Traditional Chinese Medicine: Childbirth and and Postpartum Care
Kinsey & Zander
Bringing a new life into the world is an amazing process, but the time spent in labor and delivery takes a toll on the mother’s
body. After giving birth, a woman’s body is depleted, and needs to be nourished by her environment (calm, quiet and warmth) and the foods she eats. She needs to take care of herself more than ever at this point, but must also take care of her infant. Balancing these can be difficult for the first few weeks, until both the mother and child are on a regular schedule.
Acupuncture and herbal medicine are extremely helpful in recovery after childbirth. The new mother will be sleep deprived
and extremely tired due to the loss of blood and energy in labor and delivery. She may also have some post-partum blues due to the hormonal changes. There are acupoints that practitioners use to help the mother recover physically and emotionally, and other techniques, such as moxibustion to warm the body and help her heal.
A Chinese recipe from Angela Wu’s “Fertility Wisdom” involves poaching an egg or chicken pieces with ginger, sesame oil, and
rice wine. These foods have properties to warm the body after giving birth. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, the process of birth can create a coldness in the lower abdomen, as well as stagnation. Shen Hua Tang, or the “Generation and Transformation” formula, is a traditional formula often used to help with lower abdominal pain after childbirth.
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Comments
Amy,
Such an important issue!
As a mother who went through a very difficult time after birth (c-section), I think that herbs are much better than acupuncture- at the first number of weeks.
There’s a very good formula called Post Partum, have you heard of it?
I took the raw version, which is of course disgusting :), but very useful, very very good!
It’s hard to balance everything, help is needed, and the new born mother should know to take it easy with everything else- laundry, cooking and all that can either wait or be done by someone else who comes to help.
I can go on about this forever. :)
Take care and thank you for writing about such an important issue.
Yael
Hi Yael- I’ve heard of the Health Concerns Post Partum formula in tablet form, but didn’t know anyone who had used it- thank you so much for sharing your experience! It’s great to know what is out there and works.
Take care-
amy
Hi Tamara- Rice cooking wine is available at most grocery stores now, and often at Asian food stores. If you are in Portland, FuBonn and Uwajimaya are great stores to check out. It’s best to use organic products when possible, and most brands I’ve tried work just fine.
thanks!
-amy
[...] that a nursing mother can safely take, including Shen Hua Tang, (the formula recommended in the post on TCM and Postpartum care), and the use of acupuncture relaxes the mother and ensures the smooth flow of Qi, or energy [...]