Tag Archives: lactation

Acupuncture for the Post partum Mother

I spoke this past weekend at the Chicago Birth Professional Conference. Many of you expressed interest in what I spoke about so I am sharing my notes here. Let me know if you have questions 😉

Chinese Medicine for Post Partum Care

The 3 days following child birth are considered a time of purging. Because the body is open it can be susceptible to depletion especially of energy (qi) and blood. Rest is paramount, ideally for 30-90 days. Staying warm regardless of climate or time of year is also important and is very protective of the body. (talk about back of neck and abdomen covered) A warming nourishing diet and avoiding cold and damp foods is also important during this time.

Foods to tonify qi:

Oats, rice, potato, sweet potato, mushroom, yam, basil, cinnamon, clove, dill, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme and jasmine tea

Foods to build blood:

Corn, sweet rice, beetroot, all dark leafy greens, apricot, avocado, date, kidney bean, sesame seeds, egg, red meat and spinach

Wheat and barley grass, green vegetables are important during nursing and are a Japanese folk remedy to support healthy milk supply.

Cooked foods are especially nourhishing at this time. Soups, stews, porridge etc are ideal

Foods to avoid: raw foods, dairy products especially milk and ice cream, greasy fried foods, foods cool in nature like cucumbers, peppermint etc

Moxa or Artemisia Vulgaris is a species of chrysanthemum and can be used for a variety of conditions. In Chinese Medicine there are several ways to use moxa and all involve burning this herb over or on acupuncture points.

One major benefit of Moxa is that it benefits circulation. It can be used to regulate the energy and blood of the body, expel cold and dampness especially if pain is worse in these kind of environments, warm the uterus, stop bleeding, regulate digestion as well as menstruation, and ease the fetus or turn a breech baby.

Moxa can be used preventatively as well. Burning moxa over the acu-point Zu San Li St36 on a regular basis is a great way to stay healthy. In Notes on Bian Que’s Moxibustion, it says, “when a healthy man often has moxabustion to the points of CV4, CV6 and CV12 he would live a very long life, at least one hundred years.”

Currently in Africa moxabustion is being used as a treatment for tuberculosis through the organization Moxafrica. There is research evidence from Japan in the 1930s and 40s where moxabustion was used effectively and cheaply to treat and in many cases cure TB.

Mother warming is a technique  used to gently nourish the body helping to tone the uterus and aid recovery after birth at a time when a woman needs to regain her strength to care for her newborn and establish breast feeding.

Benefits include strengthening the center, promoting lactation, preventing post partum depression, and boosting energy.

The properties of moxa help to build energy and blood and it is a warming herb.

Mother warming is usually preformed between day 4-6 post partum. This treatment can energize the mother and aid in recovery.

Moxa is applied to the midline of the abdomen to the acu-points cv2-8 (apprx the top of the pubic bone to the navel on the midline of the body)

 

photo credit http://www.compassionatedragon.com/images/acupuncture/ac_points/ac_ren3.png

 

Moxa is done in an upward motion until the mother feels a pleasant warming sensation appx 5-10 minutes.

Moxa can then be applied in the same way to the du channel of the back, midline of the body from appx the sacrum to the top of the iliac crests.

 

photo credit http://www.compassionatedragon.com/images/acupuncture/ac_points/ac_du4-14.png

 

UB23 the shu point of the kd is also a beneficial point to moxa at this time. It is in the same line as du4

photo credit http://www.itmonline.org/image/cystitis2.jpg

Contraindications: fever, night sweats or over a c section scar that has any suspicious redness or pus like discharge.

Other postpartum concerns Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can help:

  • After pains (abstain from cold, raw foods especially, protect against wind and cold environmentally) LV3 acupressure also great for menstrual cramps
  • Insufficient lactation
  • Mastitis/plugged duct (if treated right away can usually stop in its tracks and recover faster)
  • Termination of lactation (acupuncture and moxa 3-5 treatments)
  • Post partum depression
  • Night sweats
  • Dizziness
  • Complications from Excessive post partum blood loss
  • Palpitations/anxiety
  • PTSD (when working with other health care providers)

 

 

Natural Medicine Cabinet Essential: Postpartum Support

Yesterday we talked about how the body is depleted after childbirth and susceptible to cold and eating nourishing and warming foods. Today I’d like to talk about placentas. Consuming the placenta after birth is not a new fad, it is something that has been going on in various cultures around the world for quite some time. In the U.S. it became more fashionable to utilize the placenta in the 70s and is often associated with the homebirth movement. According to recent studies women who choose to use consume their placenta for postpartum support in the US are educated, middle class, and have both hospital births and home births. You might be asking yourself why on earth would someone want to do that?!

It is believed that eating the placenta offers support for lactation, prevention of or relief from baby blues, replenishes iron supply from blood loss during birth, stabilizes hormones, reduces after-birth pains, reduces bleeding time after birth and as a way to fight fatigue. Some mothers also use the placenta as a way to transition smoothly when menses returns and when weening. In some cultures the mothers themselves do not use the placenta but instead give it to their own mothers to fight symptoms of menopause.

Traditional Chinese Medicine considers human placenta an herb and is known as Zi He Che and is a warming herb. As a Chinese herb placenta holds the benefits above but has also been historically used to treat infertility, impotence, decreased libido, low back pain, light-headedness, insufficient lactation, chronic wheezing and cough and night sweats to name a few. Because of Zi He Che’s super tonifying nature it is an herb that is not recommended to be taken long term and especially not if you have a fever, inflammation, mastitis etc.

The TCM method of preparing placenta includes steaming it with lemon and fresh ginger and then dehydrating it in strips which are then pulverized and put into capsules and taken for a short period of time.

I am a proponent of utilizing the placenta for postpartum support because it helped me tremendously after having my child. I was at risk for postpartum depression and that was my main reason for seeking a placenta encapsulationist. I was a little leery about taking it from the Eck factor and the first couple of times I would swallow a pill my mind would make me feel like gagging but I felt a difference pretty quickly after I started taking them. In a pill form they look like any other supplement and did not taste like anything. I experienced pretty much all of the benefits of taking my placenta as described above. I found it particularly helpful at calming my emotions when I went back to work and had to leave my daughter.

This past weekend I received a certification of completion from Tranquil Transitions Placenta Training and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about placenta encapsulation, tinctures or salves. I am available to prepare your placenta as well.

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