Midwifery Today Community

Okay, just wanted to do a quick survey and see if any other midwives have used ganja infused coconut oil during crowning and birth of baby?  It was a first for me but it was really nice.

I asked mama for her oil to do some yoni lubrication and she pointed me to this oil her cousin made for her.  It smelled skunky sweet and went on beautifully.  No tearing at all.  Mama used it for baby's bottom and easier mec removal in the first couple days as well.  Mama said the herbal benefit is relaxation.  I have a little for massage now too!!

I've learned there are still new things to try in life.

 Haven't used the oil, but the tincture is amazing for relaxing a mom and increasing sluggish contractions.

I have the tincture and I had no idea to use it for slugish contractions.  I will keep that in mind.

I love the tincture for nausea.

What are the effects of the tincture on the baby?

 They nurse reeeeeeeaaaalllly well!

Joking, I haven't noticed any difference with the babies. that said, I don't carry it to births but I have attended some ladies who have it on hand and used it as needed.

wow, I've never heard of that! any one have any non-anecdotal resources about it? How does the tincture work with stimulating sluggish ctx? I would have thought it would be more of a relaxant.

Also; how do you make it? I'm guessing that's not something you could buy at the local drugstore *giggle*

 Probably a stupid question: does it have THC in it?

I don't honestly know WHY it works, but it (ganja) has been used in India for centuries as an aid to stimulate contractions. Here's a little article about the medicinal use of ganja http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/cannabis.html

In Jamaica, just about every household, even the most conservative, has a jar of ganja tincture tucked away somewhere, we used it for everything from upset stomach, teething or colicky babies, painful periods, headaches, cold and flu symptoms, fevers, labour analgesic, uterine contraction stimulant, you name it! We can thank our East Indian population for adding this contribution to our home remedy reportoire!

To make, it's typically 1 part ganja to 4 parts alcohol, we used overproof white rum, 110 proof. Put the clean, dry ganja is the bottom of a jar and fill to the brim with overproof white rum. (any alcohol will work, as long as it's over 70 proof) cover tightly and keep in a cool, dark place. It takes about a month, but it will turn a rich, dark green. When you make it specifically for women's complaints, you make it on the new moon, keeping it in the dark during the day and setting it in a window to absorb the moon's energy at night. It's ready at the next new moon. Add 10-30 drops to a cup of hot tea, depending on the strength of the ganja used. We usually don't use high grade for this, only the simple "bush" weed. You also want to make sure it was naturally and non-chemically grown, no hydro, no fertilizers.  

I'm pretty sure it contans THC!

And so would the THC be able to cross to the baby?  These feel like such daft questions!  LOL.

I did not know about the contraction stimulation from the herb, but it's use as a nausea prohibitive is well documented.

Mothering magazine did a couple great articles about it's use in pregnancy a few years back.

Here's the links.

http://mothering.com/use-marijuana-during-pregnancy

http://www.mothering.com/medical-marijuana-surprising-solution-severe-morning-sickness

As Collen directed is how I make the tincture.  Also some mama's will eat it (if they can eat) to get the benefit but the tincture is so easy.

 There's only been one really good study done on ganja use in pregnancy

http://www.druglibrary.org/SCHAFFER/hemp/medical/can-babies.htm

and it found that the babies of mothers who used ganja (and nothing else) actually did better than the non-exposed babies.

Hale reports that marijuana readily crosses the blood brain barrier (duh!) and that would be my concern.  I also wonder about the site cited above as I continually got pop ups for things like "join forces to legalize marijuana" and similar requests.  The conclusions by the journal Pediatrics did not attribute the "did better babies" to marijuana but to the social conditions the babies were born into, although I do realize that Pediatrics is not going to come out with a statement that mothers should smoke/use during pregnancy.  I just wonder if this should be considered a "good study" or not. ??  Anyone? (I realize we're veering from the original discussion so let me know if y'all want to start another discussion and I'll move things.)

This study says that

The neonates of heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers.

It also talks about how the babies of heavy users had fewer startles and better "self-regulation".  Does that mean emotional self-regulation?  i.e. not crying?  I do not think it is normal for a 3 week old human to be self-regulating, in fact i don't believe they ARE self-regulating any more than a baby left to CIO is self-regulating when they finally learn to fall asleep without bothering to cry for company/comfort first.  They are simply mellow-seeming due to being drugged.

Surely those babies were being BFed by mama's who were smoking the stuff every day still?  So those were drugged babies?  No?  There seems to be no controlling for this, BFing is not mentioned.  Nor is the quatity or quality of the drug taken (beyond x number of cigarettes a day - not grams of substanceor strength of substance).  For me this is not a good study.

I am deeply suspicious of the idea that a drug (ANY drug) can "promote neonatal development" in normal babies. 

I know that a lot of my reaction stems from my work with drug users and their children, many of whom gave their own drugs of choice to their tiny babies to make them "more rewarding for caregivers".

I know this is getting off topic but.... smoking daily for recreational use is way different than using the herb for medicinal purpose. Strictly using that criteria, ganja is a beneficial plant.  There is a difference to baby when mama uses herb for morning sickness then when mama smokes for pleasure.   I don't think ANY real study would refute the medicinal benefit of ganja.  Especially when herb is in a tincture form.

I just wanted to go record here that I don't condone recreational use of ganja for mama's at all but if it helps the severe cases of hyperemisis then I am all for it.  When a mama can not eat, her baby really suffers. 

Ganja infused coconut oil used on a pernium at birth or on a baby's bottom has no more risk to baby then 'calendula' infused oil.

I see a lot of recreational use of ganja here in my area, I personally haven't imbued for more than 25 years and I don't support a mama who uses it during pregnancy unless it is for nausea.  

So just help me out here:  How does a baby's brain (or anyone's brain for that matter) distinguish between "medicinal" and "recreational"? (My original question was regarding the tincture and not the oil. Just wanted to clarify that one.)