Aromatherapy & Pregnancy

There seems to be two views of aromatherapy and pregnancy. One view is that it seems that even by looking in the direction of the little bottles of essential oils you are doing your unborn baby harm. The other view is that it’s natural so it must be good for me and my growing baby. Both of these views are wrong and exaggerated!

Essential oils are very powerful and must be treated with care - especially during pregnancy. Essential oils are absorbed through the skin and pass through the placental barrier. Many essential oils are off limits to the pregnant woman because they are known to induce menstrual flow. When used correctly essential oils provide gentle relief of some common problems brought on by pregnancy. Essential oils are great for helping with morning sickness, swollen ankles and feet, insomnia, muscle pain and even for helping labour contraction be more effective!


Here are some guidelines:

Do not use any essential oils in the first trimester. Of course many people have used essential oils before they knew they were pregnant without doing any harm. But the first trimester is a very delicate time and your body is going through so many changes.It’s important to use products that are made for pregnant women or dilute one half of the minimum normal adult dose. Many people have the opinion that more is better. But in aromatherapy and especially when you are pregnant less is best. Many of the oils will have a more profound emotional effect at very low dilutions as compared with high dilutions.

• Many of the safe oils for pregnant women are from the citrus family. Be aware that Citrus oils irritate the skin and they also make it easier to
   sunburn.
• Pregnant women need to use very gentle skincare because skin may more sensitive. You may find you get an allergic reaction to a cream that
   you were fine with before you were pregnant.
• If you do buy aromatherapy products or essential oils make sure you are getting organic and the real thing. Usually when products contain real
   essential oils they will include the Latin form of the word. For example Lavender (lavendula officinalis)
• If you are a high risk pregnancy it is best to consult with your doctor before using any Essential Oils or abstain from using them.

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Here is a list of the Essential Oils which can be used during Pregnancy

Lemon (citrus limon)  /  Grapefruit (citrus x paradisi)  /  Orange (citrus sinesis)  /  Mandarin (citrus reticulata) 
Tangerine (citrus reticulata var. tangerine)  /  Bergamot (citrus bergamia)  /  Neroli (citrus aurantium var. armara)  /  Ylang Ylang (cananga odorata)
Sandalwood (santalum album)  /   Rosewood (aniba rosaeodora)  /  Tea tree (melaleuca alternifolia)  /  Myrtle (myrtus communis)

After 5th month of pregnancy
Lavender (lavendula officinalis)  /  Roman Chamomile (anthemis nobilis)

The Essential Oils and their therapeutic effects for pregnancy

* These are all citrus oils so they are irritating to the skin. If used they must be diluted a lot. They also increase photosensitivity.

After the 5th month of pregnancy