Pregnancy is beautiful yet scary, exciting yet hard.  Using essential oils during your pregnancy can help you to feel more comfortable and relaxed. Let’s discuss essential oils for pregnancy and how to use them safely. 

When I say, “I love being pregnant,” I will get one of two completely different responses.  Either the women will agree or look at me like I’m crazy and have three heads.

I absolutely love pregnancy, even though I have horrible morning sickness.   Often you will hear that you will forget about all that when you see the baby, but I DO NOT agree.  The morning sickness has not faded in my memory yet, but something about life inside of me makes me ok with all the “not so fun things” about pregnancy.

I didn’t start using essential oils until after my first child was born, so obviously, I didn’t have oils for her pregnancy.  However,  I used essential oils all throughout my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pregnancy.  Often I get asked about what essential oils are best for pregnancy and which ones are safe.  Let’s go through each trimester, labor, and delivery, talking about which oils to use.

USING ESSENTIAL OILS FOR PREGNANCY 

If you have hung around my blog long, you know the three ways to use essential oils by now:

• Aromatically- My favorite way to use essential oils aromatically is through a diffuser. Check out my favorite diffuser blends for kids and my favorite diffuser blends for babies. 
• Topically- Learn how to make a roller bottle and get the top 6 roller bottle recipes for kids. 
• Internally- Check out my blog post all about taking essential oils internally. 

Be sure you are using pure, high-quality oils before taking them internally and be sure to consult with a doctor before taking essential oils internally when pregnant.

WHICH OILS SHOULD YOU AVOID DURING PREGNANCY 

Most essential oils are safe for pregnancy as long as you are using high quality, pure essential oils.  The FDA doesn’t regulate essential oils, so you have to do your own research when choosing a brand of oils for yourself and your family.  I talk more about the oils I use HERE.

AVOID ESSENTIAL OILS THAT CAN STIMULATE CONTRACTIONS UNTIL THE DUE DATE APPROACHES 

• Jasmine
• Clary Sage
• Myrrh

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR PREGNANCY 

FIRST TRIMESTER 

Ahh, the glorious first trimester!  How can something so tiny make you feel so tired and sick?!

By far, the best thing about the first trimester is when it’s over.  Haha!

MORNING SICKNESS 

I experienced horrible morning sickness during my first and last pregnancies. However, my middle two were smooth sailing. And for the record, my order is girl, boy, boy, boy, boy.

You all have heard that ginger and peppermint can ease nausea and upset stomach, right?  Let’s talk about herbs compared to essential oils.  One drop of peppermint essential oil is equivalent to 28 cups of peppermint tea.  That’s a whole heck of a lot of tea when you are throwing up everything in sight!

Essential Oils for Morning Sickness

• Peppermint
• Ginger
• Fennel
• Lemon
• Orange
• Chamomile

How to Use Them

These oils can be used in all three ways to help relieve morning sickness.  Diffuse a combination of these oils or just breathe them straight out of the bottle.  Put one drop of oil under your tongue, if you can stand the taste when you wake up in the morning to ease the stomach.  Use these oils topically on the bottom of the feet and stomach.

For easy application, make a roller bottle.

ROLLER BOTTLE FOR MORNING SICKNESS 

5 drops peppermint

5 drops ginger

4 drops fennel

3 drops lemon

Add essential oils to a 10mL roller bottle and top off with fractionated coconut oil.  Apply to the bottom of the feet and stomach when feeling nauseous.

EXTREME FATIGUE

During the first trimester, you could find me in bed or in the bathroom.  Growing a baby is hard work, folks and so tiring!  That first-trimester tiredness is no joke.  I remember when I was pregnant with my first, I literally slept all day; for the other pregnancies, I was forced to be awake to take care of my other children. As soon as they would go to bed, I would too.

Ok, I know what you are thinking…why does she love pregnancy?  Knowing that a precious little baby is growing inside of me trumps it all!

Essential Oils for Extreme Fatigue

• Peppermint
• Rosemary
• Wild Orange
• Lemon
• Basil
• Geranium

How to Use Them

The best way to use essential oils for fatigue is aromatically and topically.  Add one of these oils or a blend of these to a diffuser, or inhale them straight from the bottle.

ROLLER BOTTLE FOR EXTREME FATIGUE 

6 drops peppermint

6 drops wild orange

3 drops rosemary

Add essential oils to a 10mL roller bottle and top off with fractionated coconut oil.  Apply to the pulse points.

For your free printable labels, visit my online resource library. 

SECOND TRIMESTER 

The glorious second trimester, not too uncomfortable yet, the morning sickness has let up, and you have more energy again.  On top of feeling better, you will start feeling your baby move, my absolute favorite part of pregnancy.

RIB PAIN

I have a short torso, so rib pain is in full swing by my second trimester.  I was always stretching my arms up and arching my back to relieve rib pain; it was always the worse when I was sitting down.

Essential Oils for Rib Pain

• Cypress
• Peppermint
• Marjoram
• Frankincense
• Grapefruit
• Lavender

How to Use Them

The best way to use essential oils for aches and pains is topical.  Dilute essential oils in coconut oil and apply to the ribs as needed.

