Recovery After Birth

By Karen Pohlner

My interest in the field of pregnancy and childbirth developed when, as a new graduate, a woman consulted me for help with fertility. Notwithstanding my inexperience and her previous attempts at falling pregnant lasting over two years, fertility treatment was effective. Within two menstrual cycles, she was pregnant.

Brimming with confidence she then asked me to care for her throughout her pregnancy. Having no clinical obstetric experience outside of my university education, and no children myself, I began a journey of discovering how best to assist and support her.

Even with a background as a Registered Nurse I was astonished by the degree of medical intervention that occurs as standard obstetric care and the limited mainstream options made available to women for natural childbirth and parenting.

On the other hand, I have been delighted to discover the effectiveness, versatility and breadth of natural, non-drug treatment options that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers birthing women.

While pregnancy and childbirth are a normal and natural part of a woman’s reproductive life, there will always be some uncomfortable, undesirable or even dangerous conditions or complications requiring intervention. For some conditions, TCM will be a suitable and effective option as either a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with conventional medical treatment. Obviously, in the case of medical emergency women must seek attention from their Western medical doctor immediately.

This article will focus on how TCM might be of assistance to women in the post-natal period, defined as the period beginning immediately after birth and lasting for six weeks.

In TCM, the post-natal period is merely a point on a continuum which really starts up to 12 months prior to pregnancy as part of the preparation for producing strong, healthy, robust mothers and babies. Post-birth recovery is recovery not only from birth but from the experience of being pregnant and growing a baby for the previous 9 months.

It is my experience that post-natal care is not commonly discussed within our culture, although all mothers will be impacted by the extra demands on their bodies following pregnancy and childbirth. Some women will naturally bounce back, full of vigour and vitality, while others will struggle to recapture pre-pregnancy health.

There are a number of circumstances that may impede a women’s natural capacity for healthy birth recovery. A woman may have a constitutional weakness that predisposes her to a greater risk of post-partum symptoms. She may have experienced birth trauma or medical complications and intervention, multiple birth, previous miscarriage(s), pregnancies too close together, or be an older mother or have inadequate post-natal support.

These factors, combined with blood loss and the enormous energy demands of labour, the sleep deprivation and disruption of tending a newborn, and the continuing loss of body fluids via breast milk, can all affect a mother’s recuperation once the euphoria of childbirth passes.

A TCM practitioner has many creative methods at their disposal to treat the physical symptoms that normally arise in the post-natal period, as well as those arising from medical or surgical intervention. Treatment during the post-natal period is always aimed at supporting the mother. It tends to be gentle, nourishing, warming and tonifying.

TCM can assist with physical post-natal symptoms such as abdominal afterpains, post-partum blood loss, anaemia, urinary complications and haemorrhoids. It can also assist with the less physical symptoms associated with women adapting to the new responsibilities of motherhood. These can range from tiredness, fatigue and exhaustion, fluctuating emotions, sleep disturbance, general malaise and mild post-natal depression.

Herbal medicine is one of the quickest, most effective ways to restore energy and nourishment and thus support recovery after childbirth. Existing TCM clients can be prescribed herbs prior to birth or over the phone after the birth. This means that clinic visitation is not required and women are left to nest and bond with their babies uninterrupted.

Acupuncture is ideal when women have easy access and the inclination for a clinic visit. The effect is usually immediately relaxing, and provides good opportunity for some well-deserved timeout and self nurturing.

After birth, a special ‘mother warming’ technique using moxa, a cigar-shaped herbal stick, can be applied to the abdomen. This soothing technique, known as moxibustion, facilitates the shrinking of the uterus and ameliorates the discomfort of afterpains.

Chinese culture has a long history of using food therapy to support health and wellness. In the post-natal period, women are advised to avoid cold, raw food and fluid and take nourishing, warming, slow cooked food such as chicken soup. Post-natal dieting for weight loss is never recommended because it can further weaken the body, increase the risk of complications and may result in serious health problems in later years.

Acupuncture and herbs can also be used to treat the unintended, undesirable side effects of Western medical drugs and surgical intervention. Treatment aims to restore and support a woman’s delicate energetic equilibrium to facilitate the efficient metabolising and elimination of analgesic and anaesthetic drugs.

Steam baths (sitz baths) and externally applied herbal washes can promote healing, alleviate perineal discomfort and swelling, and may prevent infection from episiotomy wounds or stiches.

Acupuncture scar therapy is a technique which combines both acupuncture and moxibustion. It is used to strengthen and restore the integrity of broken skin, to promote healing, and to reduce the risk of infection. It can be used to treat post-operative caesarean section wounds.

The ability of a woman’s body to conceive, grow, birth and nurture a baby is truly a miracle of nature. Needless to say, some women will struggle to recover their pre-pregnancy health. It is hoped that this article has provided valuable information for women to make informed choices on how best to use Traditional Chinese Medicine to support and assist them during their post-natal recovery.

© May 2010 Karen Pohlner
Karen Pohlner is a Melbourne-based Practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine) with a background as a Registered Nurse. She has a special interest in women’s health, pregnancy and childbirth and a fierce desire to empower women to achieve optimal health and wellbeing using natural methods throughout their entire reproductive life.

www.bamboospirit.com.au
email: karen.pohlner@bamboospirit.com.au

55 Fawkner Street
South Yarra, Victoria, 3141
Ph: (03) 9821 4222

Nourishing post-natal soup

Ingredients
1 whole (preferably organic) chicken, skin removed or 5 chicken marylands
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
1 roughly sliced unpeeled lemon
Pinch of sea salt
3 slices of fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
10 g Dang Gui*
10 g Dang Shen*
6 red dates (Hong Cao*)
2 tablespoons Gou Qi Zi* (wolfberries or Goji berries)
3 dried shitake mushrooms* (soak in hot water to soften, then dice)
10 g dried wood fungus* (soak in hot water to rehydrate, then dice)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup Chinese rice wine
2 spring onions
Your choice of delicious diced fresh vegetables such as carrot, celery, zucchini, broccoli, capsicum, parsnip, turnip, celeriac or Chinese cabbage

Method

First make the stock by placing the chicken, bay leaf, peppercorns, lemon, ginger, garlic and salt in a stock pot covered by 10 cm of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour.
Allow to cool, strain and discard solids, keeping aside the chicken meat which is removed from the bones. Remove any oily residue that floats to the surface. Return chicken meat to the stock.
Add Dang Gui, Dang Shen, red dates, wolfberries, shitake mushrooms and wood fungus. Simmer for 40 minutes.
Add diced vegetables and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add sesame oil, soy sauce and rice wine and serve garnished with spring onions.
Take one bowl daily for the first 4 to 6 weeks after birth; cease when period returns.

These herbal foods can be sourced from Asian grocers and all ingredients are edible.

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