MOTHERWORT

Motherwort is calm, a dear friend to the women of this earthly world - from early maidenhood through motherhood and on to the later years of wise matriarch and crone. But she has wonderful medicine for all creatures who are seeking relief from anxiety, sleeplessness, pain, and issues with the heart.

MOTHERWORT TINCTURE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

• Freshly harvested motherwort in bloom - all aerial parts

• 80 proof or higher liquor (vodka recommended)

I make the tincture of motherwort with all the aerial parts of the plant when it is in bloom (stem, leaf, flowers). Cut just above a set of leaves, leaving at least six inches of stem and you might get another cutting later in the season. Put in a jar and cover with vodka, making sure that all of the plant material is submerged. 

This year I am also making a honey for my daughter and an elixir, half bourbon and half honey, for new mamas finding their way into motherhood and breastfeeding. It is an extremely bitter herb, so hoping the honey helps. Motherwort oil is also a great medicine to have on hand. But if I could only make one medicine, it would be the straight vodka tincture. (see short film below to see oil making)

OVERVIEW

When I first visited my midwife some years ago, I admired the beautiful motherwort growing all around the great locust tree in her front yard. I asked if I might cut a few stems. She handed me a shovel and a bucket and invited me to take some plants home to transplant to my own yard. I was nearly halfway through my first pregnancy at the time and had decided to transfer from my regular Ob-Gyn and a hospital birth to a midwife for a homebirth. This was my first activity with my new midwife and my introduction to what homebirth might feel like… kind, inviting, healing, and very hard work.

A small dose of the tincture - five or ten drops - can greatly relieve the anxiety and short nerves that accompany PMS, as the hormones shift. I used her just yesterday after a night of poor sleep, when my progesterone was plummeting, my nerves were a wee shaky, and everyone needed breakfast IMMEDIATELY. However, a small aside, I will say that herbal remedies never replace the need for good food. That motherwort was much more helpful after I had my breakfast and the children were fed.  

In the early weeks of nursing a new baby, motherwort tincture can help ease tension caused by those shifting hormones and exhaustion. If taken about 20 minutes before nursing, that calm can be passed on to the nursing babe.

My midwife gave me motherwort during labor to encourage contractions and I took it along with a double dropper of skullcap tincture. My first child took three days to arrive and the motherwort-skullcap combo helped send me into a dreamlike state as I had painful but smaller contractions all night long. 

After birth, I took motherwort to help ease the pain of afterbirth uterine contractions.

It is a good herbal ally for pain, such as backpain or pain from other injuries, and also emotional pain, such as from a lover’s quarrel. I once had back pain for months after putting out my back during a stressful, emotional time in my life. Months later - in the fall - I was sitting with a stand of motherwort friends and got the message to make an oil for massaging into the back. These were plants that had been mowed down and had come back, fresh and dark green, but not flowering again. I made the oil and it worked wonders on my back, easing the pain. 

If I am not personally going through a painful situation, I usually get two vivid images when sitting with motherwort. One is of a screaming baby in arms, who calms when the mother takes motherwort and sends the medicine through her breast milk. The other image is of an older hysterical woman, I imagine in menopause, who just can’t get ahold of her emotions and nerves. Motherwort can empower in these times of struggle. 

I keep motherwort on hand for my friends and family, many of whom swear by it. However, I do not take it nor share it as freely as I once did. I have recently come to learn that motherwort is not recommended for daily longterm use by those who have endometriosis, cysts, and fibroids as it increases vascularization, sending more blood down that way. (If you do get cysts, regular use of chickweed is recommended.)

WHERE TO FORAGE & WHEN TO HARVEST

I find motherwort along old walking trails, river banks in public parks, and beside parking lots - not all great places to harvest! My favorite patch grows along an old rail trail and it seems to be multiplying. I often find her with mugwort and nettle - more great allies for all stages of womanhood. Last year I transplanted a few of the plants that are now doing quite well on my own land. Here she seems to thrive under the white pine trees in soil that the blueberries also love. 

I often harvest motherwort for tincture on the summer solstice, when she first comes into bloom. This year she bloomed much earlier, so we had an earlier harvest. Though I am still making medicine from her now and it is early July.

I don't know if you can buy dried motherwort, but I only make the tincture from fresh plant. If you don't have access to the fresh plant, Reverance Botanicals, Red Moon Herbs, and Catskill Mountain Herbs all have a lovely motherwort tincture that is made in small batches with great care.

CULTIVATION

I grow motherwort and also have plants that came with the land. Motherwort seems to be happy as a transplant. I once dug up a very sad little stem in the middle of winter. I put her in a big pot, indoors, and loved her dearly. She grew and grew and grew and became a 3 foot shrub in a pot.

Motherwort is featured in Chapter 13: Copperman.

*Disclaimer*

This material is intended for educational purposes only. This recipe does not provide specific dosage information, format recommendations, toxicity levels, or possible interactions with prescription drugs. Accordingly, this information should be used only under the direct supervision of a qualified health practitioner.