Arnica

[milkyman]

Does taking arnica before a csection help? If so, how much?

No - arnica pills are homeopathic 'remedies', i.e. basically pure sugar with no active ingredients, and the only effect they could possibly have is as a placebo.

This is the NHS view on homeopathy.

I think arnica's a herb, not sugar and water sh*t, but yes it's homeopathic... so some people swear by it and other people think it's a load of rubbish But it's definitely very popular and as far as I know it won't do you any harm if you want to try it!

Arnica is a herb, and arnica ointment does actually contain some so may have some effect on bruises etc, but arnica pills (often recommended before childbirth) are definitely homeopathic so the arnica has been diluted about a million times, to the point where there isn't any detectable quantity left in the pills. Most arnica pills are 30c, which means they have been diluted by 10 to the power 60. rationalwiki.org/wiki/Homeopathy

Aha! Thanks for explaining that, had no idea there was a difference

You can get 10% arnica solution in some chemists - so real stuff not homeopathic.
Not sure it does much but it was baout 2 quid and it smells like it ought to do good! It convinces the dcs that it's going to make bruises better and I did recover rapidly from my birth (not cs), so may be worth trying.