Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pregnancy -Part 2: First Trimester

Having had a look at how Traditional Chinese Medicine can help infertility lets have a look at how Traditional Chinese Medicine can help during pregnancy up until the birth.

From the moment a woman conceives a good practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine will be able to tell if the woman is pregnant and more than that will be able to tell the likely sex of the baby. How is this done? One of the major diagnostic tools in Chinese medicine is pulse taking. This art takes many years to refine and interpret. In pregnancy the lower pulse on each wrist where the radial artery runs becomes a quality called " slippery". If this pulse is located on the right side the probability of the baby a girl is more certain and if located on the left side the probability of a baby boy is more certain.

The first common acclimatisation for a pregnant woman is the effect of morning sickness. This often only lasts for the first trimester but for some women it can last the whole nine months. In Traditional Chinese Medicine pregnancy causes a disruption to the downward flow of Qi from the stomach causing it to rebel upward resulting in nausea and sickness. The use of acupuncture in re-correcting the flow of stomach Qi so that it resumes its downward course is extremely effective. This beneficial effect of acupuncture on the stomach is also used for patients during chemotherapy courses where nausea is a very common side effect. In fact a clever person recognised the marketable value of the acupuncture point pericardium 6 and developed the sea sickness bands that you can buy in chemists. These bands have a stud that presses on the acupuncture point causing mild stimulation and is effective but compared with acupuncture the results are poor.

I have treated many women with morning sickness in varying degrees and have always found acupuncture provide relief. The use of herbal medicines can be tricky in treating morning sickness even though the herbs used are very effective but they have to be ingested and with morning sickness it can be difficult to keep things down! So depending on the severity herbs may or may not be of use.

In terms of classification there are two main types of morning sickness either hot or cold types. A very simple treatment for cold type sickness is fresh ginger root; this can be taken by infusing 2-3 thin strips in boiling water and drunk as a tea. For the hot type sickness the sap of the bamboo plant, which is very cooling, is taken.

There are other conditions that TCM treats in the first trimester such as break through bleeding, threatened miscarriage, weakness of the mother and elevation of blood pressure to name a few. As in all consultations specific histories will have to be ascertained so that a correct diagnosis is made and treatment planned. Liasing with the patients medical support team is also highly recommended so the best treatment can be provided during a woman's crucial start of pregnancy.

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