I’ve had a few requests from people asking about matridonial remedies as they are so universally helpful, so first, what are they?

Basically they are remedies made from substances found only in pregnant or new mothers, or, put it more poetically they are ‘gifts from the mother’. Believe me, if you’ve been prescribed one that’s been helpful you will appreciate just what a gift they are. The ones we commonly use are:

1. Placenta
2. Amniotic Fluid
3. Vernix
4. Umbilical cord
5. Lac-humanum and Lac-maternum (mother’s milk)

Melissa Assilem and Linda Gwillim are perhaps most knowledgeable about these remedies, having conducted provings, lectured widely, and written books and articles all about matridonial remedies. I can’t profess to be nearly as experienced as them but I do have some great knowledge about these amazing remedies – a lot of it gained from them – and some of my own lovely anecdotes from using them successfully.

The Placenta is a pretty amazing organ, it separates your blood supply from your baby’s whilst providing a link between you both. It is connected to your baby’s umbilical cord which enables oxygen, nutrients and even antibodies to nourish your unborn baby as well as carrying waste products from the baby into the placenta and then into your bloodstream so that your body can dispose of them. In utero the baby lives inside a bag of amniotic fluid which has been found within the first 12 days after conception, and of course is needed right up until birth as it surrounds and protects the growing baby during the whole pregnancy. During the last 3 months of pregnancy the baby is covered in vernix which protects their skin from the amniotic fluid, keeping it warm and moisturised. You can see some of the features of these substances coming out in the remedies.

There are common themes indicating a matridonial remedy, issues with identity, numbness and dissatisfaction. Often patients needing one of these remedies speak in very old fashioned terms and talk about life as a journey. You could also consider one of these remedies when there’s a difficult birth history or ailments since childbirth. Placenta is the main remedy to understand, then you can differentiate between the others – a little like thinking of Lachesis and then narrowing it down to see if another snake may actually be a closer fit.

Placenta:

Randomly, before the proving all the male provers dropped out of this proving and as nobody knew what substance they were proving this was surely meaningful. However, it doesn’t mean that a man could not benefit from the remedy – after all placenta is a substance all humanity have had some experience of. 40C was used in the proving, which was intuitive by Linda who said years afterward that she had never used a different potency. (This relates of course to the 40 week gestation of pregnancy). I found most interesting in Placenta the themes of personal growth, or of your journey unfolding, and identity and purpose. These themes can easily be linked to the actual substance of course – something we homeopaths call ‘the signature’ and it is to be found in every remedy, although some we don’t yet understand. As well as those themes there’s a certain disconnection present here – seen in relationships or to the world itself. I’ve seen it benefit people who are really sensitive to certain foods – too sensitive to eat junk food or processed ingredients. Pregnancy, infertility and motherly love are also themes, and clinically it can be a great remedy for infertility, painful periods, eating disorders and a retained placenta. I also gave it to one lady who felt very disconnected from everyone, she hadn’t ever had children and felt she didn’t fit. Her child bearing days were over, I would love to have had the opportunity to give her the remedy earlier in her life to see if it would have helped her conceive – but, now in her 50’s it improved her emotional health and headaches enormously.

Amniotic-fluid:

There is a lot of grief in this remedy, senses are heightened and you would look for a water or safety theme somewhere. Clinical uses include helping where there is too much or too little amniotic fluid during pregnancy – one dose and its fixed!  Also it is excellent to help newborn colic and for assisting in a peaceful death.

Vernix (Vernix-casosa):

Understandably we see themes of vulnerability and a lack of protection. There is a definite over sensitivity and anxiety, and this remedy can be indicated if there is a lack of understanding between reality and fantasy, an inability to shield out what is theirs and what is not, or what is truth and what is not. Clinically consider this if a baby is born with very little vernix and is suffering, especially with skin conditions which it has a big affinity with.

Umbilical cord (Omphalus):

“Cutting the cord” – a phrase I’ve heard a few times and makes me prick up my ears and follow up to see if this is indicated. There’s a feeling of hurt, of being wounded unintentionally in this remedy with some quite violent dreams. Confusion of identity, connection and disconnection, and old issues being resolved are other indications.  Melissa Assilem tells us that the very core of this remedy is ‘about innocence lost and innocence found’.

Lac-humanum:

This is a remedy all about nurturing and shares many of the other milk themes such as isolation and detachment. There is a sense of individual identity and of group identity which sets it apart from the other lacs as this is a human trait – a conflict between doing something to develop yourself, or doing it for others. It is very good for many female problems, especially menstrual and emotional ones, the repertory even shows, ‘ailments from childlessness’.

If you would like to discuss how homeopathy can help you, please give me a call on 07725 520476