Lack of progress, or failure to progress, can be very frustrating for laboring women. In my experience with homebirths, a malpresenting head and/or a stubborn cervix constitute the main reasons for transfer to hospital in the early stages of labor.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Midwifery Today, Issue 128, Winter 2018.Join Midwifery Today Online Membership Birth Bag Helpers I have an Arnica 10M I made, which will melt a stubborn anterior lip like butter! I also carry a couple of homeopathics in liquid form, which I tend to think work more quickly. A half teaspoon of baking soda, given every hour to hour and a half, for a tired uterus works like a charm. It works even better if given in Drip Drops oral hydration solution (available at drug stores). I also give a little bottle of Intimate Solutions Peri Cleanse for every mom’s peri bottle—it heals things so fast!—Kristine Tawater I use cramp bark for afterpains, Rescue Remedy for a mom who has been working really hard and getting tired. Skull cap tincture helps if a mom needs to take the edge off her pain and is having an extremely hard time relaxing. Clary sage oil will stimulate a start-stop labor. Shepherd’s purse and motherwort, if needed, help for postpartum bleeding. Peppermint oil is great for energy when it comes time to push and to encourage first void after birth.—Nubia Earth Martin After Ease, Rescue Remedy, honey sticks, blue and black cohosh tincture.—Martha Whitcher I love Angelica for placental release! Rebozo for sure, clary sage, homeopathic kit, and liquid antimonium tart for those wet babies are all important in a birth bag.—Amy Elizabeth Yunnan Paiyao and More One-third vial of Yunnan Paiyao in warm water stops bleeding almost immediately.—Jeni Rector I’ve dumped Yunnan Paiyao powder onto a torn vaginal blood vessel and it stopped bleeding very quickly. I could see the vessel pumping, but it receded to where I couldn’t get a clamp on it.—Sunshine Tomlin Yunnan Paiyao for postpartum hemorrhage, as well as essential oils (EOs):… Read more…. Tricks of the Trade – Issue 128