SENNA TEA

Alexandrian Senna – Cassia acutifolia -Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa

American (or Wild) Senna – Cassia marilantica – Eastern USA

This tea has been used for millenia as a safe, gentle laxative, and was beloved by the ancient Egyptians and Native Americans. It is also  considered an excellent remedy for intestinal worms.

The tea can be either Senna pods, or dried leaves + ground pods. Senna is also available in tablet and extract form.

A cup of Senna tea in the evening before bed produces a one off bowel motion the following morning for cases of mild constipation.  Senna does not usually cause griping pains, so is a good mild laxative for children.

Taken this way, Senna tea is also safe for the constipation experienced by pregnant ladies, but the dosage of one cup in the evening must not be exceeded.

For non pregnant ladies, if Senna tea doesn’t work you may need to try something stronger, like Liquorice Root or Sassafras.

Persistant constipation requires medical investigation to exclude any serious underlying medical condition.

Senna can be part of a bowel cleansing regime and its effect is amplified by the Australian Bush Flower Essence “Bottlebrush”.

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RASPBERRY LEAF

(Rubus striqosus or Rubus idaeus)

The former is found mostly in North America and has prickles, the latter is native to Europe and has few or no prickles. Both grow wild in the field and forests. Ah, but isn’t half the challenge avoiding the spiky bits as you gather the fruit and leaves?

Herbalists throughout the ages have given pregnant ladies a cup of Raspberry Leaf tea a day, for its many health giving benefits.

Its a good idea to start with this one three months before you try for a baby. It has an excellent reputation for aiding conception.

Raspberry Leaf is high in Iron, Copper, Vitamin A and Vitamin C, all needed by the growing baby. It is the highest food source of Folic Acid, a deficiency of which will cause spina bifida, so if you prefer your supplements natural (i.e. absorbable), take a cup of Raspberry Leaf tea a day in the first trimester.

In the second and third trimesters continue with a cup a day as it helps the placanta and also strengthens your uterine muscles so you get good strong contractions to more easily push out your baby during labour.

Keep it afterwards to get your uterus back in shape and to help milk production.

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Rosehip

(Rosa canina and Rosa Rubiginosa)

One of my favourites, with a tangy berry flavour. Rosehips is made from the his of the common Dogrose, with Rosa Rubiginosa being the Australian variety.

Rosehips are high in Iron, Copper, Vitamin P and Vitamin K, making useful for everyone, especially pregnant ladies.  One cup of Rosehips tea will also provide your full daily allowance of Vitamin C.

A tonic for the adrenal glands and high in energy, Rosehips tea provides you with excellent support when you are feeling tired or stressed. It gives an equivalent boost as a cup of coffee, but is health enhancing rather than health depleting.

Try it hot in Winter either by itself or with some cinnamon or chilled in Summer with a slice or lemon.

Professional herbalists also use this in its concentrated form as an extract to achieve its many beneficial effects even faster.

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by Jo Hunter,

Homebirth Australia

Women and their families are travelling from all over the country to attend the MOTHER of all birth rallies on Monday September 7th, 2009.

The rally is to take place outside Parliament House at 1130am. We are expecting a HUGE turn out and plenty of media attention.

We have been contacted by many women who have been told by QANTAS that they will need to reschedule their flights as they have booked too many babies on their flights to Canberra over the 3 days surrounding the rally.

This has apparently never happened before.

If you are booked to travel by plane to Canberra it may be worth ringing the airline to check as some women have been told that they could be turned away at the airport because by law they are only allowed to have 8 babies per flight.

UNABLE TO ATTEND THE RALLY?

If you can’t be with us on September 7, please purchase a virtual rally ticket. Send us your headshot and message (please make this less than 25 words as it will need to be scribed) and we will create a cut-out to place in the ground outside Parliament House. Your pledge will go towards the printing and assembly of your ‘cut-out’ and will enable HBA to subsidise the travel and accommodation of those who may not otherwise be able to attend. To purchase a virtual rally ticket please click here.

Looking forward to seeing many of you in Canberra.

For more information on Home Birth Australia, visit their website by clicking here.

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by Justine Caines.

Homebirth Australia

Homebirth Australia (HBA) has played a pivotal role in the campaign to keep the option of private homebirth alive.

HBA successfully lobbied for the ‘Medicare related’ legislation to be examined within a Senate Committee. The Community Affairs (Legislation) Committee is currently looking at the 3 related bills. We believe 2000 submissions have been received, this is an unprecedented response. Thank you to so many who took the time to write.

We have now gained support across the Senate, The Coalition, Greens, Family First and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon have all expressed support to enable women to make important choices about their bodies and healthcare.

