Indigo Forest

Indigo Forest Supporting 'Healthy Births, Healthy Lives' through natural health & maternity consults, on-line clas

We are a resource for families, supporting healthy births and healthy lives since 2007. We empower families with practical & personalized naturopathic consultations, blogging and specialized products.

08/29/2026

We forget to look up, don’t we? I know I do .

The weeds get high, the overwhelm is real. And it’s easiest to look down and try not to trip.💙

All aspects of parenting are challenging. I talked to a dear friend relative who’s in her mid 80s, and she was musing how absolutely challenging it was to parent her 64-year-old children…

As I like to say, deep breathing is not just for labor😊. Looking up and grabbing a nice breath can often give us the ballast to continue on with a little less wobble.

You’ve got this! 🥰

08/25/2026

Doctors have no idea how to relieve pain

In natural childbirth

1. No med school class
2. No experience required by training
3. No time for sitting through a natural labor during the highly demanding OB surgical residency.

There are MANY powerful ways to help women have a less painful natural birth. Dr. Odent, French physician, has called hydrotherapy “Nature’s Epidural” and is quoted as saying “It’s so effective, if it were a drug it would immoral to not offer it.”

What natural approach helped you the most with your labor sensations?

I’ll be discussing some of my approaches in a ‘Live Chat with Beth’ coming up Sept 1st! See my link in bio to save your spot, or comment “NATURAL” and I’ll send it over.

It’s going to be an amazing conversation! (And I’m staying on after to answer your questions.)

Love Beth

https://www.facebook.com/share/19Mh6qXPod/

08/19/2026

So-Is the medicine chest worth the green chaos?😂

This is my enthusiastic and messy ‘flower bed’ that has kind-of made its own executive decision about what is going to do well on the North side of the house. As soon as I stopped trying to put tomatoes there and started paying attention to what put ITSELF there, things started to grow a lot better. I’m sure there is a metaphor there somewhere.

1. Peppermint: Helps prevent nausea, vomiting, and lessens the severity of heartburn, also may help relieve headaches and more.

2. Purslane: One of the richest plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids found in plants; fresh leaves contain about 300–400 mg of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) per 100 grams.

3. Comfrey: A powerful healer of way more than skin + bones, FDA would like you to keep this one topical.

4. Lemon Balm/Melissa: Anti-viral

BTW- This was a tour for fun; make sure you actually identify your plants thoughtfully and know a little more about them before putting them in your mouth :). I highly recommend an ‘herb walk’ with your local herbalist, nearly every community has them and they will help you understand your own area. proper biology is not a “take this for that type of approach. “! Here is SE Michigan we are SOOOOOOO lucky to have Jim McDonald Jim Mcdonald —— I’ve been glad to drive a few hours before to make sure I caught a season walk with Jim and his students.

Oh, the ‘weed’ in the middle?
I’m a little bit chagrin to say I’m not sure! I’ve tried 3 books, I had thought it was either a dock or an amaranth/pigweed… but it’s not matching the pictures well enough for me to be sure. Does not have the sour or bitter taste of a dock. I bet one of you fine people have a good idea? Maybe we’ll be lucky and Jim will saunter by with his wisdom and experience.😬😃

Jim Mcdonald

08/13/2026

Sometimes the house can get a bit “lived in“ because our hands are full with bigger stuff. I’ve been working hard to get these projects ready to share with you. If you’re a mom looking for confidence, or a midwife or doula welcoming more help with your practice, I hope these resources help you feel more capable and inspired.

Which letter do you want more info on?

A. The Holistic Birth Bag: Naturopathic Strategies for Labor + Birth conference, in-person with Beth, October 1-2, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Registration ends Aug 31, 2026.

B. Considering Natural Birth: What it Asks of You (And What it Gives Back)- Live Chat With Beth, Sept 1 , free, pre-registration needed.

C. Every Baby Makes You a New Mother: July podcast with Ginny of 1000 Hours Outside

D. Who Delivers Your Baby: The Difference Between Doctors, Doulas, and Midwives- free download.

🥰 Yes, you can have more than one.
PS. Please be a tiny bit patient with me, I’m still sending manually til October …😘😘

08/11/2026

😳 I have heard nurses tell women right in front of me that it’s fine for their baby to use a pacifier all the first day because “ there’s nothing really in your breasts anyway“. YES IN 2026!

There are 1000 reasons your baby needs to nurse the first day. But let’s just tackle one here, the size of their stomach. Mother‘s first milk, called colostrum, is measured in teaspoons not ounces also. Breastmilk digests in around 1.5-2 hrs, formula in about 3 to 4 hours. Those little tummies don’t do a lot of storing.

Normal for a newborn would be two nurse around 10 to 12 times in 24 hours, and often much more often than that. You can always tell how are they doing by them having as many good wet diapers each day that first week, as they are days old. ( 3 on day 3.)

