Santosha Birth & Wellness Review

             Hey folks! I'm excited to share this business with you today that provides both great products and services (especially if you live in the Saint Paul, Minnesota area)! Santosha Birth and Wellness strives to provide services and natural products for women in the “childbearing season of life” that oftentimes go unmet, such as flower essences for mental and emotional wellness, herbal concoctions such as pregnancy tea and healing bath herbs for after birth, and even placenta preparation for locals.

             Jaime Fleres, the founder of Santosha Birth and Wellness, was kind enough to let me ask a few questions for my own curiosity and so you can learn more about her and the company!

1. What inspired you to combine many of your passions to form Santosha Birth and Wellness?
   
   The simple answer is being pregnant with and birthing my daughter really inspired me to launch this business. I have always been passionate about women's health and wellness on all levels. Enjoying the resources available to me during my childbearing journey, and noticing where I could have used more support, was part of my inspiration. Another part was wanting to share with others resources that can support an empowering and deeply nourishing experience of childbearing. I believe that the journey into motherhood offers us a tremendous opportunity to learn and grow, to be supported by others (including nature), and to go within. I think flower essences are an amazing ally for the childbearing season on the deeper levels of the experience that aren't always acknowledged but that are so, so important to our lives as women. I think our herbal allies can offer so much support through this season of our lives, support which many of us do not know is available to us. I wanted to make traditional and natural healing wisdom available to more women.

2. I've noticed placenta encapsulation has grown increasingly popular over the past several years. In a nutshell, what are the benefits of ingesting your own placenta?
   
   
   In a nutshell, emotional support, breastfeeding support, and postpartum healing support. Many women I have worked with appreciate the emotional effects of taking their placenta. I can speak from personal experience that taking my placenta after birth helped to mellow out the extremes of my high and low emotional states (mostly hormone driven and the effects of a life radically altered). My placenta helped me feel at a level that was manageable for me, others report that placenta consumption has helped them mitigate the "baby blues" and perinatal mood disorders. Many women also enjoy how placenta consumption helps promote a healthy milk supply. Third, placenta consumption can really help to speed and support healing after birth. For example, it contains bioavailable iron, so important for women who are depleted and/or have lost a lot of blood in birth. It also contains a multitude of other beneficial hormones and nutrients made by a woman's body. The wisdom of our bodies is incredible-- I am awed in the way that a woman can build this tremendous organ that so deeply nourishes and supports both baby and mama.

3. What can customers/clients expect to gain from using your products?
   
   
   Put simply, the intention behind all of our products is to help people feel better and to deeply support women as they move through the childbearing season of life. Its a big one! All of our products are sourced from the best raw materials possible, so customers get the highest quality products. It is my hope that each of our products helps people feel more supported in their lives, their healing, and their overall wellness. I love that I am able to help offer herbal resources that not only support mom, baby, and others on a physical level, but that also deeply support people on the emotional and psyche levels. This is where true and lasting change occurs.

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             Now that you know more about Santosha Birth and Wellness in general, let's get a more in-depth look at some of their products! I had the opportunity to review both their Tea for Two:Mama Brew and Sore No More Massage Oil. I love trying out new natural products, especially when pregnant!

             Naturally, since I am getting to the end of this pregnancy, my back has started hurting more and more, amongst other aches and pains. The Sore No More massage oil has been a great help! (Plus it gives me a good excuse to make my husband give me back massages. ;) ) Specifically, it is for stress, injury, and trauma and is recommended for use with massages, in compresses, and baths. As I mentioned, I've primarily used it as a massage oil for my back and hips. Between using it and doing yoga, my back feels a lot better! 

             I love that there are just a few, simple ingredients in Sore No More: anica montana infused in olive oil, non-GMO mixed-tocopherols (vitamin E compounds naturally found in nuts, veggies, etc), bergamot essential oil, and flower essences of star of bethlehem, arnica, and dandelion. I personally like the subtle, but nice scent the bergamot gives this oil. I highly recommend this for pregnancy pains or any time! 

              I love herbal tea, so I was excited to try out the Tea for Two: Mama Brew as well. It is formulated to be good for all sorts of things. As the package states, it is “full of vitamins and minerals crucial for mamas. It assists in conception, eases pregnancy complaints, prepares body for birth, supports nursing, promotes calmness, and fosters overall health.” What more could you ask for?

              Again, I love that there are few ingredients as I'm a firm believer that “less is more” in most cases. Mama Brew contains red raspberry leaf, nettle leaf, alfalfa, oatstraw, rosehips, chamomile, rooibos, and lemon verbena. While I didn't think it tasted terrible, it is very...grassy tasting? Which makes sense because of the alfalfa and oatstraw. I kind of wish there were more lemon verbena in it to cover up the straw-y taste. It's tolerable, though, and if you really want I'm sure it would be good with a little honey added. It's good for me, so I'm not complaining too much. ;) I am planning on a VBAC with this baby, so I need all the help I can get, physically and as far as stress goes!

             To learn more about and discover all of the services and products Santosha Birth and Wellness has to offer, please visit their website. Also be sure to stay up-to-date with them on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest.