Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Here is another case where modern science supports folk wisdom-or at least some of it. It turns out that black haw may be a good treatment for some gynecological complaints. But pregnant women are advised against using it.
Menstrual Cramps. A report published in the British journal Nature shows that black haw contains a uterine relaxant (scopoletin), thus supporting its value in treating menstrual cramps. Today in Germany, where herbal medicine is more mainstream than it is in the United States, black haw preparations are widely used for menstrual cramps. These products are not available in the United States, but the herb itself is easily obtained.

Miscarriage Prevention - This herb has been used for centuries to prevent miscarriage. As a uterine relaxant. black haw may indeed do the job. Unfortunately, it also contains salicin, a close chemical relative of aspirin. Because aspirin has been linked to birth defects, pregnant women should not take black haw.

Fever, Headache. Arthritis, and Other Pain - The aspirinlike chemical in black haw may reduce fever and relieve pain.

Rx for Black Haw

Use a decoction or infusion of black haw for relief of menstrual cramps, fever, headache, and general aches and pains.

For a decoction, use 2 teaspoons of dried bark per cup of water. Boil 10 minutes. Cool. Drink up to 3 cups a day. It has an extremely bitter taste, so you may want to take it with lemon and honey or even mix it with a beverage tea.

In a tincture, use up to 2 teaspoons three times a day.

Black Haw the Safety Factor

Like aspirin, the salicin in black haw is a pain reliever (analgesic), which may contribute to the herb’s ability to relieve menstrual cramping, However, aspirin has also been implicated as a cause of birth defects in the children of women who take it while pregnant.

Aspirin is most hazardous to the unborn early in the pregnancy. Recognizing this, the classic British herbal Potter’s New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations says black haw should be used only during the final five weeks of pregnancy to prevent threatened prematurity.

Any woman facing possible premature birth should discuss her situation with her obstetrician. Most physicians advise bed rest for threatened prematurity, along with increased fluid intake and no breast or sexual stimulation. Drugs (including herbs) are a last resort and should only be used with the consent of a doctor.

Parents should not give black haw to children under 16 who are suffering fevers related to colds, flu, or chicken pox, because its salicin may increase the risk of Reye’s syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal childhood disease.

Large doses of black haw may produce upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, andlor ringing in the ears (tinnitus). especially in those sensitive to aspirin.
For otherwise healthy nonpregnant, non nursing adults, black haw is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

Black haw should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If minor discomforts such as stomach upset or ringing in the ears develop, use less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience any unpleasant effects or if menstrual cramps do not improve significantly after two months.

Native Cultivation - Harvest Branch Bark

In the North, black haw is a deciduous spreading shrub with reddish-brown bark. In the South, it becomes a small tree. The leaves are pointed, serrated ovals and resemble plum leaves. They turn red in fall. Black haw flowers are large, clustered, white, and showy. Depending on location, black haw blooms from early spring to summer.

Black haw grows best in rich, moist, well-drained soil under full sun, but tolerates poorer soil and partial shade as long as it gets adequate moisture. Branch bark may be collected in summer. The trunk bark should be collected in fall. Dry it in the shade.

Slave Owner’s Herb

Family: Caprifoliaceae; (includes Honeysuckle, Elder)

Genus and Species: Viburnum Prunifolium

Also known as: Viburnum

Parts used: Bark

Black haw is an herb with a shadowy past. The reddish-brown bark of this native American shrub has a long history as a folk remedy for gynecological complaints - uses supported by some recent research. Before white people came to this continent, Indian women drank a decoction of black haw bark for menstrual cramps, childbirth recovery, and menopausal discomforts. But its special use was to prevent miscarriage.

It was left to southern slave owners to invent more nefarious uses for the bark-they used black haw coercively to prevent slave abortions. Slaves were a valuable asset, and slaveholders wanted slave women (”breeders”) to bear as many children as possible. Slave owners often raped black women for pleasure and to increase their slave holdings. Many slave women attempted to abort the resulting pregnancies as a quiet protest against slavery.

A favorite means of inducing abortions on southern plantations was cotton root, an herb readily available to slaves. According to the 19th-century Eclectic medical text, King’s American Dispensatory: “It was customary for plantersto compel female slaves to drink an infusion of black haw daily whilst pregnant to prevent abortion from taking the cotton root.”

Quiets the “lrritable Womb”

An Eclectic physician from Mississippi introduced black haw to the North, where it quickly became an herbal mainstay for gynecological complaints. The Eclectics valued it highly: “As a uterine tonic, it is unquestionably of great utility… for menstrual pains… and a good remedy for menopause… But the condition for which black haw is most valued is threatened abortion. By its quieting effect upon the irritable womb, women who have been previously unable to go to term have been aided to pass through pregnancy without mishaps.”

Modern herbalists continue to recommend black haw for menstrual cramps and threatened abortion. Some herbals encourage women to drink black haw tea throughout pregnancy.