Chamomile during pregnancy: benefits, harms and methods of application

Pregnant women are significantly limited in the choice of medicines, since many of them have a teratogenic effect on the fetus. That is why ladies in an “interesting” position inevitably become devoted fans of traditional medicine, believing that plants are a natural, and therefore harmless solution. They also think about chamomile, but with this medicinal plant everything is not so simple.

Useful and medicinal properties

Medicinal chamomile has an interesting biological name - Matricaria, which in Latin means "uterine herb"... Indeed, once the plant was used mainly for the treatment of female ailments. But this does not in the least give grounds to assert that chamomile is useful for pregnant women, as is often mistakenly written on women's forums and numerous women's sites. Chamomile during pregnancy is a risk factor, and therefore the official instructions for the use of plant materials prohibit expectant mothers from taking chamomile inside.

But in some cases, chamomile is still shown. For pregnant women, the scope of its applied use is limited to local application, rinsing. Sometimes, with the permission of a doctor, it is permissible to add chamomile flowers to tea, but the amount of such a drink is strictly regulated and dosed. Uncontrolled intake of chamomile during pregnancy and breastfeeding is strictly prohibited. The strong medicinal effect of this plant is due to the presence in the composition of bioflavonoids, coumarins, organic acids, for example, salicylic and caprylic.

Among the vitamins are niacin and vitamin C. There are tannins and even gum. Chamomile oil consists of the essential component of dry baskets.

And the oil can also be used for local effects - it helps to cope with inflammatory processes on the skin, rashes of non-allergic origin.

Chamomile has an anti-inflammatory effect, it disinfects well, and has a moderate analgesic effect. Chamomile is used as a choleretic agent. Its composition provides a sedative, mild calming effect on the nervous system. It relieves cramps, helps to reduce intestinal colic, improves appetite and improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Chamomile, according to modern scientists, is an excellent antidepressant.

During pregnancy, chamomile can be used for washing and washing, it is an excellent remedy for skin health. According to the doctor's prescription, the plant can be used for colds - you can gargle with a decoction, and with stomatitis, the oral cavity. Chamomile promotes the rapid removal of the inflammatory process, healing of wounds and erosions. With a runny nose, rinsing the nose with a decoction of chamomile pharmacy is permissible, and with a strong cough, in the absence of other contraindications, the expectant mother can be allowed up to 2 cups of weakly brewed tea.

Baths with chamomile and douching for pregnant women are allowed to be done for infectious and inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary sphere.

The remedy cannot act as an independent medicine, it is an integral and auxiliary part of complex treatment.

Contraindications

The official instructions for herbal collection categorically refutes all Internet recommendations for pregnant women to drink chamomile. Therefore, it is officially believed that none of the chamomile-based products are allowed for internal use, they cannot be drunk. The only exception is the appointment of a doctor, for example, as a choleretic for problems with the gallbladder. In this case, the potential harm from the plant does not exceed the harm from not taking or from taking other medications. But the therapeutic reception should be carried out exclusively under the supervision of a physician in the doses that he recommends.

What can be dangerous for a beautiful plant with a yellow core for expectant mothers? Everything is very simple - phytosteroids are present in large quantities in chamomile, or rather, plant estrogen, which is considered a natural analogue of the human female sex hormone estrogen. During the gestation of a baby in a woman's body, the effect of progesterone prevails. This hormone relaxes the muscles of the uterus, prevents its tone, and helps to prolong pregnancy. And estrogen rises only before childbirth, when progesterone levels naturally begin to decline.

Plant estrogen can lead to endocrine disruption, in which estrogen rises in the female body before it is time to give birth. This is fraught with miscarriage, premature birth. Any use of chamomile during pregnancy is contraindicated in women taking vital medications. Also, do not use the plant, even for topical use, for women who are allergic to this flower and other plant antigens.

Taking chamomile can cause high blood pressure. This effect can be very dangerous for women who already have high blood pressure, hypertension, edema, gestosis. Taking chamomile by mouth increases the likelihood of uterine bleeding. Severe vomiting may occur. Allergy sufferers may experience bronchospasm or Quincke's edema. When applied topically, the side effects are usually less devastating, but also quite dangerous for expectant mothers. This should include urticaria and other types of allergic rash, the occurrence of severe itching.

Considering that the medicinal effect of the plant is very pronounced, even for topical use, for example, for douching or washing your face, you must definitely consult with your doctor.

A pregnant woman can theoretically douche or take a bath with chamomile, but in practice she should do this only after the doctor has eliminated possible risks and contraindications.

Use cases

A pregnant woman can prepare chamomile in several ways that will help you apply it correctly in a variety of situations. Let's take a look at the main ones.

Decoction

The official instructions say that this form requires about 300 ml of boiling water and 3 tablespoons of raw materials. A decoction is prepared with the ingredients in the presented amount in a water bath, and then filtered.

Infusion

For the same number of flowers, as in the previous case, you should take less water - about a glass. Insist 3 hours, filter. The infusion and decoction are made and applied within two days, they should be stored in the refrigerator. With infusion and decoction, you can rinse your throat, rinse your nose for colds, infectious rhinitis, rinse your mouth with gingivitis and stomatitis. You can gargle up to 5-7 times a day, spitting out liquid without swallowing it.

It is permissible to drip liquid with chamomile into the nose only with the integrity of the mucous membranes and with the permission of the doctor up to 3 times a day.

Tea

It is not recommended for pregnant women to brew herbal tea according to the recipe specified in the instructions. If the doctor has prescribed tea for coughing, it is better to use ready-made pharmacy bags of special children's tea with chamomile. The dosage of herbal raw materials in such bags is minimal. This tea can be brewed and drunk for coughs, headaches, heartburn. The allowed amount is no more than 2 cups per day.

