Arnica tablets- take during labour?

[Bananie]

I have heard that to get the full benefit you should start taking arnica tablets during labour. Does anyone know if this is correct? And at what point should you take them and how many? I know you are meant to discuss this with the midwives, but I am worried that by the time I get to hospital I might have missed the best time to start taking them.

you have to take them a while before like six weeks i think.nothing works to help it be less painfull though.it just hurts!!!!!!like hell!

oh u are having a section.u wont feel anything anyway.its all just mumbo jumbo.it hurts like hell no matter what u atake.it was raspberry leaf tea when i was pregnant. i have had 3 normal deliveries and all i can say is ouch!is this your first?

I'm sure thats just what Bananie wanted to hear lislou !

Arnica is good for postnatal recovery - helps bruising recover rather than stops any pain. I started taking it when I was induced and ended up with an emergency c-s. I recovered v. quickly, obviously don't know if that was down to the arnica but I would take it. Either take it when you start going into labour or even a smaller dose from your due date if you get that far.

hey soz!i was induced twice ooh.that stuff the pu in the drip burns like hell doesnt it.ooouch.my uaided delivery was better than the inductions.i think u heal the way u heal,no stuff can alter that.its just time and tlc im afraid.

Thanks for the responses! Yes this is my first- due on sunday. Even if is all mumbo jumbo will give it a go anyway- am expecting the labour and birth to be very painful, but thought if I can take sth to help post natal recovery then I might as well give it a go. Wheelybug/ Waswondering, do you know what dose you are meant to take? I have a jar of tablets but no instructions....

Lislou, will try the time and tlc too!

do you know what strength they are?

have just found this, it seems to refer to the 6 and 30 dosage.

Adults and children: 2 pillules every 2 hours for the first 6 doses, then 4 times daily for up to 5 days or until symptoms improve.

That sounds familiar - I think I took them 4 times a day when I was being induced (or probably more likely when I remembered) and then stepped it up after the c-sec.

They are called 'Arnica 30C' and under 'how to take' it just says' adults: 2 tablets'. Have just found the leaflet, which says 'for acute cases take 1 dose every 2 hours for up to 6 doses'- that doesn't seem like very much/ a very long time to take them for?? Was thinking might be taking them for more like 2 days or something. Any ideas?

crossed posts!

thanks for the info- your suggested dosage sounds more like what I was thinking.

Will give it a go!

think we just cross posted - see mypost below. It definitely referred to the 30 dose - here's the link just so you can be sure I haven't made it up

arnica

and again !

Good luck by the way !! look forward to reading your annoucement.

good luck for sunday then!1its horrible walking into the hospital knowing when u walk out your life will never ever be the same.u will walk out someones mummy.never to be the same person ever again.hope all goes well and u take to it well.

Arnica isn't meant to be taken for pain relief - it is to aid healing, especially bruising, it is also good for shock!. I took Arnica after all my babies and healed very quickly, especially the deeper internal bruising that can't be seen.
For the first few days I took it every 2 hours(or when I remembered to be honest!) took the 30c but you can get 6c - I can never remember which are stronger.

Hi, just to back up what the others said. 200c is the strongest and often recommended for childbirth. I was told to take it every six hours straight after the birth. I also healed really quickly - lots of bruising and a second degree tear - the midwifes also reccomended it and my NCT teacher. You can get the 200c strength and others at www.helios.co.uk. I can also recommend their hypercal tincture! A few drops in the bath or in a jug of water poured over stitches really helps the healing. It's probably too late given you are so imminent but hopefully someone else reading might be interested !

Just to add to what everyone else has said, Arnica is brilliant, I swear by it. I have had two caesarians, one emergency, one elective and healed incredibly quickly both times, no complications and minimal wound pain. One of the midwives at the hospital actually asked me had I been taking it as I was up and around so quickly and relatively easily. Helios also do a labour kit with the various homeopathic remedies. I took arnica from my due date with ds1 and from a few days before the c-section with ds2. 30c for the lead up and 200c for the actual day. hope thats of use.

Very late to the conversation, but thank you for the rec. to helios.co.uk - I have just ordered their childbirth kit (I'm due in two weeks).