By now you probably know a few things about coconut oil, like the fact that it’s found in coconuts that grow on beautiful sandy beaches and contain milk, or perhaps you’re familiar with the gorgeous coconut scent found in many of today’s beauty products.

However you probably aren’t aware of all the fantastic uses coconut oil has for pregnant women, but I can vouch for coconut oil, and when I say it’s been a lifesaver throughout my pregnancy, I certainly mean it.

Is coconut oil good for pregnancy?

1. It’s Great for Your Immune System

As Organicdailypost.com highlights – coconut oil is fantastic for your immune system and has antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties, helping to strengthen your immune system and keep colds, flu and other germs at bay. The best bit is that you don’t need to consume much to reap the rewards, by simply adding a few tablespoons to your food and drink you will keep your immune system at its optimum throughout your pregnancy.

2. Prevents Stretch Marks

You may have already heard about coconut oil being used to keep away unsightly stretch marks, but if not I can personally swear an oath that it works. Stretch marks are possibly every pregnant mother’s worst nightmare, but by applying it to your skin during pregnancy you can prevent them even forming. Some even say its better than the best stretch mark creams!

Plus if you’ve already got a few stretch marks, it can actually help fade them, this ability is thanks to the vitamin E it contains, essential for great looking skin.

3. Relieves Pregnancy Side effects

When you’re pregnant, it’s extremely common to experience various physical side effects, many of which can be unpleasant, to say the least. These include the infamous morning sickness, constipation, and indigestion, however, coconut oil can help relieve all of these symptoms, helping your pregnancy go as smooth as possible. It’s also used to help one of the most unpleasant side effects of pregnancy, the irritation of vaginal dryness.

4. Source of Lauric Acid

Lauric acid is a very special fatty acid used by many people to alleviate all kinds of health problem from colds to ringworm, but it’s actually great for mothers too. Lauric acid is thought to help stimulate breast milk production and strengthen the immune system, therefore with a little coconut oil each day you can be sure you and your baby are getting a source of lauric acid and as a result a stronger immune system.

5. Great for Dry Hair

Another common issue during pregnancy is a dry, itchy scalp, but thanks to coconut oil you can easily banish it with an overnight treatment, simply massage it into your scalp and in the morning wash out to experience a smooth and soothing scalp and silky hair.

6. Eye Cream Miracle

Thanks to the large amounts of vitamin E found in coconut oil, it can work miracles for your under eye area. We all know how difficult it can be getting to sleep, especially in the third trimester, and sometimes you can look as bad as you feel, but with a few drops of coconut oil, those dark circles will be nowhere to be seen.

7. Face Mask for Breakouts

During pregnancy your hormones can be quite erratic, leading to problem skin and breakouts, however, coconut oil can help alleviate the issue, simply mix a few drops of with mashed banana and apply to your face and voilà clear skin in no time.

8. Nipple Pain

This concerns new mothers who are breastfeeding, we all know the benefits of breastfeeding, it beats bottle feeding by far, the research clearly shows that breastfeeding can increase your child IQ, along with many other things, however that doesn’t lessen the pain of overused nipples! To help those dry and cracked nipples, simply apply some coconut oil for a quick and soothing fix.

9. Great for your Baby

When your little one arrives, a great way to bond is through a nice massage using coconut oil. Coconut oil is a fantastic and cheaper option to the more expensive baby massage oils and is great for you and your baby’s skin, besides it will leave the both of you smelling delicious.

10. Great Alternative to Dairy

If you’re concerned about dairy intolerance, then replacing dairy with the coconut alternative is a great solution to ensure your breast milk is dairy free. Not only does coconut milk taste great, it’s also lower in fat and jam-packed with nutrients that will benefit you both and boost your immune system.

Final Words

Like I previously mentioned, coconut oil served me throughout my pregnancy and I even continued using it when my children were born. The truly great thing about it is that it’s cheap and offers a solution to a vast amount of common pregnancy complaints.