Baths

For trays, a ratio of 500 grams of raw materials per 2 liters of water is used. The mixture is boiled for 10 minutes, filtered and added to bathing water. You should know that the phytobath should not last more than half an hour. You can wash yourself with a pharmacy chamomile, take baths and baths with cystitis, from thrush, with the appearance of pustules on the skin and purulent wounds. Bathing in a phyto bath will help to establish sleep if a woman is under stress or worries.

Baths will help to quickly cope with skin peeling, excessive dry skin. Often women, especially in the later stages, suffer from cramps in the calf muscles, and in this case, chamomile baths will also help reduce convulsive activity. Chamomile baths are beneficial for women with liver disease and deep, painful cracks in the heels. With swelling of the legs, brewed chamomile will help to quickly relieve discomfort and fatigue.

Cream

You can buy it ready-made at the pharmacy or prepare it yourself. To do this, you need to melt butter in a water bath in an amount of not more than 35 grams and mix with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Then add a small spoonful of glycerin, 2 egg yolks, a spoonful of honey and about 35 ml of chamomile infusion. Store the mixture in the refrigerator for no more than six months. Apply topically for itching, dry skin, erythema.

There is another option for making chamomile cream - essential chamomile oil is added to the finished baby cream. This tool can also be used in the above cases.

Gynecological douching

The proportions of the solution are a teaspoon of raw materials per glass of boiling water. The filtered fluid is slowly introduced into the vagina with a syringe before going to bed. Such douching is strictly prohibited for cystitis, thrush, the presence of cervical erosion, and diagnosed vaginosis. In these cases, you can only take a bath with chamomile.

Douching is not allowed for women over 40 years old, since chamomile can have a drying effect, and at this age, the moisture content of the mucous membranes decreases... You can not douche with chamomile and within a month after childbirth or miscarriage.

Cosmetic purposes

You can wash your face with a decoction of chamomile for acne, and lotions with it help to reduce the intensity of skin redness. A pregnant woman can use chamomile to treat her hair. To prepare such a remedy, you will need at least 4 tablespoons of plant materials for half a liter of boiling water. 2 egg yolks are mixed into the brewed and strained liquid. This mixture is distributed over the entire length of the hair for half an hour, and then rinsed.

Another effect that blonde women may notice is that their hair will become lighter as chamomile acts as a safe hair lightener. Pregnant women often suffer from their natural freckles becoming brighter during pregnancy. This is a normal process due to hormonal changes. Washing with chamomile decoction and lotions with it on the skin will help make freckles less noticeable.

Chamomile oil

Oral intake for pregnant women is not allowed. But there are other uses. It is permissible to add a couple of drops of such a product to the aroma lamp. Aromatherapy and chamomile inhalation sessions are beneficial for both children and pregnant women. You can breathe chamomile scent in case of respiratory tract diseases, with severe headache. You can apply a drop of oil to the skin, wound, or scratch to heal faster. Oil can be rubbed into the scalp for dandruff. If you mix it with another oil, such as olive oil, you get an excellent remedy for massage and prevention of stretch marks.

In this case, the ratio of oil should be 1: 2, more should be taken olive.

Application at different times

In general, the ban on the internal use of chamomile is relevant for any period of pregnancy. This applies to all forms of plant materials and all recipes for their preparation.

In the 1st trimester - in the early stages, the basic risks of miscarriage are already increased, and therefore you should not resort to chamomile and preparations with its content without urgent need. Local application is not limited. If a woman has the above contraindications or a predisposition to them, topical application should also be discarded.
2 trimester - the most calm, the risks are minimal, and it is in the middle of pregnancy that a woman can afford, with the permission of the doctor, a cup of tea made from children's herbal tea. But the conditions are the same - a doctor's consultation is required.
3 trimester - in the later stages, it is undesirable to take chamomile inside at all, if there is a desire and need, you should limit yourself to local use. You should limit the use of concentrated decoctions, oils, since chamomile can provoke premature birth.

Tips

It is better to buy chamomile for pregnant women at the pharmacy. Pharmacists offer only pure, quality and safety tested raw materials. If you collect the plant yourself, then you can store not useful flowers and stems at all. If chamomile grew near highways, in an area of radiation or chemical contamination, then there would be no benefit even from topical application. But there can be a lot of harm.

If you have the skills of a herbalist, then it is necessary to collect chamomile in dry and sunny weather, from June to the first third of August. If we are talking about external use allowed for expectant mothers, you should not be limited to flowers alone, all plant raw materials are suitable completely - with a stem and leaves. The collected chamomile is dried with inflorescences down in the shade, without the penetration of sunlight. The room should be well ventilated. The attics of country houses and summer cottages are ideal for this purpose.

If there is no such house, you can try to prepare chamomile using a dryer, but the temperature should not exceed 40 degrees. Turn the plant in the dryer very carefully and carefully so that the petals and leaves do not crumble. Chamomile should be stored in paper or cloth bags in a dry, dark place. Expiration date - 1 year.

If you bought a ready-made collection, transfer it to either a paper bag or a cloth bag and store it away from food. - they can quickly absorb the strong smell of the medicinal plant. Chamomile can be bought in the form of tea, collection, flowers. Also in pharmacies they sell liquid ready-made tinctures. When choosing this form, remember that pregnant women should not use alcoholic tinctures in any form.

There are chamomile extract and chamomile oil in pharmacies. Capsules for oral administration to expectant mothers are contraindicated in all cases. The first application to a woman "in position" should always be carried out with great care, in dosages half the recommended dosages. If there are no negative reactions, the recommended doses should be gradually reached.