‘Thank you’ to Chris Mercante for talking with Homeopathy Delaware’s March meeting attendees about nausea of pregnancy (NOP) or morning sickness.
NOP is a condition which for most is a normal and tolerable part of being pregnant, lasting usually through the first trimester. Following healthy guidelines for eating small amounts more often can help.
However, for many women the nausea is debilitating to the point that mother- to- be is not able to manage day to day living.
Severe NOP or even continuous nausea and vomiting of pregnancy which persists past the first trimester can put the mother and fetus at risk through dehydration, malnutrition, exhaustion and other more complicated states.
Conventional medicine can offer medications which, in the short term, may quell the nausea but in the longer term are not the best solution for mother and baby.
The good news is that homeopathy has, for about 200 years, offered gentle, safe and side- effect free help with ultra -dilute and succussed medicines for this oft-times condition of pregnancy.
The medicines are homeopathic when the individual’s characteristic symptoms are similar to those of the chosen remedy. (The word ‘homeopathic’ means ‘similar suffering’). This is Samuel Hahnemann’s Law of Similars and one of the foundations for the efficacy of Homeopathy.
Whatever the complaints, pregnancy can be a really good time to seek healing with homeopathy because a woman’s constitutional susceptibilities more often come to the fore to be more easily understood during these 9 months. And homeopathic treatment means the mother is more resilient, the baby has a healthy head start!
The homeopathic medicines discussed in Homeopathy Delaware’s meeting, and below, are listed in the Homeopathic Pharmacopea of the United States (HPUS) and regulated by the FDA.
Being familiar with the homeopathic ‘provings’ and clinical evidence – based applications of these medicines, along with their descriptions in the Materia Medicas of homeopathy, a professional practitioner will know which medicine to choose to heal the mother- to- be suffering from NOP.
A woman using a self – care homeopathy book for ailments during pregnancy can benefit from information shared below. However, should symptoms persist after trying one or two homeopathic medicines, she is best advised to contact a professional homeopath.
Homeopathic Medicines for NOP
See the remedy descriptions in the list below. Keep in mind that you may not have all the symptoms that go with a particular remedy; just take the one that matches the best or comes the closest.
Use a 30C potency, take one dose (1-2 pellets on your tongue) and wait. The right remedy should have some effect in about an hour. (A 12c or 6c potency is good as well but it may need repeating more often as symptoms resolve.)
If so, put the remedy in water and stir vigorously before each additional sip, which you should take only if there is a relapse or a failure to make progress on the single dose. (Stirring before additional sips helps prevent an aggravation.)
If the remedy turns out not to help in the way desired, try your second choice. If still not enough relief, see a professional homeopathic practitioner.
Sepia — Empty feeling in stomach, not relieved by eating. Aversion to thought or odor of food. Desires tart food like pickles, vinegar, etc.; also desires chocolate. May complain that things taste salty. Irritable around people but does not want to be alone. Better from exercise, warmth, and sleep.
Colchicum — Cannot bear the smell or even thought of food! Worse from riding in a car. Worse from standing up or lying flat. Better flexing knees or bending forward.
Cocculus — Worse from motion, such as riding in a car – motion sickness; chilly, worse from open air; worse from loss of sleep; excessive salivation and much thirst for cold drinks.
Nux Vomica — Nausea in the morning, in bed. Vomiting after eating. Disposition is irritable, angry. Constipation. Wakes at 3 AM., cannot get back to sleep. Chilly.
Pulsatilla — Desires company and sympathy. Weeping, feeling sorry for herself; craves fresh air, wants the window open; thirstless; aversion to warm food; tongue coated white or yellow.
Ipecac — Continuous nausea not relieved by vomiting. Drooling. Tongue is clear/not coated. Thirstless. Desires open air, worse warmth, worse motion.
Veratrum alb. — Vomiting with diarrhea. Freezing cold with cold sweat. Craves cold drinks with ice. Weak. Worse from exertion.
Symphoricarpus — Deathly nausea. Continuous retching and vomiting. Better lying on back, worse motion. Constipated.
Tabacum — Deathly nausea, sinking feeling, cold and clammy, chills. Worse from any motion such as riding in a car. Much cold sweat. Pale. Tendency to spit. Worse heat, better fresh air.
Thanks to homeopathy, there’s no need to suffer from NOP or morning sickness!
Homeopathy Delaware 