The Greens have announced that they will draft an amendment to include homebirth in any funding and indemnity insurance support developed for midwives accessing Medicare.

Minister Nicola Roxon has expressed concern regarding the availability of indemnity insurance for homebirth in the short term. Whilst we believe the Minister is supportive of finding a solution, and this has been confirmed in recent media click here.

We are less convinced that the Department of Health and Ageing are. It would seem that women choosing homebirth have been diminished and are now considered as ‘collateral damage’. Our understanding is that not one current homebirth midwife or consumer has been called upon to brief the Indemnity branch of the Department of Health or the insurance industry. Poor Nicola; how can anyone expect those who have no understanding of homebirth to make decisions about it, while they receive nothing from those with knowledge but rather a raft of ’spin’ from those with deep vested interest in medicalised childbirth.

A feminist academic, and coincidentially a homebirth mother, Monica Dux argued most eloquently that this struggle was simply not about homebirth, but more so that of a fundamental right for women. Her opinion piece appeared in The Age on 17 July:

The assumption…that minority rights are unimportant and can be casually overridden – is both offensive and antithetical to the fundamental values of a liberal society… It is not only the rights of the minority who undertake home birth that are at stake here. This is an issue that impacts on all women.

In the past century we have seen a profound shift in the status of women, from being virtual chattels owned by husbands or fathers, to the attainment of full citizenship and (supposedly) equal rights with men. This hard-won legislative and cultural change has allowed women greater freedoms, but it has also given rise to an expectation of physical dignity, and of ownership over our own bodies, as epitomised in liberal abortion provisions and stricter sexual assault laws.

The legislative squeezing-out of home birth represents a serious regression in this reform process. Given that the new laws will effectively make private midwife-assisted home birth illegal, the Federal Government is acting to deprive most women of the ability to make a fundamental choice about their own bodies; the choice to birth in a non-medicalised environment.

Home Birth Ausralia has just learnt that the Bills will be debated next week in Parliament (how can the Senate committee work through 2000 submissions in such a short space of time?).

Around 6 months ago I made a joke late at night on Facebook that I felt like a Suffragette, I feel like one 24/7 now! I look forward to a fantastic rally in Canberra on September 7. We are looking forward to a very BIG turnout. Women are coming with bellies and babies in tow to give a very clear message to the Rudd Government. ndividual women will decide where and with whom they share the intimacy of birth NOT politicians and bureaucrats.

It has also been confirmed today that Homebirth Australia has been invited to provide oral evidence before the Senate Committee on August 6.

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Breasts are full of lymphatic tissue and are designed to move around. Bras prevent your breasts from doing this and so stop this all important self cleansing mechanism.

This is why it feels good to take off your bra at the end of the day – it should be the first thing you do when you walk in that door – let your breasts breathe. Those push up bras make our boobs look fabulous, there is no doubt about it, but save them for special occasions. Around the house, go braless.

Especially, never wear a bra to bed. And avoid bras with underwire – they cut off the circulation of blood and lymph – if you don’t believe me have a look at the big red mark under your breasts after you take off an underwire bra.

Go to the lingerie section and have your bras fitted – most department stores have staff trained in this and its free – a well fitting bra does much less damage than an ill fitting one. Most women are wearing badly fitting bras – that’s why it feels so good when you take it off. You need to be resized for a bra when you are pregnant, breastfeeding, weaning or when you have gained or lost 5kg or more of weight. Breasts are fatty deposits and when you gain or lose weight you’ll notice it on your breasts almost immediately.

Many fibrocystic lumps disappear altogether if you don’t wear a bra for six months.

An effective, free way to assist with breast health is to lightly stroke your fingers from sternum (breastbone) to armpit for several minutes a day. This helps by promote lymphatic drainage of your breasts.

Fenugreek Tea has traditionally been used to help cleanse the lymphatics also.

Bush Iris from Australian Bush Flower Essences energetically balances the lymphatics. Much more information on Bush Iris is shared during the Level 1 Australian Bush Flower Essences Workshop.

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What most people think is a “bad menopause” is really oestrogen dominance. This is when the proportion of oestrogen is too high compared to the other female hormone progesterone.

Dr John Lee, an American gynaecologist, did ground breaking research in this area. He discovered that it is the hormone progesterone that stimulates the body to lay down new bone, while excess oestrogen erodes bone. According to his research, internal and external dryness also resulted from not enough progesterone. Dr Lee consequently pioneered natural progesterone treatment. A free series of articles on Oestrogen Dominance, how it can affect women throughout their lives, as well as how natural remedies can assist with it, is available here.

