Best Pregnancy Essential Oils to Help with Fatigue, Nausea, and Cramps

A pregnancy essential oil is concentrated and made out of plant extracts which are derived from plants, flowers, fruits, and seeds. They are often used in aromatherapy, which helps in reducing maternal anxiety, fear, and pain during labour according to a study.

Another study done in 2017 shows that essential oils have been scientifically proven to help with neurological disorders like dementia, epilepsy, and anxiety.

However, since some essential oils may produce adverse effects for some, do ensure to check with your doctors before trying out any essential oil products. 

There are different ways of using essential oils, such as through inhalation, diffusion, and topical application on the skin. You can use different kinds of essential oils for your baby or even during your pregnancy. 

6 Best Pregnancy Essential Oil Options in Singapore

Here are some of our recommendations for essential oils that are pregnancy-safe for you:

Young Living Lavender Essential Oil Review

Best Multi-Purpose Essential Oil

The Young Living Lavender Essential Oil Singapore is Young Living’s most popular product. This essential oil relaxes the mind by helping with anxiety.

Additionally, you can apply it directly to the skin to remove minor imperfections, smoothen blemishes, and soothe irritated skin.

Not only that, you can also use it as a foot rub and you can even apply it on your hair!

Many who use the Young Living Lavender Essential Oil are very pleased with the lavender smell and its ability to help them relax and sleep well.

For pregnant women looking to start out using milder essential oils, this multi-purpose essential oil is a great start. 

Features We Love

• Safe as additions to your skincare products like face wash and moisturiser. 
• Sweet floral fragrance pregnancy essential oil. 

How To Use This Lavender Essential Oil

The Young Living Lavender Essential Oil is recommended to be diffused, added into products like face wash and moisturiser (1-2 drops), adding a few drops into a warm bath, or used as a massage oil.

Finally, you can also add it to DIY products like scrubs or room fresheners. 

Mary Tylor Naturals Organic Grapefruit Essential Oil Review

Best Comforting Essential Oil to Reduce Stress

The Mary Tylor Organic Grapefruit Essential is most known for its calming properties. Through aromatherapy, it creates a relaxing environment that helps with stress, insomnia, and even headaches.

On top of that, satisfied customers reviewed that it also relaxes aching muscles when added to bathwater.

If you are suffering from insomnia or facing stress and are hoping to relax your mind, Mary Tylor Naturals Organic Grapefruit Essential Oil is the one for you!

Features We Love

• The grapefruit scent is pleasant and clean.
• Comes with a high-quality glass dropper. 
• Concentrated oil so it lasts longer.
• Free of pesticides and other chemicals. 
• USDA Organic. 
• 100% Natural. 

How to Use

The Mary Tylor Naturals Organic Grapefruit Essential Oil is recommended to be diffused, added to bathwater, or into your laundry in washing machines for a pleasant scent on clothes.

For uses other than aromatherapy, you should dilute it with a carrier oil, such as the Young Living V-6 Vegetable Oil mentioned below.

Lastly, you should only use this externally.

Hysses Peppermint Essential Oil Review

Best Pregnancy Essential Oil to Relieve Nausea

The Hysses Peppermint Essential Oil Singapore is not only perfect for relieving nausea, fever or headaches, it is also effective in combating mental fatigue and improving concentration.

The unique peppermint scent is cooling, thus it is useful for pregnant women experiencing respiratory-related discomforts, like cough and sore throat.

It also helps with symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Above all that, you can apply this essential oil to relieve skin irritations and cleanse the skin.

Features We Love

• Sweet scent with a hint of warm vanilla.
• No parabens, silicones, SLS. 
• Cruelty-free. 
• 100% Natural. 

How To Use This Peppermint Essential Oil

The Hysses Peppermint Essential Oil is recommended to be diffused or massaged onto the skin.

You can drip this essential oil into a nebuliser (30-40 drops) and an oil burner (add 10 drops to warm water and place a lit tealight candle at the base of the burner).

Add 10 drops to 15 to 25ML of carrier oil if you want to use it as a massage oil. 

Hysses Lemongrass Essential Oil Review

Best Mood Uplifting Essential Oil

If you are looking for a scent that will cleanse your mind and lift your spirits, Hysses Lemongrass Essential Oil Singapore is the one for you.

The strong lemon flavour of the oil helps with concentration and relaxes the mind.

Not only does massage this lemongrass essential oil improves acneic skin due to the presence of antibacterial properties in the oil, it also relieves backache, especially during pregnancy!

Features We Love

• Purifying and refreshing scent. 
• No parabens, silicones, SLS. 
• Cruelty-free. 
• 100% Natural.

How to Use This Lemongrass Essential Oil

The Hysses Lemongrass Essential Oil is recommended to be diffused. You can also add it to your face cream (1 drop), body lotion (5 drops or less) or carrier oil for massages.

A word of caution is to avoid sunlight after applying Hysses Lemongrass Essential Oil onto the skin to avoid skin sensitivity.

This essential oil should also only be used externally! 

Young Living V-6 Vegetable Oil Complex Review

Best Skin Improving Massage Oil

The Young Living V-6 Vegetable Oil Complex is made from nourishing, antioxidant vegetable oils such as coconut oil, sesame seed oil, grape seed oil, and extra virgin olive oil.

It has a clean and neutralising scent, which makes it perfect as a carrier oil.

Additionally, it is good for diluting other stronger essential oils to be used for massage for sensitive skin. 

