Herbs for Mom and Baby
It may seem superfluous to throw rose petals in your baby’s bath water… but roses are potent medicine, and a reason we are so obsessed with them! They are one of our strongest medicines for healing. They are studied to help tissues heal, and their stories have become healers of broken hearts as well.
The delicate nature of baby’s new systems makes it especially important to make sure their pathways are flowing. You will find all kinds of disclaimers for every kind of thing when you are pregnant or nursing, and for good reason! Your baby is never as delicate as their first few years of life. Their immune systems are building, toxins are especially potent, and we want anything bad to pass through as quickly as possible. Sadly, things like Tylenol block these detox pathways, but they are still recommended to parents, blocking detox pathways that are so important to get rid of garbage in their tiny bodies. You’ll find even more disclaimers on flower type medicines, mainly because they have not been “studied” in controlled trials (who would pay for those studies anyways!? There is no money to be made in blueberries). In the meantime, things like Tylenol and food pesticides HAVE been studied in all the “right” ways, but still we do not pay attention to the problems.
You know it is bad for baby when the doctor says to use as limited as possible… (steroid creams, pain relievers, antibiotics, etc). These do not bring HEALTH, but “manage” symptoms. Plants, in contrast, work in very studied ways to give cells energy, to manipulate our bodies in ways that nourish us and tone everything from nerves to muscles. Combined in the right ways, they only help, and SHOULD be used over long periods of time.
In contrast, most herbs have been observationally studied for thousands of years, in real life settings (the most relevant kind). Our most potent medicine has become the culinary foods we love to use in very specific combinations. Garlic and olive oil taste so good together because they AcTIVASTE one another. ANd our cells understand that. After we eat something many times, that is where cravings come from. (unless manipulated by manufactured sugar, etc). Our connection with plants runs so deep, that we are interdependent on one another. The seclusion AWAY from nature proves to be the one worst thing you can do. Just SMELLING nature is medicine. hI made this list by listening to, and reading about, what most traditional cultures do with their babies, and how to care for them. (and remedies for frazzled parents too). You will find these MUCH more gentle, and HEALING than mainstream medicines, which, by definition (by needing to be patented, adding things like metals to put their “signature” on them… plants in themselves cannot be patented), are full of toxins and things i do not want in my baby.
Common herbs, Quick Reference
Traditional Herbal Bath for a newborn in Nigeria/Africa
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Ekyogero is a popular cultural bath in many communities in Uganda for newborn babies consisting of various herbs. The use of ekyogero is widespread in Uganda, but it is more common among tribes from central, western and south-western Uganda.
Rose Namuli, an elderly Muganda woman, says according to the Kiganda culture, the herbal bath is a must for a newborn baby. Traditionally, the baby's grandmother gathered particular herbs like olweza, ebombo, omwolola and omwetango. In addition, she had the responsibility of teaching her daughter-in-law how to boil the herbs and bathe the baby, she explains.
According to Namuli, not only is the herbal bath used to cleanse and give the baby a smooth skin, it is also believed to bring good luck to the baby and ward off curses. She adds that ekyogero prevents skin rash (enoga). Norah Ahabwe, an elderly woman from Mbarara, says when a newborn baby is bathed in ekyogero, she gets good luck and is given some to drink to protect it against diseases like malaria. She says the herbal concoction also boosts appetite and cleans the digestive system.
Jolly Byenkya, the minister of culture in Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, says about 10 herbs are gathered and boiled to make ekyogero. She says the baby is bathed in the herbs from the first day of birth up to three months. Byenkya adds that the herbal bath is intended to prevent bad luck and diseases. đź–¤
Herbs, listed based on shared Function
