Essential Oils
Some Suggestions – Fundamentally, the key is to find the one or a combination of some that you love the smell of.
Bergamot Uplifting, calming and zingy
Clary Sage Heady and strong, Uterine stimulant - not recommended for planned caesarean birth
Frankincense “The King of Oils”. Feeds the skin with Oxygen, calm nerve-related issues
Geranium Earthy, Hormone balancer, highly oxygenating
Jasmine Calming, energizing and uplifting (potential uterine stimulant) wouldn’t recommend for caesarean
Lavender Traditionally very calming. It has antiseptic qualities and aids healing - can usually be applied topically
Neroli Hormone balancer, reduces fear, apprehension and anxiety (smells like posh, pampered French babies)
Peppermint Can help with nausea, trapped wind and a few drops in the toilet can aid that first postpartum bowel movement. The caveat to this is it might inhibit lactation production so potentially one to avoid topically or ingested if you’re planning on breastfeeding. Spearmint is an alternative option.
Rose Calming and assists circulation
Ylang Ylang Calming, helps fear and anxiety - can also lower blood pressure
Essential Oils Information – with thanks to Emily Constantinidi from BALM by Emily.
Carrier Oil Suppliers
Naissance via Amazon (or direct)
Nice quality and they have certified organic options too; most of their carrier oils have the option of a small bottle size which can be good if not sure you'll use masses...
Coconut carrier without a strong smell, the 'fractionated coconut' is liquid at room temp and doesn't have that classic aroma; it is lightly refined.
Another option is raw organic shea butter; the nutty, slightly smoky smell is lovely and rich, melts when warmed between hands!)
Essential Oil Suppliers
A good starting point is to check that as a minimum that the botanical name is listed, as it helps in the effort to find essential oils that are actually essential oils and from a single plant source (many are adulterated with fragrance, oils from other plants etc, to help keep costs down).
Essential Oils in the bath
For baths, diluting essential oils in a carrier is the best (or a non-scented shower gel).
Milk, bath salts, alcohol etc have all been used but recent evidence shows that these sadly don't adequately keep the essential oil dispersed when in contact with water, so can increase the risk of reactions etc.
Tisserand Institute are great for reliable, evidence-based advice about EOs, and have a cheesy but clear infographic and article about EOs in the bath here, which summarises well:
https://tisserandinstitute.org/safety/bath-safety/
In pregnancy and until 12 weeks postnatally, 1% dilution is the recommendation for essential oils on the skin.
There is some variation between dropper sizes and viscosity, but this is usually taken as 1 drop of essential oil for each 5ml of carrier (equivalent to a 'teaspoon' kitchen measure); obviously this can be increased proportionally as much as desired, and any surplus can be applied direct to the body after the bath as well... neroli, mandarin, frankincense all particularly supportive with stretch marks too.
Apply to the skin across chest and arms before getting into the bath, as there is less bath cleaning needed, you get a good dose of the aroma as it doesn't end up mostly on back of legs and bum and helps to nourish the skin too!
This works well in the shower too for those that don't have / like baths.
Face sprays
For faces, a similar challenge is faced with essential oils in water with alcohol, even with a good shake.
This approach can be O.K for a general room spray if away from furniture / people etc, if made up fresh every day / few days, but for the skin, I would recommend a hydrolat / hydrosol / floral water if after a spray (the water component of the distillation process used to produce the essential oil).
These still smell lovely, but don't have issues with separation as they come 'ready to spray' as aqueous solutions, and are much less concentrated plant extracts than EOs, so much less likely to produce any skin reactions.
They are so lovely and gentle, but as a rule of thumb I would still suggest sticking to the same advice as the oils themselves when it comes to which ones to use in pregnancy etc. - although the rose hydrosol would be fine throughout pregnancy.
There are a few places that supply them and I would suggest sticking to these three as quality, aroma and content can vary significantly:
https://materiaaromatica.com/waters
https://oshadhi.co.uk/hydrosols-hydrolats/
https://aqua-oleum.co.uk/face-body/flower-waters