V-6 is compatible with the skin’s natural pH levels. There are many rave reviews about how this product is the perfect moisturising massage oil for muscle aches during pregnancy.

It not only minimises wrinkles and gives your skin a youthful glow, but V-6 also feels extremely soothing on the skin. 

Finally, if you are just starting to use essential oils during your pregnancy, it is best to start slowly, and a way to do that is to dilute essential oils in the V-6 Vegetable Oil Complex. 

Features We Love

• Gentle and soft scent. 
• Mixes well with any essential oil. 

How to Use

The Young Living V-6 Vegetable Oil Complex can be massaged onto the skin, used as a carrier oil, or diluted with warm or hot essential oils.

When mixing with other essential oils, drip 15-30 drops of essential oil with 30-60ML of V6 and shake well before use.

Tisserand Natural Lavender & Chamomile Massage and Body Oil Review

Best Calming Massage Oil

Looking for a massage oil with a soothing, relaxing smell? Look no further as Tisserand Natural Lavender & Chamomile Massage and Body Essential Oil Singapore is the one for you!

It is a highly-raved essential oil that is used for massage therapy and has helped many to sleep better at night.

Not only does the lavender and chamomile scent calm the mind, but the jojoba and sesame oils present in the Tisserand Natural Lavender & Chamomile Massage and Body Essential Oil Singapore also help with hydration of the skin as there are plenty of vitamins, antioxidants and fatty acids! 

Features We Love

• Pleasant lavender and chamomile scent
• Soothes sensitive skin
• No parabens, SLS, SLES, PEGS and artificial colours
• 100% Natural
• 100% pure, vegan and organic

How to Use

The Tisserand Natural Lavender & Chamomile Massage and Body Oil are recommended to be diffused. You can also mix it with a moisturiser to be massaged directly to the skin or sore muscles after showering.

Pregnancy essential oil price comparison table

Now that we have provided our insights on essential oil recommendations suitable for pregnant women, another consideration that you may have before purchase is the cost.

In order to help with your decision-making, we have come up with a price comparison table.

Note: Each item and price is up to date as of the time of publication. However, an item may be sold out or the price may be different at a later date.

Dealing with pregnancy fatigue 

Fatigue is generally defined as a constant lack of energy and you can feel this, especially when you are pregnant.

During pregnancy, you may feel like you can’t get out of bed in the morning or can’t wait to get into bed as soon as you get home.

Or you may feel dragged and sluggish from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed.

Pregnancy is similar to running a marathon while carrying a backpack that grows heavier by the day. In other words, it’s exhausting! Even when you’re not aware of what your body is doing, it’s working harder than ever.

Pregnancy fatigue can be caused by different significant factors during your first trimester. These include the following: 

• Placenta is developing
  

  During the first trimester of pregnancy, your body is developing the placenta. It is an organ designed specifically for pregnancy and it provides your baby with the essential nutrients and oxygen he or she needs to grow and thrive. It is a massive task that drains your energy.

• Hormonal changes
  

  Pregnancy fatigue is largely caused by increased production of the hormone progesterone. This hormone basically supports your pregnancy and increases the production of milk glands—later required for breastfeeding.

  Hormone changes can also cause other uncomfortable experiences, such as constant mood swings, and the emotional roller coaster that is pregnancy can be exhausting.

• Increase in blood supply
  

  The demands to produce and pump more extra blood to supply the essential nutrients and oxygen to your baby can leave you exhausted.

• Some other physical changes during pregnancy
  

  Moreover, as pregnant, your metabolism is considered high. Plus, your heart rate is elevated, your blood sugar and blood pressure may also be lower, and you are consuming more nutrients and water — all of which can definitely exhaust your body. 

Benefits of using essential oils during pregnancy

Essential oils target discomforts like fatigue, nausea, and muscle cramps. If you have trouble sleeping at night, they can also help with relaxation.

Some also use essential oils for foot rubs to soothe aching muscles. In addition, some scents like lemon, can even help to boost your mood! 

However, there are some essential oils to avoid during your pregnancy as these could lead to negative side effects like induced contractions.

These include but are not limited to basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, cinnamon, mugwort, parsley leaf, and pennyroyal.

Most importantly, do consult with your doctor before trying any essential oils.

Pregnancy essential oil storage tips

Store your essential oils well so that you do not lose any of their helpful properties. Store your essential oils properly by following these tips: 

1. Keep them in a cool environment away from sunlight as heat and sunlight can affect the quality of the oil
2. Screw on the bottle lids tight to prevent oxidation as prolonged exposure to air may result in a difference in its consistency and properties
3. Store in darker glass bottles instead of clear bottles to minimise the amount of light entering the bottle. Do not store it in plastic bottles as the oils will dissolve plastic. 

If you notice that the scent of your essential oil is stronger or even unpleasant, or if it has changed colour, or appears cloudy or thicker in consistency, it is likely that the essential oil has expired.

All essential oils have an expiry date, hence it is always important to make sure to check the date and quality of the oil before use. 

Going through pregnancy is not an easy journey, partly due to the many discomforts that you may experience throughout.

Hence, it would be useful to find ways to ease those discomforts, such as using aromatherapy with essential oils.

However, your health is of the utmost importance, so do ensure to always consult a doctor first before trying any of the essential oils! 

Tea can also helps with what you are feeling as pregnant. Read: Best Morning Sickness Tea in Singapore: Cure Nausea, Cramps, Headaches, and More with These Picks