Check the Herbstalk website for more information. Time TBD.

In traditional medical systems, the postpartum is considered an especially vulnerable period in a person’s life. The physical challenges of pregnancy and childbirth require a period of rest—often specified as 40 days of complete rest and support—to allow the body to recuperate. Beyond physical recuperation, it is the beginning of a new relationship between the birthing parent and their baby, and the baby’s family.

In contemporary dominant western culture, and especially in the United States, the postpartum period is disregarded; parents are often expected to return to work within a few weeks or sooner. Lack of support, inappropriate foods, and lack of awareness around the parent’s special physical, psychological, and emotional needs have made the postpartum a serious challenge for American families. Family, friends, and community members, doulas and other birthworkers, and practitioners of various healing modalities, provide invaluable support to families during this special time, and can help a parent and their baby get off to the best start, setting the tone for the months and years to come.

This class introduces the use of herbs as teas, in foods, and in other preparations, as a means to relieve common challenges of the postpartum period. I will distinguish between safe, general approaches, and specific treatments that require referral to a trained herbalist or other appropriate practitioner.

Cost is $50. This workshop is being offered as part of a DONA CEU weekend and this class is approved for 2 DONA CEU contact hours. For a complete list of classes offered, please see www.reliefparenting.com

Hi folks - my kiddo is sick and I need to do all the immune herbs at home. I will reschedule the class for those who registered. Please contact me if you’d like to be included.

Kids are in school/daycare, temperatures are dropping, and we're all running around trying to do too much, on too little sleep. Herbal medicine offers safe, convenient and inexpensive ways to boost the immune system for kids and parents alike. In this class we'll look at some of the big blows to our immunity, consider strategies to reduce our chances of picking up bugs, and explore ways to incorporate (pregnancy and lactation safe!) herbs to strengthen our immune systems, such as echinacea, elder berries, reishi and chaga mushrooms, ginger, and good old garlic. You'll go home with recipes for soups, teas, steams and more, and we'll brew up an elder berry syrup, so you can see for yourself how fun and easy it is to make your own herbal medicine!

The class is $30 per person, childcare is available and is an additional $5. To sign up, contact krystina@barakabirth.com.

The first three months of the postpartum is a wild ride: our bodies are recovering from pregnancy and birth, we’re feeding our babies, adapting to little sleep and just generally experiencing “the new normal” of having a baby, whether the first or fifth! Join midwife and herbalist Krystina Friedlander as we explore the “fourth trimester” drawing on traditional medicinal ways of understanding postpartum recovery, and herbs and foods that promote healing, rest, and recovery. These will include herbs to address healing tissues, food and herbs to balance hormones and lactation, herbs to comfort and calm, and more.

Herbal medicine offers an incredible array of safe, nutritive, and healing plants that help to nourish a healthy pregnancy and prepare for birth. These include nourishing, iron-rich tonics, herbs to support our digestion and elimination (goodbye constipation!), promote restful sleep, and many more, with a focus on neighborhood plants local to New England.

Please note, this event has been cancelled.

Whether we are planning a pregnancy or have struggles conceiving, we can turn to plant allies to prepare our bodies and to address obstacles to conception. In this workshop, midwife and herbalist Krystina Friedlander will explore her approaches to fertility and some of the key herbs and foods she uses with her clients. This information goes beyond preparing for conception, but is all about a healthy and well-nourished life, as well as a healthy pregnancy, smooth birth, and a strong recovery.

Whether we are planning a pregnancy or have struggles conceiving, we can turn to plant allies to prepare our bodies and to address obstacles to conception. In this workshop, midwife and herbalist Krystina Friedlander will explore her approaches to fertility and some of the key herbs and foods she uses with her clients. This information goes beyond preparing for conception, but is all about a healthy and well-nourished pregnancy, smooth birth, and a strong recovery.

This Herbal Intensive will explore the energetics of pregnancy, birth and the postpartum, and look at the companion herbs that support wellness during these periods. In addition to general tonics for the first through "fourth" trimesters, Krystina will look at specific pregnancy complications and variations that arise, such as hypertension, varicosities,  pregnancies that go beyond 41 weeks, breech positioning, and others, and offer herbal allies and nutritional recommendations to help keep things within the range of normal. This class is appropriate for midwives, doctors, doulas, and other birth professionals interested in enhancing their knowledge of traditional and alternative approaches to the childbearing year, as well as pregnant people who want to use herbal medicine in their pregnancies safely and wisely.