I try to use natural toiletries wherever possible, and drink herbal teas/infusions. There is a lot of scaremongering out there about which if any of these are safe or unsafe during pregnancy.
Last pregnancy I ate ginger biscuits to combat nausea. This time I would prefer a healthier alternative of ginger tea. I drank chamomile tea to replace 'normal' tea but found NHS medical research now suggests to avoid until further research done (when?),
I want to find hot drinks I can drink to feel better that I won't be panicking whether they are harming me or baby.
I want to continue using natural toiletries and cosmetics as I believe they are better for my skin, but I don't want to use products with ingredients that could harm my unborn baby.
I would love it if there was nationally approved medical advice on these matters.
Can anyone help with sources of credible advice or research? Most articles you read are from individuals with little expertise, or are so ambiguous they leave you more confused, or as I suspect the end result will be, admit that as no one wants to experiment on pregnant women, nobody can confirm until they have reports of things going wrong for individuals and investigate possible root causes.
You could say give it all up just for pregnancy, but what are the alternatives? What should you use to combat nausea, I have to try to battle it as my young daughter won't look after herself while mummy curls up in a ball each morning! I have to wash myself, so if natural products are bad and contact with chemicals are not recommended (remember that overly scary report they issued on household products) what is the answer? Probably that it is up to us, but we are not professionals or experts so we need someone to help advise. I want to do what is best but it seems there is no way to know what that is.