Acupuncture for Childbirth & Postpartum

While there are acupuncture points that can provide natural pain relief during labor, acupuncture is more commonly used to induce labor. There are several points that stimulate contractions and influence cervical ripening. There is also an acupuncture point that has been found to turn a breech baby.

Acupuncture Postpartum

Many women feel depleted after the birth experience. Acupuncture and Oriental medicine can help the transition of those first few months after birth to ensure a quick recovery. Postpartum care focuses on the physical, emotional and psychological recovery of the mother from the effects of pregnancy and labor, as well as encouraging breast feeding.

Here are some of the postpartum issues that can be treated with acupuncture:

* Fatigue

* Postpartum Depression

* Mastitis

* Insufficient or Excessive Lactation

* Post Operative Healing

* Night Sweats

If you would like to know more how acupuncture and TCM ease discomfort and facilitate pregnancy, please call for more information.

source: Qi Mail

Bean Burgers—great blood-strengthening fuel!

And now for Part Two of our post-partum haircare episode...

Foods rich in iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 can help fortify the blood, promoting optimal health in new mothers and anyone else who needs to strengthen their blood.

Beans are a great source of iron, B-vitamins and protein (another key nutrient). These bean burgers, when paired with a salad of leafy greens and sprouts (for folic acid) and sliced tomato (for vitamin C, which aids absorption), are a tasty way to boost your intake and say hello to renewed energy and shiny, healthy hair!

Bean Burgers

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked beans
1 carrot, diced
1/4 onion, diced (optional)
1 tablespoon herbs*
1/2 cup bread crumbs, whole wheat flour, or cooked grain
Sea salt to taste
Toasted nuts or seeds


Directions:

Mash beans
Mix ingredients together and form patties or small balls.
Fry or bake at 350oF until browned (approximately 30 minutes)

*Some herbal combinations to try:
Coriander, cumin, ginger (lentil, black, aduki)
Sage, thyme, oregano (black, pinto, lentil, kidney)
Dill, basil (lentil, garbanzo, split pea)
Fennel or cumin (pinto, kidney)
Mint, garlic (garbanzo, lentil)

—recipe courtesy of Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Post-Partum Haircare

After giving birth, when hormone levels return to normal, new moms often experience many physical and emotional changes. One of the most frustrating is hair loss. Just as you’ve gotten used to enjoying the thick, healthy hair you had during your pregnancy, it starts to fall out, sometimes in clumps! There’s no need to panic, though—It’s completely normal and temporary. Hair loss usually begins three to four months after the baby’s birth, but within a year, your hair should be back to its vibrant self.

Normally, most of the hair on your head is growing and the rest is in a resting stage. After the resting period, this hair falls out and is replaced by new growth. An average woman sheds about a hundred hairs a day. When pregnant, however, fewer follicles are in the resting stage, so she enjoys thicker, more lustrous hair. After giving birth, your estrogen levels fall, causing more hair follicles to enter the “resting” stage, so you may notice more hairs in the shower drain or hairbrush.

Before you reach for the scissors, though, there are plenty of ways to help promote healthy hair growth. As a new mother myself, I definitely plan to try them out!

Through birth and breastfeeding, women literally give energy to another life. They need to make sure that they get enough nutrients so they have plenty to pass on to their baby without draining their own supply.

Chinese medicine has been treating hair loss for hundreds of years with acupuncture and herbs. As Paul Pitchford explains in his book, Healing with Whole Foods, “In Chinese medicine, hair is said to be an extension of the blood and therefore influenced by the health of the spleen-pancreas and kidneys.” To help restore hair to its healthy state, you need to nourish the blood qi. After giving birth, mothers are encouraged to take blood tonifiers for overall benefits (not just hair loss).

There are two general approaches to enriching and building blood through nutrition. First, you want to increase absorption of nutrients and secondly, you also should add nutrients that generate healthy blood.

The nutrients most often needed to cure blood deficiencies include iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12. Getting enough protein is also important.

Legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds are all good sources of iron, especially when eaten in their raw forms, as protein, copper, and B vitamins needed to aid absorption are still intact. It is also helpful to combine these foods with vitamin C to further enhance absorption.

Folic acid can be found in micro-algae, sprouts, leafy greens and other chlorophyll-rich foods. However, you have to be careful not to lose those nutrients by overcooking, so it may be best to eat these foods raw or lightly steamed.

One of the most convenient ways to obtain adequate levels of B12 is to use bacteria-derived tablets. Grains, legumes, sprouts, green foods, and vegetables are also good food sources of this key nutrient.

In some cases, animal protein may be necessary, as it is a more direct source of these nutrients.

At Five Seasons Healing, I use acupuncture treatments and herbs such as sangshen, he shouwu, and heizhima. to help encourage absorption, by building spleen-pancreas qi and reducing any damp/mucus conditions.

Something else you might want to try is an armotherapy oil blend tested by Scottish dermatologists at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. In a clinical study, patients massaged their scalps for two minutes every evening with the a blend of thyme, lavender, rosemary, and cedarwood oil mixed with a carrier oil—a combination of jojoba and grapeseed oils. They wrapped a warm towel around their head afterwards to further enhance the absorption. Patients were advised to use this treatment every night. After seven months, forty-four percent of the patients using the aromatherapy blend had improvement, compared to fifteen percent in the control group.