Poor memory and vagueness are also common complaints during the hormonal shift in menopause. A good digestive detoxification, along with flower essences such as Isopogon, Paw Paw and Crowea help strengthen both your digestion and your brain function. Your brain has first dibs on any nutrition you extract from your food. If its truggling, imagine what is going with the rest of you.

Mood swings can be another problem in normally rational, sensible women through menopause. Crying spells, outbursts of anger, bitterness and feeling low can all be helped with specific flower essences. I find Red Suva Frangipani wonderful for assisting with excess crying; Dagger Hakea for bitterness; Mountain Devil for anger, and Tall Yellow Top for low moods. I use these flower essences an excellent addition to herbs when supporting women through menopause.

An important part of this healing process is to allow yourself to acknowledge your feelings, understand where they may be coming from and take various steps to release them. This may include counselling; it is quite extraordinary how much resolution with old emotional baggage can be reached in a short amount of time with a good counsellor.

For more on flower essences for women, Australian Bush Flower Essences have a One Day Workshop on Women’s Wellbeing. Their Level 1 workshop discusses women’s hormonal health in detail and one of the themes in Level 2 is the release of anger and sadness. More information on these workshops and the full international workshop schedule is available here.

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In 2007, a major clinical trial into the long term effects of pharmaceutical hormonal replacement therapy was ceased due to safety concerns. According to the scientists conducting the trial, the increased rates of breast cancer and heart disease in the women taking HRT, as opposed to the control group (who were not taking HRT), was unacceptably high.

ABC radio Australia reported in late February 2009 that the number of women taking HRT in Australia dropped in both 2007 and 2008, and that the incidence of breast cancer in women over 50 years of age (the age group most likely to be diagnosed) had dropped significantly in 2008. Researchers now recommend that HRT only be taken by women with severe menopausal symptoms, and then only for a period of one to two years.

Given all this, what are the alternatives, other than to go cold turkey and take nothing through menopause? Horror stories abound of hot flushes continuing for years, as well as the spectre of wrinkly skin, osteoporosis and mood swings.

This is where natural therapies can help, for although these symptoms are common, they are not normal. After ten years in practice as a herbalist specialising in womens health, I would have to say that no woman needs to suffer from, nor tolerate, a bad menopause.

There are many herbs which will ease the symptoms of menopause, including hot flushes, though what works for each individual woman is always different. Rather than buy something over the counter, you are best to seek the assistance of a professionally qualified herbalist who can give you individualised treatment. Herbs are strongly therapeutic, and our bodies are all different what works for you may not work for another woman, nor even for you in six months time. I rarely give anyone the same herbal mixture twice.

Flower Essences are much more accessible than herbs, because they are self adjusting, which means you cant do any harm to yourself or others with them. This makes them very safe for home use by anyone. That said, many professionally qualified natural therapists, including myself, also use them in their clinical practice.

In regards to menopause, there are several flower essences that work really well. These include She Oak, which assists with female balance and also with hydration so it can be used whenever dryness in the body is an issue. This makes it very useful as an addition to your skin moisturiser. Many women also find improvement in terms of vaginal dryness.

Mulla Mulla can be of great help in any conditions where there is excess heat, and I find it excellent for hot flushes. However it must be realised that hot flushes serve a purpose – to sweat out accumulated toxins.

A question I often contemplate whenever comes to see me with unpleasant symptoms is this: body right? Or body wrong?

Do you think it is a good idea for your body to rid itself of toxins? Might this assist you to enjoy a long and healthy old age?

Your body knows what it needs to do to be well. Of course you will be more comfortable without hot flushes (especially if you live in a hot climate) however in order to support your body to cleanse itself, I would recommend other remedies to stimulate your liver, kidneys, bowel and lymphatics. This way your natural self healing process can be supported at the same time your hot flushes are being reduced.

More detailed information on how flower essences can assist women through menopause is explored in both the Level 1 Workshop and the Women’s Wellbeing Workshop by Australian Bush Flower Essences. Click here for details of when and where these internationally taught workshops will be next held near you.

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The Australian Bush Flower Essences range includes many flowers to help with issues specific for women.

The most important flower of all for women is She Oak. It is excellent for helping to restore female balance at any time during a woman’s life, be it puberty, menstruation, conception, pregnancy, menopause or aging.

Sometimes a woman is unable to fall pregnant, yet all the medical tests show that everything looks fine and there is no reason physically which she is not conceiving. In these instances, She Oak is worth considering.

Birth can be an extremely empowering experience for a woman if she is supported emotionally and encouraged by those around her. Even in the absence of this, Bush Fuchsia will allow her follow her own gut instincts in regards to her pregnancy, birth and mothering style.

Many emotions and thoughts around sexuality, touch, and intimacy can also be assisted with the Essences.

