Evening Primrose Oil in Pregnancy & Birth
Have you heard you can use evening primrose oil for faster labor and delivery? Recent studies on evening primrose oil (EPO) have brought new information to the table for midwives, herbalists and mamas seeking to understand its safety and efficacy when used during the final stages of pregnancy. While many still have a high level of confidence for using EPO for their clients, relying on largely excellent anecdotal evidence, probably the number one reason for hesitancy in prescribing it is one study group’s troubling report in 1999 of association of EPO use with an increase in the incidence of prolonged rupture of membranes, oxytocin augmentation, arrest of descent and vacuum extraction. Let’s take a look at some of this, along with some background information. Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is an herb native to North and South America, and now widespread throughout Europe and parts of Asia, and is so named because its yellow blossoms open only in the evening. It is also known as
