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Herbs for pregnant and nursing moms is NOT your regular herbalism!

Many herbalists have extensive knowledge about using herbs, but not many are specifically trained in using herbs with pregnant, trying-to-conceive or breastfeeding mothers.  This is a whole other realm of herbalism with critical considerations and consequences for pregnant and nursing mothers and their babies.  Our herbalist and company founder, Pam Caldwell, is one of the few herbalists who specialize in this area, with over 20 years of experience.  She is knowledgeable about what works and what herbs to use for various problems, and especially what is safe and appropriate for pregnant moms, trying-to-conceive moms, and breastfeeding moms and their babies.  What might be safe for a regular person may be contraindicated (or even dangerous) for a pregnant or breastfeeding woman or her baby.  The importance of using products made by an expert or listening to advice from an expert when pregnant or breastfeeding cannot be understated.   (Click the title above to read more about this important topic....)

TINCTURES: What's a dropperful? It doesn't fill up the whole glass tube!

People are commonly confused when they read tincture directions suggesting they take a "dropperful" or two of a tincture.  When they squeeze the bulb on the droppertop, they are surprised to see that it fills the glass tube only a little bit of the way.  They try to squeeze harder to try to fill it completely, but it never works.  This is why:

Info and Resources for the Formula Shortage

I have a colleague who's a recently retired IBCLC (International Board of Certified Lactation Consultants).  When she was practicing, each time she would test for her certification, she would always get the highest scores in the country.  She's extremely knowledgeable and very experienced.  I am blessed to know and work with many extremely experienced and knowledgeable lactation consultants.  

She wrote a piece yesterday about the formula shortage and what moms can do.  She's given me permission to share it with you.  Here's what she wrote:  (Please note that I have also reached out to some of my other equally qualified and experienced IBCLC's for their input, information and advice that they may have.  I will add these below when I hear back from them, in different colors to make new information easy to see.  Please check back for any new information.  Anyway, here's the first one for you:

Navigating Long Term Isolation - How to Cope and What to Expect Week by Week

I'd like to present an excellent piece of information written by a Grief Counselor who I have great respect for.  She has some helpful tips for us while we're experiencing the recent Stay at Home order. She puts words to the feelings, emotions, and frustrations that may be coming up for you to help you to comprend and understand them - and in turn, to help you deal with them and move through it.  She also gives a week-by-week timeline of what to expect and how to cope. She begins....

Having spent most of my adult life in isolation with my daughter who was born without an immune system, surviving the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic with infected patients all around us... I have learned a few things about medical crises and surviving long-term isolation:

Echinacea, Elderflower & Elderberry - Important Covid-19 Info

I am writing this in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic that's hitting the world hard.  We have received some conflicting information as to whether Echinacea, Elderflower (which we use in our Cold & Flu Tincture), and Elderberry are safe and appropriate for viral infections, namely the Covid-19 infection.  There has been some conjecture as to whether Covid-19 could cause a "cytokine storm" which means an over-response by the immune system.  As this virus is so new, not much is known about it yet and whether this is true or not.  Some have expressed concern that these herbs might further stimulate the immune system and cause an over-reaction, making a cytokine storm worse.  After doing some exhaustive research, I have new and interesting information for you on this.  These are my findings:

Wanna read some fascinating stories that our clients have sent us?

We have received some of the most interesting and remarkable stories sent in to us from our clients about their situations and what they did to resolve them.  You can read some of these stories HERE.  They're short and very interesting!  There are also some very well-known folks who have contributed!  If you have a particular area of interest, there are tabs at the top of the page to take you there!  Enjoy!  

NEW PRODUCT! Teething Tincture

We have another new product here at Herb Lore!

NATURAL REMEDY FOR DEPRESSION

There has been much in the news lately about the risks of anti-depressant use during pregnancy, being linked to autism and birth defects.  Researchers in JAMA Pediatrics reported that "children of women who took anti-depressants during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy were 87% more likely to develop autism than kids born to women who didn't take the drugs." (Sources: http://www.aol.com/article/2015/12/14/antidepressants-in-pregnancy-tied-...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/304678.php 
http://www.drugwatch.com/ssri/pregnancy/)  

Really, any pharmaceutical medication comes with side effects and many are not safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding.  But there are natural alternatives.

Allergies? Breastfeeding and considering antihistamines?

Spring and summer are high-allergy times for many, breastfeeding moms included. The common approach is to take an anti-histimine to help alleviate the symptoms. You may not know, however, that these antihistimines can also decrease or dry up breastmilk!  These medications are made to dry up secretions and fluids - it will not differentiate between the different body fluids and will commonly decrease breastmilk production.  So keep this in mind if you're thinking of resorting to those anti-histimines!

Mom: "I've never had a baby hit their weight gain before!" How did she do it??

I had a mom come to me the other day who was pregnant with her 4th baby.  She had had a history of low breastmilk production with all 3 of her previous babies, and was worried she would experience the same thing this time around too.  We chatted a while about her situation and I suggested some herbs that she could take.  I also told her about how stress can negatively affect milk supply, and that she really needed to ask for help with household chores and taking care of the other kids.  Today I got this email from her:  

Testimonial

Dear Pam and Herb Lore staff, I just wanted to drop a line in appreciation of the quick shipping on my recent order. We are in the middle of molar mania over here and I'm a manic mommy!  My 1yr old daughter has been miserable with teething pain this past week and waking at night every 2-3 hours like a newborn. She took a dropperful of Teething Tincture -- she loved the naturally sweet taste and is now napping peacefully going on 2 hours!  Thank you!  Thank you for everything you do to support mothers and families. I trust that anything I buy from Herb Lore will be made thoughtfully and naturally. Sincerely, T.Z.