Here is a case report from a student of the White Pine Graduate Mentorship Program.  There are several concepts here that are unique to the teachings of the program:

The concept of “crappy blood,” which is a term used for blood which has a quality of being thick, meaning too viscous. This relates to the general quality of the body’s blood.

The idea of watching a pregnant woman’s hemoglobin and hematocrit as a diagnostic aide and as an idication of how the Chinese medical treatment is going.

The concept of “Suspended Fetus” as an illness in pregnancy.

First Visit:

I just wanted to report that on Friday I got a case of a 36-week pregnant woman who was referred to me by a midwifery practice.  The main complaint was a breech presentation, which is why she was referred to me.   I asked her to bring her blood work when she came and am so glad I did. When she arrived I could tell right away she was feeling awful. It turned out she also had oligohydramnios, suspended fetus, constipation, very uncomfortable Braxton hicks, nausea her whole pregnancy.  Her tongue was very yin def tongue – thin, short, cracked with empty heat red spots all over it. You won’t be surprised to hear that her hemoglobin and hematocrit numbers did not move as much as they should have. Her hemoglobin went from 13dl to 12 instead of 11. (I can’t remember off hand what her exact hematocrit percentages were but they were also off.)

I told her about the diet she should be eating and she told me she had barely been eating any animal protein or fat. When I showed her the calorie/protein chart from our notes she said she hadn’t been coming close to that. She was so relieved to know there was something she could do to help improve her situation. I sent her home with Dang Gui Shao Yao San with the full 48g of Bai Shao.  I also added Sheng Di Huang to enrich Yin and improve the quality of her heat damaged blood.   Zi Su ye, Da Fu Pi and Chen Pi were added to improve her appetite and treat the suspended fetus. I added Huang Qin as well because she had a lot of burning in her epigastrium.

Normally, I would wait to report on this until she came back to see me but seeing as this 2016 program is ending, I thought I’d report it now. I am SO thankful for the knowledge imparted in this class. It felt so good to see a woman like this who was in a dangerous situation and know right away how to make an impact.
Her amniotic fluid will be tested soon so I’ll report back.  Thank you, Sharon!

Next Visit:

I just saw this patient again – 3 days after the first time. She is already so much better – no longer looked like she was sick. She went home Friday after our appointment and cooked and ate some bacon.  She said it felt so good to eat it.   She has been making sure to eat more protein and calories is coming pretty close to the recommended amounts which is way more than she was eating. She can’t believe how good it feels to eat butter on everything, too!  She has been having meat at every meal and a lot of bone broth, as well.

Here are the improvements she has experienced in the past 3 days:

  • Constant tight belly she had been having for the past 1.5 weeks is gone.
  • Her belly is “squishier.”
  • She felt the baby move in a new place which she was encouraging to her. (seeing she came to turn a breech position)
  • The suspended fetus feeling is gone.
  • No more burning in her epigastrium except for a little at night.
  • She moved her bowels a few times yesterday, so the constipation feels a lot better.
  • Tongue – I took a picture of her tongue today. You can see how crappy the blood is but it looked worse on friday. She couldn’t stick it out at all on Friday. It couldn’t come out beyond her lips and all the edges looked pinched like a raw pie crust.

Her next midwifery appointment is Thursday so we’ll know then about the state of her amniotic fluid. We are feeling encouraged.

Next Vist

Update: Today is 7 days since this patient first came to me, changed her diet and started taking the herbs. She had her amniotic fluid checked today and it went up from a 7 to an 11 so she was thrilled. She feels so much better overall with only some indigestion at night. Her baby is still breech. She has been doing a smokeless moxa pole at home twice daily. Last night she felt the baby turn to a transverse position but it couldn’t fully turn yet. Hopefully, this will follow as she gets healthier. I will update this with a picture of her tongue if it has changed. So happy to have been able to help this woman. Thank you again, Sharon.

Allyson