 STRETCH MARKS

During the second trimester, a lot of moms are starting to think about stretch marks.  Stretch marks are very common with pregnancy and will fade over time. You can use lotions and oils to help fade them quicker.

Essential Oils for Stretch Marks

• Frankincense
• Lavender
• Rose
• Helichrysum
• Patchouli

How to Use Them

The best way to use essential oils for stretch marks is topical.  If you are trying to cover a larger surface area, add 3-5 drops of essential oil to 1/4  cup of coconut oil and massage into the area of concern.  You can also add the essential oils into a lotion or make a roller bottle.

ROLLER BOTTLE FOR STRETCH MARKS  

6 drops frankincense

5 drops lavender

4 drops rose

2 drops helichrysum

2 drops patchouli

Add essential oils to a 10mL roller bottle and top off with fractionated coconut oil.  Apply to the area of concern.

THIRD TRIMESTER 

HOMESTRETCH!  Three words for the third trimester:  exciting, anxious, and painful.

PREGNANCY ACHES AND PAINS 

By now, you are getting pretty big, and you can’t imagine getting even bigger.  I remember looking down around 36 weeks and thinking how could I possibly stretch anymore!  Around this time, my back and feet would start hurting, and I would have the occasional sciatic nerve pain.

Essential Oils for Pregnancy Aches and Pains

• Wintergreen
• Frankincense
• Copaiba
• Helichrysum
• Camphor
•  Ylang Ylang

How to Use Them

The best way to use essential oils for aches and pains is topical.  If you are trying to cover a larger surface area, add 3-5 drops of essential oil to 1/4 cup coconut oil and massage into the area of concern.  You can also add the essential oils into a lotion or make a roller bottle.

Inflammation is often the main cause of body pain; putting a drop of frankincense or copaiba under the tongue can help reduce inflammation inside the body.

ROLLER BOTTLE FOR PREGNANCY ACHES AND PAINS  

6 drops wintergreen

6 drops frankincense

3 drops helichrysum

2 drops ylang ylang

Add essential oils to a 10mL roller bottle and top off with fractionated coconut oil.  Apply to the area of concern.

MAMA’S ANXIOUS FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS 

As I would get closer to each of my children’s arrival, I would have feelings of excitement and anxious feelings.  Trying to plan how or when it is going to happen and going through all the what if’s can be exhausting and scary.

Essential Oils for MAMA’S ANXIOUS FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

• Lime
• Bergamont
• Lemon
• Lavender
• Frankincense

How to Use Them

The best way to use essential oils for stress, anxious feelings, and emotional support is aromatically, topically, and internally.

For aromatic use, diffuse any combination of these oils in a diffuser or inhale straight from the bottle when feeling stressed or anxious.

For topical use, apply oils to the bottom of feet, down the spine, and back of the neck.

ROLLER BOTTLE FOR MAMA’S ANXIOUS FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS  

4 drops lime

4 drops bergamot

4 drops lemon

3 drops lavender

3 drops frankincense

Add essential oils to a 10mL roller bottle and top off with fractionated coconut oil and apply as needed.

For internal use, apply the roller bottle to the thumb and press the thumb up against the roof of the mouth.

LABOR AND DELIVERY 

Even on my 4th kid, I was questioning myself when I started having contractions.  Is this really labor?  When should I call the midwife?  When should I go in?  Those were the most exciting and terrifying times of my life.

JUMPSTART CONTRACTIONS  

Yes, there are oils to help start labor. However, I don’t recommend using them unless you are already in labor.  Or you are late, and your doctor or midwife approves.  These are the oils you will want to avoid until the due date approaches.

ESSENTIAL OILS TO JUMPSTART CONTRACTIONS 

• Clary Sage
• Myrrh
• Jasmine

How to Use Them

The best way to use essential oils to jumpstart contractions is topical.  Apply 1-2 drops of each oil to the wrists and abdomen as well as on the uterine and cervical reflux points under inside ankle bones.

RELAXING OILS FOR LABORING 

In my opinion, the key to a good birth is relaxation.  I use the Bradley method to help with labor.  The more you relax through the contractions, the more effective they are and less painful.  When I am in labor, it looks like I am sleeping; I lay still and relax my entire body.  Essential oils can be extremely helpful with that.

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR RELAXING 

• Lavender
• Frankincense
• Copaiba
• Cedarwood
• Sandalwood
• Wild Orange

How to Use Them

The best way to use essential oils to help you relax during labor is topically and aromatically.  Have your birthing partner massage you with oils to help you relax.

You can have a diffuser going with your favorite relaxing blend in your birthing room.  Have your birthing partner put oils under your nose while you are having contractions.

If you labor in the bathtub or have a water birth add a couple of drops of lavender to the bathtub to help you further relax.

And of course, keep your eye on the prize; a precious baby will be in your arms in no time.

Be sure to check out my post for essential oils for the new baby and mama! 

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