What essential oils can you use when pregnant?

[PotPourri]

I wondered if anyone has a definative list of what oils you can and can't use? I love 'Lush' and as they use alot of essential oils I want to make sure that I won't be doing any damage. I plan to have a big splurge at Lush to treat myself to a really pampered pregnancy.

Congratulations! When are you due?!
I'm afraid there is no definitive answer to your question. Some aromatherapists recommend avoidance of lots and lots of oils and others only suggest we avoid a few.

The main area of agreement is that there are a number of oils that can cause uterine spasms and that this, of course, could pose a risk in the first three months. This is a fairly standard set of guidelines on the subject: here

It's a tricky one, as guidance does vary. Oils generally considered very safe are citrus oils (esp mandarin) and lavender. Oils generally suggested to avoid are: Clary Sage, Cypress, Rose, Frankencense, Geranium, Jasmine and Rosewood, although some of these can be very helpful during labour.

Generally though, the sorts of quantities in a lush soap or something, should not pose a huge risk. Oils do not tend to enter your skin when using soap too much as it tends to be washed off, ditto shampoo and conditioner. A body cream would give you a higher dose, although still highly unlikely to pose a direct risk although probably best to avoid the "risky" oils for first 3 months. Sorry this is such a confused area!! In short, Lush stuff, after first 3 months should be fine. HTH!

Ooohhh if you like oils you can get a nice oil from decleor - it is really good for boobs apparently - DP has been very good helpingme out with applying it - they also do a really good stretch mark cream - probably doesn't work but has oils and plant extracts in.

They wouldn't use lavender on me at Henlow so maybe steer clear of that one!!

I find this whole thing very confusing also as I used to use a lot of essential aromatherapy oils prior to pregnancy and now I am so freaked out as to which ones are safe that I don't use it.

Saying that I bought some anti stretch mark oil that Clairns do on the weekend and I am sure there are some dangerous oils in there. I have been trying to find out before I lather up.

Bean you are very knowledgeable on this subject. Thanks

Turtle - I bought that Clarins one last week. The girl behind the counter told me it was great for stretch marks (I know it's probably a load of twaddle). She said she'd used it when she'd had a baby last year and she didn't get any stretch marks. Mind you, she looked about 15 and really really skinny so I doubt she'd ever been pg!

bean do you know if this Body Treatment Oil "Tonic" by Clairns is safe? it's got rosemary, sage and mint in it.

Piglit - did you ask the 15 year old if it was safe for pregnancy? like she would really know!!

Sorry, beansprout is right, preganncy and oils are confusing, even for the qualified therapist, so even I can't be much help.

I am a qualified aromatherapist and you will see I have said this on mumsnet several times before. There is so much conflicting advice, about which oils are safe and which aren't.

Some aromatherapists will say certain oils are safe, some will say only use them at the end, some will say the same oils should be avoided completely.

Some say peppermint is contra-indicated, others say use it in the second half, the same with lavender, even though lavender and chamomile are both very gentle and can be used on babies, they are both emmanogogues - which means they promote menstruation.

Juniper is definitely to be avoided, as are cedarwood and basil. Rosemary, clary sage, jasmine, fennel, marjoram, are all oils that are generally considered contra-indicated, but many people use them at the end, and clary sage and jasmine are often used in labour.

One thing that is definite though is that all essential oils should be avoided in the first trimester. That is what they have been teaching on most courses for the last few years.

Saying that, I fell pregnant while working as an aromatherapist and used every single oil very frequently and my baby was absolutely fine.

i used lavender, neroli and manderin...10drops of each in 100ml sweet almond oil. Generally recognised as safe after first 3 months. great for preventing stretch marks, massage over whole tummy 2 times a day

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That's actually a useful point myermay and if something makes us feel sick, then we should just stay away. Our bodies are never better than this than when we are pg I think.

I have been given a lovely mixture of almond, macadamia and other oils and am using that to (ha ha) stave off the stretch marks. This is completely safe as there are no essential oils in it.

Essential oils are the plant extracts that come in the tiny bottles and base oils (or carrier oils) are the vegetable oils used for massage etc. Any mixture of vegetable oils is safe, although if you have any sort of nut allergy, stay away from those. It is the essential oils that have the properties we may need to be wary of in pg, but vegetable oils are always just good 'n' greasy and will leave your skin feeling nice and smooth. HTH.

PS Am qualified in this too, I wouldn't dream of giving so much direct advice if I wasn't!

Thank you, thank you girls. I am glad I was not just imagining my confusion. But this has given me some things to really avoid and a few that I can think about using later on.

I will just be careful not to use too much. I'm only 8 weeks - due end of November, so no bump showing yet, although I have been using Cocoa Butter to start the anti-stretch marks campaign! (But the morning sickness means it has not been happening - as a chocoholic, I never thought I would see the day when the smell of chocolate would make me sick).

Funny as I started to use the cocoa butter when I was early on in pg, around same time as morning sickness, 8 & 9 weeks and now I can't stand the smell of the stuff, makes me gag.