Your Birth team, by the way, can deeply affect how your first hours and days go as a new family. Comment Newborn and I’ll DM you the link to my free new download, “What’s the difference between doctors Doula and midwives?”

💗FREQUENT FEEDING ISN’T FAILURE,
IT’S DESIGN.💗

07/24/2026

Sunrise light continues to be the foundation of all healing! Radical eh?

The poor air quality this summer has indeed made it hard to want or be able to breathe outdoors, sometimes wecouldn’t even see the sun very well. The studies and the information continue to pour in, though, about the extraordinary value to our physical, emotional and spiritual health of catching a few minutes of sunrise every day.

I can track an exact correlation between missing it and having my eyes begin to “act old“ with the focusing limitations that everyone attributes to age. But I’ve been able to reverse it 80 or 90% three different times just by returning to my sunrise and morning light exposure commitment.

how much morning light are you getting, and are you seeing any relationship to your vision?

Herbal baths are powerful topical treatment in family care. Homebirth midwives have been treating their mamas to this po...
07/20/2026

Herbal baths are powerful topical treatment in family care. Homebirth midwives have been treating their mamas to this postpartum delight for decades.

But their amazing benefits do not end there. There seems to be no end to the benefits of soaking in these skin-repairing herbal brews. I will say - it’s ESSENTIAL that they are prepared properly. MANY of the herbal baths sold now are missing TWO absolutely critical ingredients; one is SALT and the other is enough herbs! The healing herbs and salt combo make it antiseptic and healing, which used in bathtub freshly cleaned carefully with baking soda.

My own son took probably his only both of his teen years to heal his road burn from a one wheel tumble, and you can see pictures of his healing on my website. I’ve seen with my own eyes nearly miraculous 1-hour healing on a toddler bottom during a labor - mom insisted her little one be put in the herbal bath already waiting for her, when we saw her flaming red bum run by. (Those on childcare had missed a p**p earlier, and she had burned herself sitting in a dirty diaper after eating the first strawberries of these season. 🍓Experienced parents know what I’m talking about!)

Once moms have used them, it becomes a favorite resource and gift. Comment “Family Care” and I’ll send over the link to the pictures for the baths I personally make and sell. If make your own or use others - just make sure to add at least a 1/4 cup of salt and soak at least 3-4 cups of plant material for hours (NOT a large tea bag for minutes.)

PS. On postpartum use - YES - Herbal baths in the first days after birth are phenomenal treats for mothers’ tender tissues and totally solve baby’s stinky cord. AND YES, they are the only safe form of immersion for both of them at that time.

07/19/2026

Informed Consent includes the risks and benefits of ALL OPTIONS - in this case, of both inducing and NOT inducing. And legally, then respecting your decision WITHOUT any bullying. Maternity care often ‘forgets’ this moral, ethical, and lawful obligation.

If there is a true emergency going on for your baby, it may not be appropriate to induce at all. Unfortunately, labor might be too taxing for them in such a case, and a c-section same day could be the most appropriate medical care.

If there is pressure to induce, but they are scheduling it for some days out - take note. By definition, this is NOT an emergency.

A generation or two back, medical and midwife books all referred to normal gestation as “2-3 weeks on EITHER side of the due date.” There has been a lot of controversy over the quality of the ARRIVE Trial which left OB’s routinely suggesting that a 39 week induction is somehow safer. Maybe. But they are REQUIRED to also provide to you the RISKS of induction in addition to any presumed benefits.

Sara Wickham has a fantastic blog discussing the ARRIVE Trial, comment ‘ARRIVE’ and I’ll DM you the link. It’s a great resource to review and keep handy.

💗 Please share your positive story of waiting for your baby to initiate labor.

PS. Not because I don’t care about the other stories or want to tweak perceptions - but because there is LOTS of fear-based ‘info’ in young moms’ ears. The correct move is for them to be able to gather info as it applies to them, and be able to evaluate its relevance for THEM from a positive place of trusting birth. Thanks! 💗

How controversial is this?And what do you think is the greatest reason for such a high percentage of introductions?Is it...
07/18/2026

How controversial is this?

And what do you think is the greatest reason for such a high percentage of introductions?
Is it medical impatience, valuable research, environment, messing with hormones, or just that we all now live on iPhone time?

Dr. Odent was a gem, because he was willing to Wade into difficult conversations.

How important is it “listen to the baby?”

04/15/2026

Tornado warnings and premature contractions? It happens!

Do you have rescue remedy or homeopathic aconite in your grab and go kits? Aconite is a mainstay for every holistic Midwife, and it brings so many wonderful gift to the pregnant and birthing mama.

This October I’m teaching a live 2-day conference for midwives and doulas in Ann Arbor, MI filled with these naturopathic strategies that have helped to keep my clients safe for over 40 years of traditional midwifery care. Comment “Birth Bag” and I’ll DM you a link for all the info on The Holistic Birth Bag; Naturopathic Strategies for Labor and Birth. See you there! 🥰

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P. O. Box 1068
Ann Arbor, MI
48106

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