was watching a rather interesting documentary, which brought forth these bits of information that one may find usefull when feeding naturally--

Queen Ann's Lace-- the seeds-- induce bleeding in women- so are probably capable of triggering abortions.
Yams, are high in progesterone, and can be used to prevent pregnancy to start with.

A friend of mine, Native American, and versed in the herbal culture, has told me that fenugreek will induce abortions, as well. I see fenugreek listed in a lot of horse treats and feeds-- but I never asked my friend which PART was used for aborting doses. I am inclined to think flower of seeds, as in QAL..

Usually it takes a lot of common foods like that to cause such a reaction. There aren't warnings out there for human women to avoid fenugreek when pregnant or women trying to get pregnant to avoid yams so I would think the odds of it doing anything in normal dietary amounts is rare. It's uncommon knowledge because it doesn't commonly cause a problem. Usually to cause reactions strong enough you have to condense the item down somehow and ingest lots of it such as making it in to tea or distilling to remove the active compounds from large amounts of the fresh plant or seeds in to an amount you can ingest in one sitting. Although frequently that isn't even enough and you have to consistently take a the herbal compound several times a day or for several days before anything happens. As long as you feed variety and don't rely on one plant for your animals' diets you shouldn't see any problems. Everything in moderation.

Fenugreek also is used to support and 'assist' milk coming in.

If you have read any of Diana Gabaldon's books in the Outlander series, they learn to use "dauco" seeds as birth control. The main character learns this from a Native American "wise" woman.

This is from Wikipedia:

A teaspoon of crushed seeds has long been used as a form of birth control; its use for this purpose was first described by Hippocrates over 2,000 years ago.[citation needed] Research conducted on mice has offered a degree of confirmation for this use—wild carrot was found to disrupt the ovum implantation process, which reinforces its reputation as a contraceptive.[2] Chinese studies have also indicated the seeds block progesterone synthesis, which could explain this effect.[citation needed]

Yams, or a synthesized extract to be specific, were the origin of the first birth control pill.

Fenugreek is used and continues to be used by postpartum mothers to induce milk production, and my wife swears by it, she made a lot of milk, but when she was taking funugreek, she was more than a bit grumpy if the baby wasn't there to empty them every 4 hours.

Those of us who use Queen Anne's lace as bunny feed often mention to avoid feeding the seeds to the rabbits.

Fenugreek is used to support lactation, but it may well have other uses or cautions needed for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive. Herbal medicine is complex and fascinating.

There is a lot of information floating about out there online... Some of it is accurate and some of it is questionable at best.

So is queen annes lace, I believe it's an ingredient along with Fenugreek and blessed thistle (and a few more) in 'mothers milk' brand of tea.

OH, and on the kinda cool side, DON'T TAKE Fenugreek if you hate pancake syrup, it's the "natural" in Natural and Artificial flavorings...
you will sweat pancake syrup, you will pee, you will smell like it. Yeah, I had alot of pancakes when my wife was breastfeeding the boys.

Sisterhood confirmed! I LOVE that series! "The Scottish Prisoner" is one of the books I got for Christmas! Spectacular author.

And Jamie... <Swoon!> Let's just say Hubs had better hope he never shows up on my doorstep.

I read the Outlander series years ago, loved them. But I've not read the Scottish Prisoner. Is it in the same series?

It is related, but concerns part of Jamie's life during his time without Claire. There is a preview of the next book in the Outlander series "Written in my own Heart's Blood" which follows "An Echo in the Bone". DG has also written several books with Lord John Grey as the central character, and they intertwine with the characters from the original series.

I love it when a new book is added to a series- I always re-read all the ones that came before. Hubs asked me once "How can you read a book over and over? You know the outcome." I countered with "How can you watch a movie over and over?"... my books are like old friends, and I know many of the passages by heart.

I am so with you on that one! Must be why as a teen I had such a crush on Sean Connery, still do, truth be told....he is sexy for an old man! LOL and that Scots accent....love it!

__________ Mon Dec 26, 2011 5:54 pm __________



I have not read Scottish Prisoner or the excerpt from the new one. Where can I find the excerpt? I have them all on my Kindle and I read them over and over too! We must have been separated at birth....what year were you born? LOL

OMG! Sean Connery too??? Maybe we were part of that "twin project" where they separated twins at birth to study the theories of nature versus nurture... 1969, btw. Hubs has Scot's blood, but no accent, sadly.

I was born in 1970...supposedly ...I am beginning to have my doubts...

They must have falsified the birth certificates to muddle the trail! Little did they know that in 40 years the web would bring us together again... maybe they'll make a poignant docudrama of our story... Marilla, Queen of all Moggies, can be the narrator... and Sean Connery can play Jamie Fraser, my Hubs...

Marilla, Queen of all Moggies, says she would be honoured.