first published in the magazine "Paracelsus" 6/2010 (side 44-48) Deutsch Español

The Flower Babies

Flower essences are known as effective aid when one has psychological problems. Now a study in cooperation with about hundred midwives shows that they are also equally helpful for mother and child during the turbulent phase of pregnancy and birth.

Von Ulrich Arndt

The “flower babies” have an open look and establish contact more actively, they are attentive, awake and alert. The birthing process is more relaxed and complications occur less frequently. Experienced midwives report consistently about these astonishing observations. They have used specially chosen flower essences during birth preparation and obstetrics during the course of a three year research project. “With the help of the flower essences I experienced the birth of my third child less painful, more relaxed and most of all more consciously.” – “My psychological ‘ups and downs’ during pregnancy were significantly reduced when I received the proper flower essences from my midwife.” – “I don’t know whether it was due to the flowers or my imagination when I took them. It’s a fact that I felt much better with them.” Hundreds of pregnant women reported in concluding interviews of the study about the beneficial influence of the “flower forces” in a similar way.
Many people daily use the harmonizing effect of liquid flower energies – at the latest since the boom of these essences in 1995. The present research shows that in the very often emotionally and psychologically turbulent time of pregnancy the essences can serve as true “soul healers” (by the way – also the now and then stressed expectant fathers, even though this was not the topic of the research project).
“Women who prepared themselves for the child birth with the help of flower essences report of a stronger self esteem and self confidence and consequently of less difficult pregnancies and easier births”, Dirk Albrodt, healing practitioner and expert on flower essences, sums up. As head of the research supported by the “Training Institute for Midwives STIP” in Moosburg he trained about a hundred midwives in four cities of Baden-Württemberg, in Bremen and Darmstadt in the use of flower essences. Their experiences as well as the interviews with the women during pregnancy and after birth were evaluated for the study. A short time ago Albrodt’s training concept of the flower therapy for pregnant women was officially recognized in Austria according to the local midwife law. In Germany mainly birthing centres use his essences so far.
For the study the flower specialist altogether chose 20 essences, amongst them dandelion, pomegranate, jewelweed, silvery yarrow and willow-herb. For example, dandelion helps to relax muscle tension as well as to become aware of inner impulses and how to handle them. Pomegranate contributes in accepting the female side of the personality and to live it. In addition it is helpful during identity crises in women as well as in men. On the other hand silvery yarrow gives protection and security even during adverse circumstances, protects against stress and helps during times of change.

When tensions are released the birth is easier

About 90% of pregnant women are positively responsive to the use of flower essences”, the healing practitioner reports from the results of the study. Strong first reactions were rare exceptions and in no case the essences given had to be stopped on account of this.
This way the mothers were helped to a generally more positive experience of the pregnancy by the help of the flower essences. The reason for this is that the “energy drops” can interrupt and “change” the typical causes – often subconscious states of fear that cause muscle tension and energetic blockades as well as resulting pains (a correlation being described in many physical therapies). When such tension is released then “the road is free” for the unborn and the birth process happens more gently.
The natural process of pregnancy and birth is a typical range of application of the flower energies because it “enfolds a threshold where there is no more well being but manifested diseases are not yet present”, the initiator of the study says.
Already since Dr. Edward Bach’s development of the first flower essences which are named after him one already knows that negative experienced emotional conditions can be influenced positively. “Nevertheless Dr. Bach’s recommendations cannot be transferred easily to the very special psychological state during pregnancy because the area of sexuality was totally ignored then”, Albrodt says. The flower expert therefore created a special selection of essences (“Horus essences”) for this field. Amongst them there are no exotic variants from distant countries but only extracts from local plants indigenous to middle Europe and with this those energies that “correspond to the living environment of the users.” In practice mainly the five essences mentioned earlier as well as a special ready mixture called “Flower Aid” were used (in more than half of all applications).

Individual selection through special test methods

Besides emotional fluctuations one regularly gets typical physical problems, for example, water retention. Though they cannot be influenced directly by flower essences they seem to be connected to certain psychological problems. The experiences of the three-year study namely show that through application of pear and apple essence not only the corresponding ‘blockades’ of the soul start flowing but also water retention in the body is reduced. It was also possible to get important practical knowledge about various forms of applying the flowers – taking, rubbing in, compresses or the like.

