Interesting item on BBC site today. In the fashionable climate of enthusiasm for "what's natural" many women refuse drugs for childbirth without realising what it'll be like, and then feel they've "failed" when they have to ask for pain-killers. Fair enough. But then we have a quote from one Patrick O'Brian, a consultant and spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, who says: Find out about aromatherapy - but find out about epidurals too- and prepare to be flexible."
No doubt aromatherapy might have a useful placebo effect, which is fine, but is he not seeming to give scientific backing to the idea that aromatherapy is a real treatment with real physical effects?
Maybe he means only that it's OK to investigate the woo-woo stuff as long as you don't reject real medicine out of hand.
To be facetious, if the ladies could be "flexible" enough, there'd be no problem anyway!
Well let's hope that expectant mums do investigate the evidence for aromatherapy because a very recent study concluded that it was no better than distilled water in relieving pain, boosting immune function, or altering stress hormone responses.
Full story:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/AlternativeMedicine/dh/8651
I was offered, and accepted, Clary Sage in my bath when last giving birth six years ago. The idea was to speed up the delivery. I also had lavender oil in my bath afterwards to help the healing process.
I would be interested to see if there is any evidence to back up the claim, especially as our maternity unit has won awards in part because of the CAM they offer. I did try to research it a while ago but failed to find any definitive studies. But that could be down to my remedial Google skills
On the one hand giving birth is difficult & stressful enough, so anything that has a beneficial effect whether placebo or not could be argued to be a good thing. On the other, giving awards and credibility to CAM where it is not warranted perpetuates the misguided and unscrupulous CAM providers who may well do harm - physically, emotionally or financially.
I do not think what is quoted is bad, really. I do know that there is quite a strong "natural childbirth" lobby and that they put a lot of pressure on women to avoid drugs etc. They are quite well organised and they prey on a very understandable wish to avoid unnecessary drugs in pregnancy and during delivery. I agree with the statement that they can lead some women to believe that they are failures if they do not have a completely natural birth. The quote here seems to me to be an attempt to recognise that some women will attempt natural childbirth and find that they cannot achieve this in the event. This happened to a friend of mine, who changed her mind during labour and accepted conventional pain relief. I am glad she did. Anything which encourages women to keep their options open and change their minds when that is the right thing to do seems sensible to me
I'm not qualified to comment on childbirth, being male, but am wondering whether aromatherapy does have a relaxing effect which might help. I'm not advocating aromatherapy, but the simple use of essental oils. In the past I have had many massages by friends and can vouch for the very noticable relaxing effect of an essential oil in the massage oil, such as ylang ylang or sandalwood. I have no idea whether the effect has a physical origen, with essentail oils absorbed through the skin, or simply the psychological effect of being immersed in exotic smells. No matter how, it worked for me.
TENS machines were recommended at our pre-natal classes last year, and also at the physio session. When I mentioned to the physiotherapist that there was no evidence that the machines reduced the feeling of pain, I could tell straight away that she knew that herself, and she then waffled a bit about how some women like them etc.
Again, I'm just a man(!) but the thing is that childbirth is such a scary prospect, and there is the real possibility that things can go a bit wrong and involve considerable pain, that they want to do as much as possible to try to alleviate the stresses and concerns the expectant mothers have.
The midwives also mentioned things like raspberry tea as helping to speed up labour. Again, it's more about reducing stress and anxiety than anything else.
Every woman I spoke to who used a TENS machine says they ripped it off as soon as the pain got bad anyway.
I read it as "fine, look into the alternative health stuff if you want to, but you really need to look at the painkilling options because some nice-smelling oil isn't going to be enough".
I'm pretty sure that's how he meant it, too, given that's actually what's happening. Women are being suckered into thinking 'natural' remedies will be enough, and are finding out the hard way. But it would be pointless and foolish of him to reject such popular things out of hand by saying "forget aromatherapy, you need to look into epidurals". That's precisely the sort of attitude that will drive women away.
Yes, it's a bit of pandering, but aromatherapy certainly can't hurt. In fact once you have the epidural, you're more likely to appreciate a nice lavender smell than if you're screaming in pain, I'd say.
If he'd said homeopathy, then we'd have a problem. But aromatherapy does do something: it smells nice.
(my bold)Originally Posted by tkingdoll
There are some essential oils you are recommended not to use during pregnancy (can't actually remember which ones- but probably includes Clary Sage prior to onset of labour)
If they have no effect at all why would certain oils be 'contra-indicated'?
I'm no expert at all, but I can't help think that some medicines now come in a patch - HRT, NRT - so obviously the skin can be a conduit for administering medicine. Thus could some oils actually have an effect if applied to the skin?
I'm not for or against at this point - I am merely ignorant. And too tired to Google
Mostly items like that are contra-indicated because there's bugger all research on what they can actually do, most Pharmacologists will tell you "probably sod all", but without actual research it's far easier to go with the standard warnings.
As for skin being a conduit, unlikely, skin isn't that permeable. the companies that first produced the 'patch technology' spent a shed load of money finding; the right size molecule that could pass through the skin, the carrier agent that would be absorbed by the skin to carry the molecule and the base for it all that would supply the drug over a period of 8 or more hours.
Thanks for that Mongrel.
All makes sense
I'm no expert, but I understood that essentail oils are well capable of being absorbed through the skin because they are small molecules. Here is one of many websites about molecule size, but I haven't yet found a convincing one which comments on absorbtion.
The skin is a good barrier; however, many molecules do penetrate it even without the help of patch technology:
http://scienceblogs.com/terrasig/200...e_oils_may.php
This is a case where size only matters somewhat. The steroids that are absorbed are reasonably large (with ca. 30 carbon atoms). However, there is probably a size cutoff, and I would not expect most polymers to be absorbed.
Generally, the balance of affinities that a molecule has for water and lipid (oil) is the controlling factor. For example, sugars are insoluble in oil and do not pass through skin easily (if at all). Mineral oil is insoluble in water and would not pass, either. On the other hand, people who try to treat arthritis (of the knee, for example) with DMSO report tasting something like garlic in their mouths just seconds after getting the stuff on their knees.
Note, it is a very bad idea to get DMSO on your skin. It is a great solvent and is often contaminated and it is in the class of compounds that accelerates the absorption of other compounds through the skin.
Thanks for the corrections JJM and Janot, it was late and I'd just got back from the pub
There's some more interesting articles over here that covers drug absorbtion and other fun ways of fooling the body and, on a side note, the "Things I Won't Work With" is fascinating reading.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks