance of not being adulterated or contaminated with any toxic residues of herbicides, pesticides or chemical solvents. Pure essential oils of citrus fruits or flowers like chamomile, geranium, lavender, rose and ylang ylang plus frankincense and tea tree have wonderful additional skin benefits and in the dilutions used in everyday skin care formulations such as ours at Essential Care, are completely safe to use throughout pregnancy.

For room fragrancing or to aid relaxation, up to a total of 5 drops of any of the above essential oils can be used either alone or in your chosen combination. Frankincense, tea tree, Atlas cedarwood and eucalyptus are wonderful for colds and respiratory problems and a drop or two of spearmint or ginger inhaled from a tissue or as tisanes using dried mint and sliced inger root, can help relieve nausea.

Essential oils have a long history of safe use, but some have a stronger action so are best avoided in pregnancy in therapeutic concentrations, like rosemary which is widely used to ease pain and relax muscles and clary sage which is ideal as part of a blend just prior to or during labour as it can ease and aids contractions. As a precaution I would not recommend using specific therapeutic products for skin application like pregnancy massage and stretch mark prevention until after the first trimester or using products containing essential oils to babies until they are at least 1 month old. Used appropriately aromatherapy has fantastic positive health and well-being benefits for all.


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Article written by Margaret Weeds, founder of Essential Care


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