clary sage oil - anyone trying it?

[roundabout1]

I have bought some Clary sage oil with the plan of using it once contractions have started but wondered if anyone was using it pre labour. I am due tomorrow so the baby is fully cooked but after reading some things about it on the net don't know whether I dare use it.

Tried it; along with every other "bring on the baby" aid ever discussed. Didn't work, hated the smell of the stuff. But that's just my opinion - I gave the bottle to a friend and she loved it.

i used it from 32 weeks last time i think! in the bath every night! i loved baths as my back was so sore. think this is early though as when i mentioned it to a few of my friends they were a litle shocked! it was on the list from the midwives though so i assumed it was ok. but i was also taking raspberry leaf tea capsules from 28 weeks!

why, what does it say online that's putting you off?

I've got some too. I've only really just sniffed it so far. Not really noticed that much difference - although I did have a good sniff last week before engaging in a bit of "that which got me into this in the first place" and my bump went bananas at the peaking moment. I could really see it flexing/pulsing - but only for about 10 seconds though (probably because it was so freaky we stopped!). LO seemed OK afterwards.

I might try a few drops in the bath tonight.

Tried it in bath and in a burner from 40 weeks. Am 41+5 now so not worked! Bath was relaxing but no noticeable effect. Burner made me feel a bit spaced out and headachey, but had loads of BH's.

I read that it's quite good in labour to sniff for pain relief but as my baby is being incredibly stubborn, haven't had a chance to test this.

I had no BHs at all during my pregnancy until I sniffed some of that stuff then finally had some. Bought it with the intention of using it in labour if things were slowing down, but in the end didn't dare use it as the contractions were quite strong enough for me as it was

I used almost a full bottle on mine from 37weeks - DS1 - he was 2 days late - and another full bottle on DS2 - who was 7days late. Made no difference at all whatsoever. Along with everything else:

Raspberry leaf tea
fresh pineapple
curry
sex
more sex
long walks
sex
more curry, with pineapple
and sex

and nothing worked
but if it makes you feel as though you are doing something then carry on.

i used it during my labour with dc2, had an extremely long latent phase, and it was only really clary sage that got the contractions going again...
might have been coincidence but didn't seem to be

I didn't use it beforehand. However, on the fourth day of labour that just wouldn't speed up(yes, fourth) I took a bath with a couple of drops. Contractions speeded up significantly about an hour later, and dd was born about 3 or 4 hours after that. Not sure whether it was the CS or just coincidence.

That's all I used as pain relief during labour. I was breathing it in a wet flannel during contractions and it worked a treat. Make sure you only put one drop on the flannel though as the smell is quite overpowering

May I suggest that you get advice from a qualified aromatherapist who has experience in using oils for induction and labour. Oils can be very powerful and need to be used with advice if you are going to get maximum benefit from them.
A friend of mine (qualified nurse) used a qualified aromatherapist for her daughters two births and they definitely helped get labour going. However, the therapist made up different bottles of combined oils to be used at different stages eg to try to get labour going, to keep labour established, pain relief etc.
She also consulted a homeopath who gave remedies which were very useful especially for afterpains following the second birth.

Hi!
Check out this book if you can get hold of a copy;

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 600 Natural, Non-Toxic and Fragrant Recipes to Create Health, Beauty and a Safe Home
By
Valerie Ann Worwood

I am a qualified aromatherapist and my tutor recommended this book and I use it all the time (even 3 years later!)
There are various preganancy blends in it as well as lots of blends for babies, children, cleaning and more.

Will try to find a few and post them here either tonight or tomorrow

Thanks for your replies ladies. Spookily at the mw this afternoon she asked if I'd heard about clary sage oil, after we'd gone through the whole list of things to bring on labour - I tried all of them with dd & none worked!
vistana - Thanks for your reply, annoyingly I have got that book but it's in storage at the moment & I won't be able to get access to it - how annoying is that!

nicm - When I googled it found scary stories of really quick labours - good I know but I would like time to get to the hospital!

lifeistooshort - wow impressed by you using it as your only pain relief - I'm a bit of a wimp so think I will need more than that but glad to hear it can help & speed things along.

Well my due date is tomorrow so may give it a try later in the week, is a definte to be in my hospital bag though.

Tried it - smelled like wet labrador - didn't work.

Both DCs had to be evicted surgically. Clearly I am too good a host

roundabout I am a notorious wimp too! But honestly this is all I needed it was really efficient. It both calmed me and made contractions very efficient and it really helped me focus! I wasn't planning on using nothing at all but with the clary sage, I just didn't need to. It was for my DC2 though so that might have something to do with it...and perhaps the hypnobirthing course I did also helped

Don't use it neat, other than a few drops in a bath - it's very strong and will irritate your skin, use just a few drops in a base oil (like apricot kernel, coconut or wheatgerm) and rub it on your sacrum, it really helps with lower back pain and strong BH. I have been using it for three weeks however and am 12 days overdue today!

Couple of things about Clary Sage: I've read it can interfeer with iron supplements and I know it can give you a stoned-out the game headache if you use splash it around too freely.

Also, aromathearpy and homeopathic treatments don't always work together - they can cancel each other out.

Mixes nicely with a drop of lavender and/or jasmine (both of which have anti-pain properties).

lifeistooshort: if this is all the pain relief you used, I salute you! You give me hope for the imminent birth of my first DC!

loved the smell, didn't work...reflexology does though

I promise it is and I promise I am a wimp (I can moan a lot about a papercut for instance)