Experience of using clary sage anyone?

[Minkus]

Am thinking ahead a few weeks to encouraging baby to come. Am currently 34+4 so the advice I'm seeking isn't for immediate use I don't think! (although I am mightily fed up of being pregnant I'm not suggesting I'd want to put my baby at risk by trying to start labour before term )

A friend has recommended clary sage, saying that it might help a ripe womb/cervix along a bit and encourage labour to start if it was in the offing anyway.

How do I best use it? In a bath? As a massage oil? In an oil burner? Would love to hear your experiences of how to use it and effective it is (or otherwise).

Smells like wet labrador and did bugger all to me despite putting it in the bath nightly for three weeks - oh except I smelled like a damp mutt!

hi minkus - it's safe to say I'm not a fan, I used it every night from 40 weeks in the bath, in oil and massaged it on my bump oh and also my feet concentrating especially on the reflexology points corresponding to the uterus. Did nothing DD2 was still 12 days over, think I stopped using it after about 10 days as it stank the house out.

I really didn't like the smell either.

did nothing for me, and stinks.

I am no expert, but I do know it isn't advised to use it without supervision.

Having said that, I used it in the bath in my last pg from 39 weeks. I still went overdue. However, when I did go into labour, it took hours and hours to get established. After about 12 hrs of regular but not very painful contractions, I rubbed loads of clary sage (in carrier oil) on my bump, and proper labour kicked in about 5 mins later. DS was born within a couple of hours.

I do credit it with tipping my labour into gear properly. It didn't help start me off though.

I quite like the smell actually, reminds me of horse stables

Good luck! You might be better off with something that helps relax you so your body feels ready iykwim?

Oh and don't think you can mix it up with other essential oils to disguise the smell either. I tried rose and clary sage. Smells like dead dog rather than wet dog

I have an aromatherapist friend who suggests using clary sage only during labour to encourage it to establish and be productive. In an oil burner.

I use mmine to annoy my neighbours... i.e.

them: TUT, garden full of weeds!!

me: Aaaaktually, this is clary sage, this is hypericum, this is arnica, this is soapwort, this is echinacea etc, etc.... whilst throwing in pertinant points regarding their medicinal uses

LOL@dead dog!

LOL at Sweetkitty being on this thread

Hello, my clary sage friend!

I did the same as SK from 38 weeks.

DS2 was 4 days overdue.

I quite like the smell of cs now though.

pmsl at dead dog

doula told me can cause roblems (painfil ctx mimicking labour but not actually doing anything) if used re labour, but good if used during

however my labour went from not to transition in ne go, and the only reaction the production of cs had was meswearing to get that bloody stuff away frm me now lol

i read in baby mag only to use it in labour. i went into hospital to be induced but they decided to leave me as i was having very irregular contractions and i was 2cm i really wanted my labour to be natural so they suggested braking my waters the next morning if nothing had happened. anyhow at midnight i had a bath and by accident i put half a bottle of clary sage in the bath (much to the delight of the night shift) and 15 minutes later my waters broke and i then went straight into established labour!

I tried clary sage when overdue. I didn't go into labour, but it did give me strong braxton hicks.

Jasmine smells nicer, and is supposed to be useful for triggering labour (I think )- you're supposed to avoid it in pregnancy. I accidently spilled a load over my bump when I was 10 days over due, and went into labour a few hours later, but obvioulsy that could just be coincidence.

One of the countries top MW's told me to put it in the bath towards the end of my 40 weeks with Ds. No idea when exactly I did it or what happened - too long ago

Jasmine fine yes- my labour mix (too fast ti actually use) was lavender, clary sage and jasmine

My MW told me to massage it on mixed in a carrier oil with lavender but ONLY during labour as it makes the contractions more efficient (whatever that means!). I haven't even opened mine yet but all this dead dog stuff has put me off using it - there are no openable windows in the rooms at the hospital!

i put it in the bath and massaged it in my bump (diluted in carrier oil) from 39 weeks. i don't think it smells that bad tbh, you are not supposed to use too much! i mixed it with lavender.

went into labour at 40+1 and had v quick labour. not sure cs had anything at all to do with it (or the raspberry leaf tea, kilos of pineapple, occasional mercy shag etc..)

Hmm after all the stinky dog comments not sure if I fancy it now! Might go and do a sniff test first. Alternatively I might stick to the other methods before sunrise mentions- last time my labour was 4 hrs from frst contraction and I'm already worried about this second birth being too fast for me to get to hospital so don't really want anything that speeds it up!