Thursday, November 6, 2008

Shepherd's Purse; the midwife's friend.

We have the most fantastic crop of Shepherd's Purse this year. It was just crying out to be harvested.

For anyone acting as mare midwife a supply of tincture made from fresh rather than dry
Shepherd's Purse is a must for the first aid kit. Shepherd's Purse; Latin name Capsella bursa-pastoris,
is a common pasture weed belonging to the cabbage family. It is not a commonly used herb because it really only has one specialist use..it stops bleeding, most particularly uterine bleeding, although it works on nose bleeds as well.

When we manufactured herbal extracts for human use we made a modest amount of fresh
Shepherd's Purse extract every year for our midwife clients. Now we just make it for ourselves.

Our big black alpha mare is due to foal in a few days and she has had bleeding problems in the past so we need
Shepherd's Purse extract on hand. A few years ago she had a fairly serious post partum haemorrhage. She was still bleeding in a steady stream 10 minutes after she finished foaling. We gave her 25 mL of Shepherd’s Purse every fifteen minutes. After two doses the bleeding had reduced significantly and was totally stopped after the third.

As far as I know there is no study to show this but traditionally it is thought best to use fresh plant extract made new every year. You may see some white mould on parts of it. Some herbalists believe it is better with the mould but we have found it just fine either way.

If you would like to know how to make it please contact me on jameshart500 at gmail.com It's really easy and worth the effort.