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How do you find resources you can trust around perinatal herbal care?

Whether you're a birthworker, an herbalist, or on your own fertility/pregnancy/postpartum journey, it can feel confusing to sort through all the information on herbal safety and efficacy in pregnancy, birth and postpartum (especially if you're nursing).

Not to mention how to comfortably incorporate herbs into the world of assisted reproductive technology (IUI, IVF, etc).

It's actually not something taught extensively at herb schools or foundational programs. And in my experience of being in both the midwifery world and the herbal world, I actually found that there are a LOT of gaps in people's understanding of safety and efficacy with herbs in these times.

Even experienced herbalists will shy away from working with clients in pregnancy. And I found some midwives and birthworkers working with herbs that have been clearly shown to be questionable in pregnancy.

Herbs can be incredible allies when TTC, pregnant, during the birthtime, and postpartum.

But figuring out which ones are appropriate is a little less straightforward, and it's essential to get some guidance (or have some resources on hand).

In her new book, The Herbal Doula, herbalist-author Marie White weaves together her embodied herbal practice with current scientific evidence to offer a balanced view on how to work with herbs in these more sensitive times.

Her approach is very gentle, nourishing, simple, accessible and inclusive.

I really love that she creates space for the gender spectrum *and* the diversity of family structures that aren't just heteronormative, while also including those who fall into more typical structures too.

It's a beautiful world-bridging resource, and also a wealth of solid information about herbal allies in the childbearing years and beyond - and we talk all about this and more in today's conversation.

Listen to learn:

• why Marie White all but left the "herbal community"
• how ableism impacts all of us, including how we work with herbs
• about the lack of resources for those on the gender + relationship spectrum
• some very simple herbs to support nourishing + replenishing postpartum
• the impacts of climate change + extreme weather events on hormones
• how herbs can help mitigate the effects of ecological extremes
• Marie's favorite herb (I bet you already have this growing, or know someone who does!)

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Pre-order The Herbal Doula + get Marie's links
• FREE GUIDE Track your cycle naturally (using FAM)
• Episode 25: Immediate postpartum care the herbal way w Liz Philbrick
• Episode 49: How to create a sacred window
• Episode 68: Milky Oats herbal spotlight

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an he

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As humans, grief is an unavoidable part of life. Loss, illness, unexpected upheavals internally and externally, in relationship to others, self, the earth, our wombs, the cycles and seasons of life, and on and on.

There's no poverty of opportunities to face grief, but there is a poverty of grief literacy -- at least here in the United States.

Most of us are socialized to contain our emotions and only allow them to flow in privacy. We apologize for crying, we're expected to get back to work and responsibilities weeks or months after an immense and debilitating loss.

Our identities change and we barely acknowledge it.

It's fascinating how absent grief practice has become. Especially when you consider that every single one of our ancestral lineages had ways of navigating the "wild terrain of grief."

Whether through ritual, community space, embodied expression, or just allowing ourselves to fully, deeply feel in whatever unruly ways that might show up. There are many paths to metabolize grief.

Today's guest grief doula + doula activist, Siobhan Azgarzadeh, has devoted her life to navigating and tending grief -- both in herself as a lifelong practice and also facilitating online and in-person spaces to encourage this practice for others.

To, as she puts it, "re-enliven a wailing culture" because in this process, we not only metabolize grief in our personal lives but it also helps us to become more alive and belong together to a world in which we "honor our emotions as holy messengers."

I'm excited to share this conversation with you.

Listen to learn:

• some ideas on what grief IS in a world that wants us to contain it
• the 5 aspects of ourselves that relate to grief totally differently
• how grief encourages us to feel more alive
• the difference between elder and older
• why not all walk with loss are initiations + how grief can be initiation
• the diverse ways our wombs carry grief throughout our lives
• what a "re-enlivened wailing culture" could look like

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Get links to Siobhan's offerings
• FREE Womb connection and clearing meditation
• Episode 20: Earth, womb + seed connection
• Episode 65: The intersection of grief and pleasure
• Episode 112: How to tend grief w support from the earth
• Episode 121: Navigating heartbreak with Internal Family Systems

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

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Click here to send me a quick message :)

Last week I had some discomfort "down there." I felt a slight tinge of pain when I walked, and a little itchiness, and it felt like something was growing on my vulva.

I took a mirror and a headlamp and checked it out. (Yes, you can do that too. If you've never looked at your vulva, please do. It's a treasure.)

What I found was a little red stretched pea size lump inside my inner labia. It was by all signs a Bartholin's cyst.

It's something I've heard about enough to basically identify it immediately. It's not rare, so maybe you've had one too.

But I think perhaps I'd been ignoring it (had a lot going on) and it was getting inflamed and maybe even heading towards infection (the redness and itching and pain got me curious).

So I immediately took action and made myself a strong tea of gotu kola, yarrow, calendula, lavender and rose, which I then applied warm as a compress.

I did this for a couple days, and then it drained. It reminded me of how easy herbal medicine can be.

And also inspired me to share an entire episode all about this topic since I think it's the kind of thing we should all know how to do, and how to choose which herbs make sense for our specific condition.

Herbal baths, sitz bath and herbal compresses are one of the most accessible ways to extract the active constituents from herbs - all you need are herbs, water and something to heat the water with.

But they're also very effective. Sometimes what we really need is to bathe a part of our body in warm herbal tea. And especially when it comes our vulva and pelvis, it's also an incredibly beautiful way to honor this precious place.


Listen to learn:

• what herbal baths, sitz baths and herbal compresses are
• how to make these preparations
• why I chose the herbs I did for my Bartholin's cyst
• what conditions may be best supported by herbal baths + compresses
• which actions you may want to consider when choosing herbs
• how to determine which herbs to choose for you unique symptoms

Resources:

• Free Natural Cycle Tracking (FAM) guide
• Today's shownotes: Herbal baths, sitz baths, compresses
• Episode 12: Simple + sacred practice of making tea
• Episode 25: Immediate postpartum care w herbs w Liz Philbrick
• Episode 82: Herbal vinegars, oxygens + shrubs

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Support the Show.