Lisa Heeney - AromaBump: The Belly Bible for Aromatherapy in Pregnancy

AROMA
BUMP

The Belly Bible for Aromatherapy in Pregnancy

LISA HEENEY

AuthorHouse UK

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403 USA

www.authorhouse.co.uk

Phone: 0800.197.4150

2016 Lisa Heeney. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/07/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6263-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6264-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6262-2 (e)

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Contents

To my lovely husband John, who says Im a great one for the ideas.

I WAS FIRST introduced to essential oils in the year 2000 when I went for some reflexology treatments from a wonderful lady called Nancy Hynes, who was also an aromatherapist. I loved how I felt after receiving Nancys treatments, and she would often send me home with a little bottle filled with the remainder of the essential oil blend she had been using. The blends smelled gorgeous, and I found them to be extremely restorative and comforting. My only brother, Kevin, had died suddenly at the beginning of that same year and I was in a very low mental space as a result. Little did the lovely Nancy know that she would become a key influencer in what would later become an integral part of my life, and work.

In 2001 after completing my reflexology diploma (once again as a direct result of Nancys influence), I immediately started a diploma in Holistic Aromatherapy in the prestigious Tisserand Institute of Aromatherapy in London. Prior to the diploma starting, I had taken part in a magazine competition to win a scholarship for the aromatherapy diploma in Tisserand, which as fate would have it, a nun from my secondary school, Sr. Patricia, had brought to my attention (Thank you Sr. Patricia!). It turns out that I came second, so no scholarship was won. However, I felt so strongly about learning more about essential oils that I proceeded to apply for the course anyway and travelled from Dublin to London on a monthly basis for two years to attend the weekend seminars.

Having qualified as an aromatherapist, and despite not yet having children of my own at that time, I had a keen interest in working with pregnancy. I found it amazing and something to be celebrated and supported. I was building up a loyal clientele working as The Pregnancy Reflexologist, and I was also offering aromatherapy pregnancy massage. Many clients had begun to ask me for aromatherapy advice, in terms of which essential oils to use at home to help with certain discomforts they were experiencing.

In 2008 I was pregnant with my first child and I referred often to my list of essential oils with the aim of easing the normal aches and pains of pregnancy life. I used aromatherapy blends in the bath, in body oils, facial creams and in my trusty oil burner around my home, and I found that they helped me in so many aspects. Baby number 2 came along in 2010, and once again the essential oils played an important role in keeping me happy and healthy in my pregnancy.

Somewhere between having my second baby and being pregnant with my third, the idea about writing an aromatherapy book for pregnancy started to germinate in my head. I felt that essential oils had helped me so much in my own pregnancies that I would like to share that information with other pregnant women, so that they too could experience the benefits. I saw too on social media that there were many discussions regarding the use of essential oils in pregnancy and labour. I realised that there were many questions, and unfortunately, some of the answers, even though they may have been given in good faith, were not always correct, or safe. Here, I felt that I could put my knowledge of both aromatherapy and pregnancy to good use by compiling helpful information that women could use with confidence that would support them in their pregnancies, in labour and post-partum.

And so the plan to write AromaBump was put into action. Overall, the whole process has taken me four years to complete thats what having three children in the space of four and a half years did for my work productivity levels! Anyway, it is said that good things are worth the wait so here it is, and it comes down to this: My one wish for you is that you enjoy using this book and the aromatherapy blends that it contains, and that you and your baby carry wellness, both in your pregnancy, and once baby is born, wherever you go.

A SPECIAL THANKS for the love and support given to me by my wonderful husband, John, my family, my lovely wee mummy, and my fantastic parents-in-law, who are always there to dig me out of a hole, be it with child-minding, a flat tyre, or a leaky roof.

I would like to acknowledge the input of my best friend called Helen, whose support at the beginning of this project enabled me to get the ball rolling. I would also like to acknowledge the encouragement and direction given to me by my friend, coach and cheerleader, Cara, without whose help, I fear, this book would have taken even longer to complete!

I would also like to thank the very talented Bridget from Bammedia for designing my book cover she has been able to make superbly tangible that which was previously only in my head.

And finally, a special mention to my beautiful ladies who have come to me for reflexology and aromatherapy treatments - thank you for letting me share even a little part of your pregnancy experience, and for everything that I learn from you on a daily basis.

Thank you, and much love to you all!

PREGNANCY IS A very exciting time and if its your first time being pregnant, then absolutely everything is new. I know the feeling of wanting to know everything about everything, and how, suddenly, you feel that you want to consume all that is pregnancy related. One thing is for sure, being positively supported, and building your tool kit to feel happy and well in your pregnancy is fundamental. There are many ways to do this such as taking care of your physical health through proper nutrition, exercise and rest; and mentally, through the fabulous brain training for birth programmes that are currently available. Aromatherapy is another fantastic way of helping to look after your physical and mental health in pregnancy and this book, AromaBump, addresses how the proper use of essential oils can enhance a womans pregnancy throughout the three trimesters, in labour, as well as in the post-partum period.

In this book, you will find a practical guide to using, and benefiting from aromatherapy for pregnancy in an educated and safe way. You will be given details on 24 different essential oils and have access to dozens of exclusive aromatherapy blends for you to make and use at home. We will address 27 separate discomforts that are common in pregnancy and show how they can be improved using aromatherapy. Furthermore, we will also take a closer look at how your pregnancy skin can change, and how to treat skin conditions differently now that you are pregnant. Finally, we will learn how to ease any post-partum and breast-feeding discomforts that you may experience, using essential oils. I share with you how to blend essential oils correctly so that you are using the right amount, and profile beneficial carrier oils that you can use in your blends.