Online a recommendation or indication for women who are pregnant that promises to help them dilate better and have a better birth by using homeopathy. It is a recommendation that I have read in some blogs or web pages, and that is also going around the social networks, on many occasions after the recommendation of the midwife to some woman.
Apparently, as explained, starting the Actea Racemosa (Cimifuga) and Caulophyllum thalictroides, Not only you dilate better, but you have a better delivery.
Come on, those who recommend it say they have done very well. The question is: How do they know? How do you know that your dilation has been better thanks to having taken that? That's why today we talk about take homeopathy to help with dilation and childbirth (or how to give birth believing in magic).
What is the recommendation in this regard
It depends a little on who gives it to you, but some midwives suggest that both homeopathic preparations should start taken in the 36th week of pregnancy. To get a little more about it, I searched the internet for the name of these two products and found several pages that gave the recommendation. I keep two of those that appeared in the first place:
In Planning to be parents, in an entry dedicated to homeopathy for pregnancy and postpartum it can be read that for dilation and labor progress:
Also from the 37th week of pregnancy two homeopathic supplements can be taken Actaea Racemosa 9CH and Caulophyllum 9CH to try to promote dilation and softening of the cervix, so that labor can take place more easily and perhaps in a less time (...) During week 37 and 38 you have to take 5 granules of Actaea one hour before breakfast and 5 of Caullophyllum one hour before dinner. From week 39, 5 granules of each one will be taken one hour before breakfast, lunch and dinner. They can be taken together. When the day of delivery arrives, 5 granules of each should be taken every hour. They are very small balls, very sweet flavor and each container of 75 granules costs 4.95 euros.
In My magic bag, in an entry with the same theme, something similar is explained:
To suppress the fear of childbirth: ACTEA RACEMOSA 12 CH. A dose of 5 granules every week during the ninth month of pregnancy.
To have effective contractions and rapid delivery: CAULOPHYLLUM 12 CH. A dose of 5 granules every week during the ninth month of pregnancy.
Regarding the Caulophyllum you can see attached a study from the Cochrane Library in which it leaves clear doubts about its effectiveness, however it seems that once labor has started it can be enormously effective, so if you plan to move to maternity there Start the shot before going, as it accelerates the dilation of the cervix.
Why is it like believing in magic?
Well, because homeopathic treatments have not proven to be effective in any of the studies well done in this regard, or in any of the reviews of studies done by non-profit organizations. Cochrane, for example, is dedicated to that, and as they say in "My magic bag", has not shown that I do anything, and that is why I do not understand what comes next to say that "it can be enormously effective".
On the other page, the first one I've referred to, they only talk about price and taste, which is very sweet because Homeopathic balls are pressed sugar in the form of granules. No more no less.
On one of the pages they say it should be taken in a 9CH concentration, which is equivalent to a 5,000K homeopathic concentration. To make a 5,000K preparation you have to do the following:
You take 100 ml of the substance you want to prepare and put it in a glass. You throw it away, but don't clean the glass. Put in 100 ml of alcohol and remove it. You already have a 1K preparation. Now throw that alcohol and add 100 ml more, remove it, and you already have a 2K preparation. do the same 5,000 times And you have the preparation.
Believing that some of the substance is left in those balls is how to believe in magic, because it is impossible. You cannot rinse a glass 5000 times and have some left over.
On the other page they say it must be 12CH, this amounts to doing it thousands of times more (10CH equals 10,000K), so you put it worse.
"But ... I do believe that something must remain"
Let's say someone does believe that something is left. After spending more than 10,000 times alcohol in a glass, someone believes that there is something left at the beginning. Well then Health would have to do something, because medications during pregnancy can be dangerous and who knows what a preparation can do to the woman or the fetus.
In fact, Health already recommended a few years ago not to take Cimifuga (Actea Racemosa) in any case, for risk of liver injurywhile the plant Caulophyllum thalictroides have abortive power and therefore it is not recommended to take (nobody wants to give birth in week 36, being able to do it at term).
That is, if there is substance, don't take it, it's dangerous. And if there is no substance ... well, if there isn't, do what you want: well it won't do you, but neither will it.
So do the studies
If logic does not work, it only remains to go to the data, to science, to study reviews. Cochrane, as we have said, has reviewed a lot of studies on homeopathy and always comes to the same conclusion: nothing at all. In reference to childbirth, It already proved years ago that it doesn't help much for now:
There is not enough evidence to recommend the use of homeopathy as an induction method. The demand for complementary medicine is likely to continue and women continue to consult a homeopath during pregnancy. Although caulophyllum is a frequently used homeopathic treatment for induction of labor, the treatment strategy used in the only trial that evaluated this herb may not reflect systematic homeopathic practice. Rigorous evaluations of individualized homeopathic treatments are needed for induction of labor.
So in conclusion, every woman who does what she considers best. You can even do magic if you think that you will have a better birth with it, which you already say: the attitude towards childbirth is very important, and believing that it will be fine is much better than thinking otherwise.
But from there to that this really works there is a stretch, because works as a placebo. If you think it will be fine, it will help you. But if you don't believe it, it won't do you any good.
