My research, writing, and classification process is transparent and comprehensive. This article breaks it down.
Contents
How It Works
The database is currently set up as blog posts. Blog posts under the natural remedies category fall under this categorization. Each natural remedy in the database is classified into one of the four categories based on safety data: Safe, Caution, Avoid, and Unknown.
As an example, you may see the following information in a blog post on ginger:
Pregnancy Safety:
Safe
Labor Safety:
Caution
Breastfeeding Safety:
Safe
Natural remedies in the database include herbs, essential oils, medicinal foods, spices, medicinal mushrooms, vitamins, minerals, natural active ingredients, and multi-ingredient or other natural products.
Natural Remedies Classification
Safe
Human evidence suggests this remedy can be safely used in pregnancy, labor, or while breastfeeding.
Caution
No or limited human evidence. Anecdotal data on traditional or clinical use. This remedy should only be used under the direction of a qualified practitioner.
Avoid
Available evidence suggests this remedy may have adverse impacts on pregnancy, fetus, labor, or breastfeeding baby.
Unknown
No reference regarding the use of this remedy in pregnancy, labor, or while breastfeeding can be found. Animal and cellular studies may exist.
Herbal Doula’s Process to Understand and Evaluate the Science
1. Compiling References
✔ The primary references are studies indexed in PubMed, a highly respected database from the National Institutes of Health.
✔ I also check the Natural Medicines Database and the European Medicines Agency, both of which are trusted, professional and curated resources.
Additionally, I consult the following books to make sure I compile all relevant information on a remedy:
🌿 Herbal Medicines in Pregnancy & Lactation
🌿 Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health
… and sometimes others, which I determine for each remedy.
2. Assessing the Evidence
Next, I assess the strength of the evidence.
The level of evidence for each remedy (or intervention) depends on the relevance of the available studies for pregnant, laboring, or breastfeeding women.
The relevance for assessing safety in studies follows this order:
✔ Controlled studies in human pregnancy/labor/breastfeeding
❕ Non-controlled studies in human pregnancy/labor/breastfeeding
✘ Studies in animal pregnancy/labor/breastfeeding
✘ Cell-based or in vitro studies
Remedies classified as “Safe” have to be backed up by adequate controlled human studies.
Remedies classified under the “Caution” category should have some human data, either from non-controlled studies or from adequately documented information on a long history of safe human use. This may be traditional or clinical use. For this reason, remedies under the “caution” category should only be taken under the guidance of an experienced and knowledgeable practitioner.
If human and/or animal evidence suggests that a remedy may have adverse effects on the fetus, pregnancy, or baby, it is classified as “Avoid.”
If animal studies suggest adverse effects but subsequent human evidence demonstrates the safety of the remedy, it will be classified under the “Caution” category. The remedy will be re-classified as “Safe” only if large-scale clinical safety clinical data becomes available.
Animal, cell-based, and in-vitro studies are insufficient to assess safety in human pregnancy, labor, or breastfeeding. These studies are cited only to explain a certain mechanism, active ingredient, or to stress potential areas of future research. Remedies under this category are classified under the “Unknown” category.
All classifications refer to normal doses and proper use of the remedy. Dosage and formulation (e.g. raw herb, tea, essential oil, tincture, extract, standardized extract) will be specified whenever possible.
3. Acknowledging Cultural Significance
Posts go over any traditional use of the natural remedy in birth work by examining books and studies in medical anthropology, ethnobotany, and ethnopharmacology.
The philosophy behind Herbal Doula is that it’s important to understand the cultural significance of a certain natural remedy that may go beyond pharmacology and isolated active ingredients. The whole plant is considered greater than the sum of its parts. This information, however, is not considered valid to assess safety.
Disclaimer: Even if a remedy is classified as safe in Herbal Doula blog posts based on the existing evidence, that doesn’t mean it’s safe for YOU. Make sure to consult your care provider before taking any remedy.
The founder of Herbal Doula.
Home-birthing mama, independent scientist, natural pharmacist, doula, birthkeeper, and holistic health and birthrights advocate. Endlessly passionate about creating and sharing empowering health information and birth support. Ana has written 150+ and edited 800+ articles, some of which reached over 1 million people
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