To promote health hair growth, try this aromatherapy blend:

Cedarwood 2 drops
Thyme 2 drops
Lavender 3 drops
Rosemary 3 drops
Jojoba oil 1/2 teaspoon (carrier)
Grapeseed oil 4 teaspoons (carrier)

This is great to try if you’re suffering from post-partum hair loss or simply want to add some life to your locks! I’ll keep you posted on my results!

10 Helpful Hints for Pregnancy, Labor and Postpartum

—from the Prenatal Yoga Center

October 23rd, 2008

Please enjoy this list of 10 healthful hints for pregnancy, labor and postpartum. Much of this information is gathered from friends, students, hands-on experience, mentors and teachers. I strongly believe in learning from others, so please feel free to pass this along to all your friends!

1. Olive Oil on Baby’s Bottom to Prevent the Meconium From Sticking

Vanessa, one of my recent doula clients, enlightened me to this brilliant idea. Right after your baby is born, take a few drops of olive oil and rub it onto the baby’s bottom. When your baby passes the meconium (your baby’s first poop), this dark, tar-like substance will be easy to wash off.

2. Arnica Helps Heal Tears of the Perineum After Labor
Most use the pellets rather than the cream for this type of wound. The cream is not supposed to be used on broken skin - though I have known women who have used the cream and found it to work without problems.

With the pellets, the you can put 2-3 in your peri bottle before you fill it with water, and use that solution when you pee. You can also take it orally (2 pellets) whenever you remember to. Try to avoid taking it around meals or touching the pellets with your hands. As you start to feel better you will naturally start taking it less often. Any dosage you can get will be helpful, but I think the stronger the better for this.

3. “The Midwive’s Pitocin”
Make a bowl of oatmeal, honey and nuts during labor and graze on it as you desire. If you break down the ingredients, you will find the perfect balance of complex carbohydrates, protein and natural sugar.

4. Hard Candy to Help Boost You During Labor
Because so many hospitals restrict eating during labor, it is possible for mom to get a little low in the energy department. I always bring hard honey candies with me to labors. This can give the laboring mom a bit of energy, and it dissolves in the mouth so it does not count as eating food, should any one ask.

5 Apple Cider Vinegar for Acid Reflux
Drink one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in the morning, before eating. Theoretically, it works because the stomach is fooled into producing less acid. (Midwifery Today Winter 2007)

6. Cold Maxi-Pads with Witchhazel, Lavender and Vaseline
Before you head to the hospital, take several maxi pads and pour witch hazel and several drops of lavender on them, and then place them in the freezer. Not only will this small science experiment feel good on your sore bottom, it also promotes healing.

One of my students recently passed on the idea of smearing some Vaseline on the pad to prevent any stitches you might have needed from sticking to the pad.

7. Breastmilk for Cracked Nipples
It is not uncommon for women to experience sore or cracked nipples while breastfeeding. It is usually a sign that your baby is not latching correctly. One treatment for helping heal your nipples is to express a small amount of breast milk or colostrum onto the nipple and allow it to air-dry.

8. EAT YOUR GREENS!!!
Dark leafy greens, such as kale, collard greens, spinach, arugula, beet greens and dandelion are packed full of vitamins and minerals, and they can alleviate many pregnancy-related discomforts. Studies have shown increasing your iron intake can help relieve restless leg syndrome. A lack of calcium and magnesium (both found in dark leafy greens) can help rid you of middle-of-the-night calf cramps. For those that suffer from constipation, the fiber in these vegetables will help get things moving along!

These dark greens are also rich in vitamin K. Insufficient Vitamin K can contribute to postpartum hemorrhaging.

9. Coconut Water for Electrolytes, Edema and Constipation
Tender coconut water (elaneer/nariyal pani) is one of the richest sources of electrolytes. It is high in chlorides, potassium and magnesium and has a moderate amount of sugar, sodium and protein. Potassium helps regulate blood pressure and heart function. Coconut water is also a good source of dietary fibre, manganese, calcium, riboflavin and Vitamin C.

Coconut water is also a natural diuretic, which will help prevent urinary tract infections as well as relieve constipation.

10. Check Out the Wonders of Nettles: A Safe, Wonderful Herb for Pregnancy and After
The use of herbs may be a very new concept for some, but I would like to introduce you to the nettle leaf. There are no contraindications to the use of this leaf during or after pregnancy. (Holistic Midwifery, Anne Frye) And the benefits are bountiful!

*Vitamins A, C, D and K, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, iron and sulphur are particularly abundant in nettles.

*Increasing fertility in women and men.

* Nourishing mother and fetus.

* Easing leg cramps and other spasms.

* Diminishing pain during and after birth. The high calcium content, which is readily assimilated, helps diminish muscle pains in the uterus, in the legs and elsewhere.

* Preventing hemorrhage after birth. Nettle is a superb source of vitamin K, and increases available hemoglobin, both of which decrease the likelihood of postpartum hemorrhage. Fresh Nettle Juice, in teaspoon doses, slows postpartum bleeding.

* Reducing hemorrhoids. Nettle’s mild astringency and general nourishing action tightens and strengthens blood vessels, helps maintain arterial elasticity and improves venous resilience.

* Increasing the richness and amount of breast milk.
–
The benefits of nettles listed above are an excerpt from Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed