Fertility Essential Oils: Rose

Stephanie Fritz, licensed midwife and certified professional midwife, shares with us in her book several essential oils to help with PCOS, unexplained infertility, endometriosis, low ovarian reserve, male factor infertility, and repeat miscarriage. She also talks about a recommended blend of oils that will provide additional support for fertility issues in the form of an abdominal rub. (The recipe can be found here.) Over this blog series I am going to give you a general overview of each of the oils in this wonderful combination and their benefits.

Today we are discussing Rose.

Rose Otto oil is extracted from the fresh flowers, picked before 8 am in the morning, by steam distillation and the yield is only 0.02 -0.05 %. The heat used in the distillation process is carefully controlled, as the aroma can be damaged if the heat is too high. It takes about 60,000 roses to make one ounce of rose otto essential oil … or to bring it on home – just under 5 dozen roses for a single drop!

Although this essential oil may not be found in homes as often as Lavender oil (partly due to the price tag), in the opinion of many, it is one of the best all-purpose oils to have around! Rose is known as the ‘Queen’ of flowers and of the essential oils. Looking back through history you can find that this essential oil was first extracted in the 16th century and highly prized for its healing properties. It not only fights depression, grief, anger and fear, but looks after your heart and digestive system, while being the most wonderful remedy for female problems and one of the best oils to use on the skin.

What are some direct benefits of this herb for fertility related issues?

Rose Otto is a uterine tonic – which means it aids in toning and regulating the reproductive system, as well as strengthening the uterus. This enhances the ability of the uterus to not only accept the embryo, but to hold onto the pregnancy.

This essential oil is also classified as a mucolytic. In the instance of thick/infertile cervical mucus that is impeding the movement of sperm through the cervix, essential oils with mucolytic properties help to thin the cervical mucus and promote healthy vaginal secretions.

Rose has emmenagogue actions which can help to regulate menstruation and treat amenorrhea.

It also has direct therapeutic benefits on natural endocrine processes for hormone balance. When lack of ovulation is caused by stress or trauma this oil can be an extremely effective overall mind/body tonic. (This EO can be very helpful for woman with postpartum depression, menopausal symptoms or PMS.)

It is also a gentle aphrodisiac as the oil stimulates the senses and hormones responsible for sexual feelings, which in turn results in an increased sex drive.

A few words of caution:

Rose Otto oil is non-toxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing, but due to its emmenagogue actions should not be used during pregnancy.

When shopping for Rose essential oil, scientific name Rosa damascena, there are different types of rose oils available – each will vary slightly in scent, consistency and/or price. The most highly regarded (and unfortunately most expensive) rose oil you can buy is called Rose Otto (Bulgarian). The least is Rose Absolute – this oil is extracted using a solvent and thus probably not the best choice to use on your skin. Other steam distilled alternatives you may be able to find that are less expensive than Otto (Bulgarian), are Rose Otto (Persian) or Rose Otto (Turkish).

Sarah Clark empowers couples to discover how lifestyle and diet can dramatically impact their chances of conceiving. She was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure at 28 and had both her kids with donor eggs. Not until years later did she discover that the root cause of her infertility was a food intolerance. Join the Free Fab Fertile Support Group on Facebook for mini-challenges, motivation and inspiration!

References:

http://www.probotanic.com/pdf_istrazivanja/ulje_fenela/Uloga fitoestrogena i etericnih ulja (ulja fenela) na balansiranje nivoa estrogena u organizmu.pdf