Mallow In Pregnancy: During pregnancy, remedies for common ailments are limited or avoided as much as possible. However, there is a true “friend” plant among plants and natural remedies: mallow. Let’s find out how we can use it in pregnancy, how to prepare the infusion, the decoction, and the macerate, and what properties and benefits the mallow brings.
During pregnancy, the woman is in a very special moment where everything changes, especially at the body and psycho-emotional levels. Many remedies cannot be taken for this transformation and for the formation of the fetus, even based on herbs and plants.
In the first 3 months of pregnancy, the mother and the future baby have to adapt to the new situation by establishing a new energy and body balance. The mother must be able to give the fetus all that is necessary to allow the development of all parts of her and suitable growth month by month.
Health remedies, even if natural, tend to be almost all to be excluded in the first 3 months of pregnancy; after the first three months, the ones most at risk, the balance is reached, and we enter more into the development and growth of the body, and it is possible to use some natural products.
Among these natural remedies, mallow is well known, which helps both mother and child with many ailments.
Use of mallow in pregnancy
After the first three months, it will be possible to use mallow in the form of herbal tea; in fact, the mallow infusion is indicated for many ailments that can arise during gestation.
First, the change in the body often leads to constipation, and herbal tea of mallow once or twice a day helps as a mild, mild laxative to soften the stool and mobilize intestinal peristalsis, and aid evacuation. Therefore, in the case of constipation or intestinal inflammation and even in the presence of mucus, the mallow infusion is excellent for helping intestinal emptying in a modulated way.
The urinary tract also benefits from mallow infusions, in particular in cases of cystitis or other inflammations of the genital system. Even the colitis of both the mother and the newborn can be helped with herbal mallow tea.
In case of cough and catarrh with the presence of irritation in the throat, the mallow infusion is extremely effective, and it is possible to take it even during pregnancy. For the mouth, rinses and gargles with herbal tea are very effective if there are canker sores, swollen gums, and inflammation.
Also useful for compressing the eyes when they are fatigued, tired and sore, or red and inflamed.
The external use of mallow can always be done with an infusion or decoction of flowers and leaves applied to the areas to be treated and left on for at least 15 minutes: the skin that has irritation, redness, small abrasions, and sores will be able to heal better, and the emollient and softening effect of mallow will bring the tissues back to healing. Also useful in case of hemorrhoids and irritations with itching.
Preparation of the herbal mallow tea
Mallow herbal tea can be prepared as an infusion or as a decoction depending on the needs.
Infusion of mallow
Ingredients
> 5 grams of dried mallow
> 100 ml of boiling water
Preparation: leave the dried mallow in immersion for at least 10 minutes. Then you can sweeten as you like, avoiding refined sugar and choosing molasses, honey, raw sugar, or cereal malt.
How to use: depending on the discomfort, usually drink from 1 to 3 cups a day. However, a lower dose is recommended for pregnant women.
Mallow decoction
Ingredients
> 5 grams of dried flowers
and leaves > 100 ml of water
Preparation: Prepare a macerate by leaving the dried flowers and leaves in water at room temperature for the whole night.
In the morning, we will find the extracted mucilages to boil for 10 minutes; then, turn off the heat and leave for another 10 minutes to soak.
How to use: use this macerate for all those ailments that we have indicated and which are typical of pregnancy.
Mallow and its properties
Malva silvestris is a common plant that we can find spontaneously in the garden. It blooms from spring to autumn, with 5-petalled, heart-shaped, pinkish flowers and purple streaks.
Easy to recognize and used since ancient times to soothe and soften the body, its name really means “soft.”
The flowers and leaves are collected and dried to prepare herbal teas and natural remedies such as mother tinctures, oils, and other herbal preparations used as needed.
The properties of mallow are anti-inflammatory and emollient for both internal and external use on the skin, tissues, and mucous membranes. On the gastrointestinal system, it is slightly laxative, and for this reason, it is widely used during pregnancy because constipation problems often occur.
Towards the respiratory system, it is expectorant, and mucus beak soothes and disinfects the throat tract when it is irritated and red.
Composition of mallow
The properties of mallow derive from active ingredients such as mucilage, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and tannins.
In particular, the mucilages are responsible for the properties of mallow, which produce a film that covers the tissues, skin, or mucous membranes and allows healing and scarring; in contact with the epidermis, it acts as a natural plaster and protects against any external attacks, while helping to reform damaged tissues from the inside.
The film created by the mucilage, in contact with water, also allows better intestinal hydration, thus improving evacuation, carrying mucus and waste substances with it. The mucilage is also useful for soothing any micronucleus and lesions of the gastrointestinal tract.
The presence of the other active ingredients comes into synergy to assist the effect of mallow: tannins, for example, are astringent, a useful property for healing wounds, while anthocyanins and flavonoids are antioxidants and have anti-aging properties for all cells and in particular, they fight and reduce free radicals present in the body.
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