During pregnancy flower essences can serve as effective “soul healers”

So far it has been a problem to spontaneously select an individual correct energetic flower support directly during the birthing phase because mostly neither midwifes nor pregnant women are relaxed enough in this situation. For this and similar stress situations the so called time-line procedure was successfully tested, a test method closely related to NLP.
Based on the assumption that the future birth situation is already subconsciously there the pregnant woman is lead to the inner imagination of the birth on her “personal time line” with the help of NLP.
From her description of the situation the midwife gets hints to possible flower essences. The effect of the remedy on the expectant mother is immediately tested. If one drop of the essence changes the imagination in a positive way then the correct “birthing essence” is found.
In addition to this there are a number of certain flower remedies that were beneficial during the birthing phase, for example: pomegranate and impatiens to start labour pains, pear to accelerate as well as impatiens and pear to delay labour pains. In case of breech presentation of the child the essences of apple, bougainvillea, common selfheal or impatiens can be successfully used. In case of problems with nursing and inflammation of the breast the flower forces of quince, rosemary, pear or bougainvillea help.
Not only the months of pregnancy and the hours before birth may cause problems. Many brand new parents also experience sleepless nights during the first months of the baby. The main reason are digestive problems (so-called three months colics) which are caused by adaptive difficulties concerning the intake of food. The little ones are tortured by too much air in their still untrained digestive systems. Also these problems can be reduced by flower essences as midwives report, for example, baby cream with grape seed oil, energized water and the flower essences of jewelweed, common selfheal, holly and silvery yarrow which you rub in into the belly of the baby. In addition the cream strengthens its defences and the psychic protection. (Who does not wish to produce this cream himself may ask the author for further information.)
During further research and case evaluations accompanying the study Dirk Albrodt and the co-director of the research project, Brigitte Glowsky, trained midwife, discovered further surprising possibilities of the application of Bach remedies in the area of birth and fertility: “The intake of the essence of pomegranate brought encouraging results in cases of unwanted childlessness without provable physical causes”, Albrodt says cautiously. He emphasizes that they do no want to raise exaggerated hopes for the number of users is still too small so far to be able to come to a final conclusion. But it is astonishing that at least in “a dozen cases a pregnancy followed after the first four weeks of intake.”

Development of personality and consciousness

Perhaps it is not a coincidence that especially the pomegranate was known in ancient Egypt as a fertility symbol and also in Central Asia and with the natives of South America it is connected with fertility associations and rites. In general flower therapy the pomegranate essence is used to “strengthen the inner archetype of the female – the Anima - as C.G. Jung called it, or the Yin as Asian culture interprets it”, the flower specialist explains. The effect on men is to accept and develop their female aspect in order to understand their own wives better.
Basically his Horus Essences are generally less attuned to emotional mental states but their main effect is aimed at the development of the personality and inner archetypes as well as the encouragement of cognitive processes. Albrodt says: “Only then does one use the exceptional forces of the flowers in their entire depth. Thus they ease the access and entrance into the dimension of consciousness.”

Nine flowers for all life situations

The alchemistic spagyric system of RUBEDO flower essences is a new flower system developed after flower research. Here only nine flowers are needed to accompany all situations of life: referred to the nine chakras all emergencies are put into their corresponding fields. Thus the pear essence is logically the main essence during pregnancy and birth preparation which corresponds to the second chakra. It is permanently used preventatively by women and men – for preparing the conception and during pregnancy respectively.

During concrete problems the other essences can be used in addition. From ancient times well known medicinal plants such as comfrey and St. John’s wort belong to the nine flower essences of the alchemistic healing system as well as seemingly insignificant medical plants such as field bindweed, anemone and red campion. They all supposedly have a high “soul energy” and correspond exactly to the nine archetypical basic topics of humans. From ancient times these nine soul topics are known to us as archetypical planet qualities from the sagas of the Gods, for each planetary God starting with the Sun God and Moon Goddess as well as the war God Mars up to the messenger of the gods Mercury is a symbol for a basic soul topic. Concerning for example courage, activity and body’s defences these are the characteristics of Mars which can be found in harmonic form in St. John’s wort. Care, growth, reflection and self-discovery on the other hand belong to the moon archetype and are ideally “incorporated” in the pear.