Postpartum
Care for Better Future Health
Postpartum Confinement
According to Traditional Chinese
Medicine(TCM), normally our joints are closed. But the process of labor and
delivery and blood loss during delivery of a baby often deplete mothers’ qi and
blood.
During the postpartum, the channels and collaterals are empty, organs
are weak and blood stasis occurs in the uterus, leaving mothers vulnerable to
other illnesses.
In the postpartum period, the body cavities
are open and loose, and pathogenic cold can enter the body easily. As the body
cavities recover and gradually close up, cold wind that enters during the
postpartum period will be trapped in the body, affecting the future health of
mothers.
According to TCM, illnesses that mothers
catch during the postpartum period can only be treated in their next postpartum
period. It is only during the postpartum stage that the joints are open which
allow medicine to absorb and make treatment possible.
Women who are week may experience back pain
after postpartum. As they grow older, they may even feel overall body pain,
especially in the joints. For some, the pain may never go away. This is known
as postpartum syndrome.
Postpartum Depression
Postpartum Depression is caused by a
combination of biological and psychological factors. Mothers with postpartum
depression experience feelings of anxiety, insecurity, guilt, fear and so on.
Some women with postpartum depression feel hopeless and have thoughts about
suicide or harming their babies.
Biologically, postpartum depression is
triggered by hormonal changes associated with having a baby. After childbirth,
women experience a big drop in estrogen and progesterone hormone levels,
leading to mood swings and postpartum depression.
Psychologically, it is due to the anxiety
about one’s ability to care for the baby, feeling overwhelmed by the new
lifestyle, and difficulty in adjusting oneself to new role. Mostly women
experience some form of short-term baby blues period, some of them may develop
into longer lasting postpartum depression, or even develop postpartum
psychosis.
Herbal Decoctions to Treat Postpartum
Depression
1.
Take one serving a day, simmer
with water 30g Lily bulb, Lilyturf root, Heterophylla, Floating wheat; 15g
Rehmannia root, Jhuru, 10g Schisandra, 6g Licorice, 6 pieces Jujube.
2.
Take one serving a day with water 10g Bupleurum,
Angelica, Ginger, Atractylodges, 12g White Paeony Root, 6g Mint, Bupleurum, 15g
Poria
3.
Take one serving a day with
water 3g Huang Lian, Baicalin, White Paeony Root, Calamus, Bupleurum, Licorice,
Turmeric, 10g Ejiao, 30g Floating wheat, 15g Zaoren, 5 pieces Jujube.
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