Homeopathy for Pregnancy, Bith, and Your Baby's First Year

I loved reading this book, and I'm so glad I couldn't find it through the library so that I have my own copy to keep. Miranda Castro, the author, is a homeopath who has worked extensively with women and children, including herself and her own, and her purpose in this book is to empower people to prescribe homeopathic treatments for non-critical conditions for themselves and their family members.

I learned a lot I didn't know about homeopathy. I've always been told, "well, there's nothing really in homeopathic remedies, so try it - it can't hurt you and it might help." And I've read the indications on the remedy bottles and guessed at something that might be appropriate. And sometimes, it's helped. Castro explains that in fact, using the right remedy for too long, or using the wrong remedy, CAN cause or exacerbate the symptoms you are trying to treat or other symptoms; that you should not take most remedies for more than a few days or doses at a time; that it is usually not a good idea to combine multiple remedies; and that a dose is a dose - it doesn't matter if you take 3 of those little granules or 5 of them.

She also explains in detail how to choose a remedy - when you have lots of time, or on the fly in an emergent (though not emergency) situation. The book includes a "materia medica" list of a wide variety of homeopathic remedies and what they are good for to help you in this task, something I've not encountered before. Although this sounds like it would be boring, it was actually pretty interesting reading, since each remedy is linked to certain emotional and character traits. I read it "looking" for myself and other family members - and I found us!

Today I looked up a remedy in this book for a doula client facing an induction next week. (This was simple as there is only one suggested remedy for labor not starting in a timely fashion.) I didn't prescribe it, of course - I think I'd need some formal training of some sort to feel at all comfortable prescribing even relatively benign homeopathic treatments to anyone outside of my immediate family - but I did share the information with my client. I have no idea if she'll use it - but I'm sure I'll use this book again with clients and for myself and my family.