AROMATHERAPY

A woman's Natural Choice

Whether a woman has children or not, her body is a complex machine for making babies which guarantees her spending 6.2 years of her life, as a well-known tampon advertisement points out , having periods. That's five days , thirteen times a year for thirty-five years. To this inconvenience, if not pain, some must add their days of pre-menstrual tension. The whole business continues until after the menopause.

The only break in this routine is pregnancy and, despite the myth that all women look and feel marvellous during pregnancy, this is when the body is going through dramatic hormonal changes and incurring great strains. Not only may there be morning sickness at the beginning of the term and extreme heaviness at the end, but sebum production increases and greasy or flaky areas may appear on the skin.

Hair may become lank and fatty areas may develop over the body, besides the lump at the front. With all this going on it can be difficult to 'bloom'. However, if you take good care of yourself it is possible to go through a happy healthy pregnancy.

It is important to bear in mind that your baby won't go without - you will. The baby gets the vital nutrients, before its mother does and so the mother can very easily become depleted of nutrients. As a baby's absorption rate is so high, you have to take care of the water you drink as well as the food you eat. Any lead in the tap water will be absorbed by the foetus at a rate five times that of an adult, and in certain areas, notably East Anglia, pesticides have seeped into the water supply. It is therefore vital that pregnant women drink bottled water and use filtered water for cooking  and the kettle. - and don't forget to change the filters regularly.

This is, of course, inconvenient and expensive, but it could prevent a lowering of your child's intelligence by lead and avoid known and unknown problems that may result from absorbing  a wide variety of chemical pollutants. It is also wise at this time to avoid excessive exhaust fumes.

Your baby's care of this stage in its development is part and parcel  of your own. From the moment you conceive, everything you eat or apply to yourself will be filtering through to your baby. If you develop an allergy , your baby could develop it too. If you have a reaction to a certain make-up, your baby could have a similar reaction.

Even hair-dye could travel into the system. Also, the baby will hear all the sounds you hear, so if you go to a rock concert you won't be going alone! It is especially  important to take care of your psychological environment , because if you are tense your baby will be affected. This is the time to cut as much aggravation out of your life as possible, eat the best of everything, stock up with bottled water and of course give up smoking. Indeed, this special care is ideally started even before you conceive.

Not all essential oils are safe to use during pregnancy, although many are. At this time the bias is towards the gentler oils - spearmint rather than peppermint, for example. These are the esential oils you can safely use during pregnancy:

Pregnancy Essential Oils:
Tangerine, mandarin, Grapefruit, Geranium, Chamomile Roman, Rose Bulgar, Rose Maroc, Jasmin, Ylang-ylang, Lavender.

You can use the oils in the bath, shower, as a massage., or in one of the room methods. You shouldn't douche - with essential oils or with any other substance - unless advised by your doctor. When you are pregnant always use the minimum quantity of essential oils.

Reference: The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood