By Chia Ying Chou – B.TCM
(TCM), Dip.RM, Dip.TCM RM from Well Energy Practice
Postpartum
Health Preservation
Introduction
Postpartum
health preservation is a very important subject today. Whether or
not you believe in Chinese medicine herbs or superstitions surrounding “one month confinement” there is no doubt that belief plays a significant
role in one's feeling of health preservation and well-being.
Postpartum is simply too tired due to
excessive loss of blood and energy, sweating, backache, abdominal pain during
childbirth process. In addition, external wind-cold or wind-evil may attack
postpartum bodies due to their blood, bones, tendons and muscles are very weak
after delivery process. Therefore, new
mums will need more moderate exercises, recuperation, appropriate tonic and
diet to regulate and tonify their bodies and energy.
The
purpose of one month confinement is an Asian practice whereby new mums are confined to the home
or postpartum centre for a period of one month after the delivery of their
babies, aim to recover and restore their
health after 9 months of nourishing their infants in their wombs.
Discussion
Origins
in Chinese Medicine Medical writings about one month confinement (Zuo
Yuezi) can be traced back
to Xi Han (Li Ji‧NeiZe), it is more than two thousand years of
history, also called “Yue Nei”. It is
a very important ceremony after delivery process.
What is one month
confinement (Zuo Yuezi)
The
term of Zuo Yuezi that translates into “one month confinement”. The Chinese
tradition of Zuo Yuezi dictates that for 30 to 40 days from the birth of their
children, new mothers must stay
inside and avoid bathing, washing their hair or brushing their teeth. They must
cover their heads to prevent chills, keep the windows closed, and remain in bed
for as long as possible. It also requires mothers to avoid all forms of stress,
including crying, shouting and talking for an entire cycle of the moon.
New mothers can not eat cold foods such as cool
drinks, ice cream, cold fruits during one month confinement. Instead, they must
load up on ‘hot' foods like boiled eggs, chicken and fish soup. Along with the
tradition is a famous most importantly, Chinese postpartum ‘decoction' known
as Shenghua Tang was thought to purify the female body and help slow vaginal
bleeding.
Essentially, “one month confinement” was a
primitive form of quarantine to prevent postpartum complications. If you
analyze Zuo Yuezi in an early medical context, many of the practices made
sense. The avoidance of bathing and teeth-brushing was a way to prevent
water-borne illness; staying indoors helped women and babies avoid exposure to
communicable diseases, and covering the head protected new mothers from
catching a ‘chill'. Food-wise, the proteins and iron found in eggs, meat and
fish provided mothers with strength and muscle repair.
Rest and heavy consumption of hot soup helped
prevent dehydration, kept moms warm and was believed to promote the production
of breast milk. Clearly a lot of these reasons behind the confinement
are now obsolete since we don't have to fear contaminated water supplies, nor
would we be concerned about catching a "chill", especially if you
live in a tropical country. Although I think that the fallacy that you can
catch a "chill" from cold weather should be acknowledged.
The postpartum health
preservation in different countries.
“In the United States,
Germany and Japan, the new mums can have shower, brush teeth,
wash hair.
They
supply mineral
water with
gas but hot water
to drink
in hospitals.
The diets for
postpartum are no difference everyone. There are as well as ice apple, ice milk, iced tea
for postpartum in
Japanese
hospitals.
People do not preserve postpartum health as a very special status as in China.”
General diet of promoting
lactation with Chinese medicine herbs.
If
postpartum find that their milk supply is low, they
should add Radix Rhapontici (lou-lu tong) or vaccaria segetalis (wang-bu-liu-xing) to their soups. Postpartum can eat following dietetic food or
soups for promoting lactation.
Dietetic food includes knuckle, peanut,
tail, chicken feet, eggs, beef, milk, loofah, dofu, day lily, scallions, white
beans, black sesame, walnut, sweet potato, fish, shrimp, squid, sea cucumber,
gouqizi, guiyuan, capsicum, tomato, potato and nuts.
Soups for promoting lactation includes
stewed green papaya with ribs pork chops, fish soup, oyster soup, peanut and
tails soup etc. In addition, there
are some acu points may be used for promoting lactation including San Yin Jiao,
Zhu San Li and Xue Hai etc.
More About the Author: Chia Ying Chou
Chia
Ying Chou
is a nationally registered health
practitioner of AHPRA (Acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Chinese
Herbal Dispenser) since 2012, qualified with a Bachelor of Traditional
Chinese Medicine, Diploma of
Remedial Massage and a Fellow Member of the Australian Traditional-Medicine
Society (ATMS).
At Well
Energy Practice we are focused on providing Acupuncture, Facial Rejuvenation
Acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine consultation, Cupping, Scrapping(Gua Sha)
and Chinese herbal products for Postpartum health services with the highest
levels of patient satisfaction.
With over 10 years experience working in Chinese herbal products for postpartum health,
skin disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, infertility and supplementary treatment for
cancer patients.
We will do everything best we can to meet your expectations.
To find out more visit and connect with Well Energy
Practice online and if you would like to discuss your particular
situations, or have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact
us.
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