Flannel Flower (above) helps you to feel more comfortable with physical touch and enjoy your sensuality, while Billy Goat Plum addresses iissues surrounding body image.

For relationships, Bush Gardenia has helped many a couple reconnect and remember what first brought them together, to be more considerate of each other, communicate more deeply, and rediscover the passion of the early years as a result.

Old Man Banksia can be very helpful if you are feeling bogged down, especially if you are feeling disheartened, weary, burdened or frustrated. I often give it to women who are feeling this way after having a baby or around about the age of 40 or at menopause. Times of hormonal change are when we are often more prone to these emotions, and Old Man Banksia can be of great assistance. These are times when we tend to re-evaluate our life direction and goals and any discontentment with our situation becomes apparent.

The aboriginal women were well aware of this and considered this flower sacred and a symbol of female spirituality. This is not surprising given their strong connection to their land and with the plants and animals they shared it with.

To meet Old Man Banksia out in the wild and learn more about its healing qualities, have a look at the video below.

Have you used any Australian Bush Flower Essences?

• Which of the Essences in this post have you used?
• How did you find them?
• Would you like to know more?

Please share your experiences in the comments section below.

If you would like to learn more, Australian Bush Flower Essences hold their one day workshop ‘Australian Bush Flower Essences and Womens Wellbeing all over the world. For details on the next one near you, click here.

Have you done The Women’s Wellbeing workshop?

• What did you think of it?
• Did you gain any insights?
• How has it changed your life?

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You MUST have all breast lumps checked medically to make sure it is not cancer. This is true not matter what your age – more and more young women are being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Oestrogen dominance is one cause of benign (non cancerous) breast lumps and can be reversed naturally using various herbal medicines. For my free series of article on Oestrogen dominance, sign up to the mailing list on my website.

Sore, swollen or lumpy breasts pre-menstrually can also be quickly assisted using herbs, with Chaste Tree being one of the good, over the counter, herbs available. Herbalists also have stronger herbs that should only be used by those who are professionally qualified.Medically, fibrocystic (benign) lumps are viewed as sometimes preceding breast cancer.Naturopathically, they can also indicate lymphatic congestion. Consider going without a bra as much as possible – more on this in the next post in this section.

Breasts are full of lymphatic tissue and are designed to move around. Bras prevent your breasts from doing this and so stop this all important self cleansing mechanism. Many fibrocystic lumps disappear altogether if you don’t wear a bra for six months. Lightly stroking your fingers from sternum to armpit for several minutes a day also helps by promoting lymphatic drainage of your breasts. Fenugreek Tea has traditionally been used to help cleanse the lymphatics also. Bush Iris from Australian Bush Flower Essences energetically balances the lymphatics. Much more information on Bush Iris is shared during the Level 1 Australian Bush Flower Essences Workshop.

Breastfeeding your babies is another traditional way of reducing your risk of developing breast cancer. If you get mastitis and a lump remains afterwards, herbal medicine can nearly always remove it, even many years later. It is important that you do so, to reduce the risk of the trapped toxins providing fertile soil for cancer to take root in.

A toxic colon often underlies breast lumps. The Australian Bush Flower Essence Bottlebrush is excellent to energetically re-balance the colon and shift the emotional pattern of “holding on” that is often underlying a sluggish bowel. Much more information on Bottebrush is shared during the Level 1 Australian Bush Flower Essences Workshop.

A mammogram is obtained by squashing the breast flat to get an image. This is recommended annually for all women over fifty. Due to the known cancer causing potential of accumulative X-Rays, from a naturopathic viewpoint, it would seem wise to remove this radiation after each procedure. Double blind trials have shown “Electro” by Australian Bush Flower Essences to be effective in dramatically reducing radiation levels.

Old wives and folk medicine advise women to protect their breasts, due to an increased risk of cancer following trauma. Interestingly, young sufferers of breast cancer today often report a history of an injury to the affected breast at the cancer site. External application of arnica, calendula or comfrey in the form of an ointment or compress at the time of the injury, assist with complete healing from bruising (obvious and otherwise).

Due to the density of younger breast tissue, mammogram is not very effective at diagnosing bnormalities in women under fifty. The latest technology in breast screening is using a hand held infrared thermal scanner to detect “hot spots” in the breast during monthly self examination. Early cancers immediately
establish a blood supply so they can grow. This generates abnormal heat at the site that is detected by the thermal scanner, prompting it to beep. Further investigations can then be undertaken via ultrasound or mammogram. Another alternative further investigation is professional thermal imaging, a painless, non invasive, non radiation procedure that shows up abnormalities at their earliest stage. More information, including clinics throughout Australia and the USA, is available here.

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