19 Jul 2022 What kind of essential oils should be avoided during pregnancy? What oils can be used during pregnancy?
Choices of Essential Oils and Dosage During Pregnancy
Knowing that the liver and kidney functions are not yet well-developed in foetus, we could only use essential oil at a very low dose with limited choice to prevent intoxicating their liver, kidney and nervous functions
According to the guidelines from the International Federation of Aromatherapists, pregnant women should only use half or less of adult dosage, i.e. 1.5%, adding 3 drops of essential oil into 10 mL of carrier oil (assuming the drip factor of the dropper as 20 drops per mL; if the oil droplet is a larger one, you may add only 1 - 2 drops; to be extremely precise, a pipette is always needed).
There are three trimesters in pregnancy - first, second and third. No matter at which period, pregnant women are advised to use only citrus essential oils (acceptable for massage) and ginger (for inhalation only), and avoid using flower essential oils. It is because flower essential oils, especially rose and jasmine, can stimulate uterine contractions and may induce miscarriage; some might increase the secretion of oxytocin and increase risk of uterine contraction during pregnancy. Unless you are experiencing regular uterine contraction with increasing intensity, waters break, dilated cervix or have induced labour, you might inhale flower essential oils to aid in effective uterine contraction.
Miss Lily experienced uterine contraction even though I avoided to have direct contact with certain essential oils when teaching aromatherapy. The essential oil molecule would still volatilise and inhaled by me. Thus, please be careful when you are using aromatherapy during pregnancy.
FYI, I tried to inhale rose otto essential oil to promote uterine contraction, but my daughter was in left occiput transverse position, which makes me difficult to have spontaneous delivery, and eventually required Caesarean section.
Essential oils that are proven to increase oxytocin by research (Tarumi & Shinohara, 2020):
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Neroli (Citrus aurantium var amara)
Jasmine (Jasminum grandiflorum)
Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)
Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea)
Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album)
Essential oils traditionally thought to stimulate uterine contractions, but not sufficiently clinically researched (Price & Price, 2007; Tisserand & Young, 2014):
Damask Rose (Rosa damascena)
Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)
Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus radiata / globulus)
Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii)
Sweet Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) (Found to inhibit uterine contraction in rodents, but no relevant research on human)
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)
Bay Laurel Leaves (Laurus nobilis)
Aniseed (Pimpinella anisum)
Clove Bud (Syzygium aromaticum)
Sweet Thyme (Thymis vulgaris ct. linalool)
Essential oils that are / might be emmenagogues (Price & Price, 2007; Tisserand& Young, 2014):
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
Niaouli (Melaleuca viridiflora)
Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)
Parsley seeds (Petroselinum crispum)
Aniseed (Pimpinella anisum)
Sage (Salvia officinalis) (Different from Clary Sage)
Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha)
Juniper Berries (Juniperus communis)
German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
Cajeput (Melaleuca leucadendra)
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana) (With blood thinning property)
Damask Rose (Rosa damascena)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea)
Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides)
Hope these lists can help you throughout your pregnancy ;)
References:
Price, S., & Price, L. (2007). Aromatherapy for health professionals (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone.
Tarumi, W., & Shinohara, K. (2020). The Effects of Essential Oil on Salivary Oxytocin Concentration in Postmenopausal Women. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 26(3), 226–230. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2019.0361
Tisserand, R., & Young, R. (2014). Essential oil safety – A guide for health care professionals (2nd ed.). U.K.: Elsevier.
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