Caring For a Mother During The Postpartum Phase Using Traditional Chinese Medicine

A sit directly affects the fetus’s growth and development,the goal during pregnancy is to support the health of the mother. In TCM, (traditional Chinese medicine), however, the maintenance of the health of the woman during the postpartum phase is also seriously considered and how well she receives care during this time will oftentimes determine her state of health in the future. Basically, older women have a more difficult time recovering from the effects of pregnancy, labor, and delivery compared to younger women although certain factors such as the constitutional strength of the woman, her state of health prior to conception and how well she cares for herself during the pregnancy can also determine how well she handles her pregnancy labor, and childbirth.

The postpartum phase, in Chinese medicine, includes the four months after labor and delivery, and the most important time to take special care is the first month. Only after the fourth month post-delivery that blood and yin are deemed to be full once more and the Chong mai, Ren, and the womb fully recovered. What can be expected to occur are occasional tendencies to imbalance, which can be mild or serious, short or long term and can especially manifest especially when postpartum conditions occur.

Considerations During Postpartum Diagnostic

Main postpartum imbalances:

• Blood stasis in the lower burner
• Uterus invaded by pathogenic cold
• Blood and yin deficiency
• Abdomen/Spleen deficiency
• Blood and Qi deficiency

Inorder to nourish the developing fetus and the placenta, the blood volume of a woman will almost double during pregnancy. The loss of blood and the effort exerted during delivery further exhaust the blood and qi of the mother. And since breast milk is produced from the same substrate as blood, breastfeeding can be equated as a continuous loss of blood. Because of all these, women during the postpartum phase are usually deficient in blood and qi. As a result,the spleen is constantly taxed (albeit temporarily) by the body’s constant demand for blood, leading to probable low production of milk, poor appetite, and poor digestion. One common symptom of Heart blood and Spleen qi deficiency is difficulty falling asleep resulting in sleep deprivation and fatigue, which in turn, can lead to postpartum depression. Hence, the need to tonify blood and qi with herbs and food and give support to the middle burner is very much recommended.

Yin deficiency is usually accompanied by Blood deficiency. Again, because of the huge demand of Liver blood and Kidney yin needed for the development of the fetus, mothers,after delivery, are usually severely deficient. This is especially true in the case of older women more so if they had problems conceiving because of issues related to kidney deficiency or poor egg quality, and those who used conception therapies such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Other possible issues related to yin deficiency include the inability to easily go back to sleep, insomnia with walking, profuse night sweating, and dry constipation. Yin and/or Blood deficiency may also cause anxiety, rashes, dizziness, headaches, and excessive loss of hair.
After labor and childbirth, the uterus or womb becomes blood deficient. The energy pathways known as meridians and the collaterals that pass through the uterus and lower stomach are open and left empty, which makes them prone to pathogenic cold infiltration. To prevent this from occurring, one should avoid environmental cold and wind, and foods that are cold in nature or temperature. Scanty bleeding with clotting, retention of the lochia, and stomach pain associated with blood stasis may develop due to the cold invading the uterus. Mania and extreme postpartum depression may happen from blood stasis in the uterus disrupting the Heart.

Healthy Tips for Postpartum Moms

A lot of easy and healthy tips can help mothers get back their balance and health during the postpartum phase. This phase is deemed by Chinese medicine to be a very critical part in a woman’s life and so giving time to nourish and care for one’s health post childbirth can greatly and directly affect the future of her health and well-being.

1) After delivery, a woman’s digestion tends to be become pretty weak, and due to the body’s huge demand for nutritious food in order to produce new blood and create breast milk, foods that are easy to digest, nourishing, and warm are very much recommended. Traditionally, the emphasis is on warm soups. The things that should be avoided are drinks, foods, or herbs that are either energetic in nature or cold in temperature. Fresh ginger root in small amounts used as a tea or mixed into soups can be very beneficial.

2) During the postpartum phase, it is very important for women to get lots of nourishment and rest. In several cultures around the world, a woman is given a specific rest period of about 40 days or 28 days in a moon cycle. When they start to feel stronger andin order to help improve the flow of blood and qi in their body, women should try to find time for walking or other moderate activity.

3) Moxibustion– This is a very effective TCM treatment designed to warm the uterine collaterals and the uterus. Moxibustion has proven to work extremely well for stimulating milk production, reducing the uterus back to its normal size, drying up the lochia, and treating or preventing hemorrhage. The life gate (Mignmen) opens during childbirth, allowing the infant to pass. The Mingmen then must close after delivery and get back its strength or else the Kidney qi will become deficient for a long period of time.

During a moxibustion procedure, a moxa plant is burned over the lower back or lower stomach for twenty to thirty minutes until a feeling of deep warmth penetrates the site of the treatment. The treatment is usually extremely revitalizing and relaxing and can be repeated several times, if so desired. It helps a lot if the partner or family member of the woman learns and administers moxibustion treatment on her at home.

4) In order to allow the pelvic tissues to renew and completely heal and to prevent uterine prolapse, heavy lifting should be avoided for the first four months. One should not resume heavy physical exercise or work until the fourth or fifth month after childbirth.

Herbal Prescription for Breastfeeding Mothers

The most important thing to remember is that when giving herbs to breastfeeding mothers, some of the herb constituents will also reach the baby via breastfeeding; therefore, caution should always be used. There may be a few exceptions, but the overall rule is to select herbal remedies that are considered neither too cold nor too hot, and neither too difficult to digest nor too drying. Qi depleting herbs should never be used. These include blood regulating and strong qi herbs, diaphoretics, and purgatives. Although this information can result in the limited use of herbs, all in all herbs are still extremely helpful, especially blood tonic and general qi formulas.

A mother with an emergent problem that requires the prescription of western drugs is an exception to this rule. In the case of mastitis, for example, the doctor will usually prescribe antibiotics, and Chinese herbs may hinder the need for such cold medications. If the use of antibiotics is required, herbs used as adjunct can prevent the need for high doses or long term use of the antibiotics.

The best guidelines for treating a breastfeeding woman are good diagnostics and plain old common sense. Make sure to use care with cloying herbs and support the middle burner if the woman suffers from blood and qi deficiency. If she suffers from blood and yin deficiency, do not use herbs that are too dry or warm in nature or ascending herbs. If she shows signs of stagnation due to cold, dispel cold gently and give her warmth, and stay away from cloying or cold substances. It’s always good to tonify any deficiencies as they usually are the underlying cause of various problems.