Obstetrics

Home/Posts/Theory and Practice/Obstetrics

Insufficient Lactation Case

Last week I saw a woman who was having difficulty with nursing.  She was 2 1/2 weeks postpartum.  She brought her beautiful daughter with her which was such a treat!  Then her husband took the baby so we could have some good time to look at what was going on.

After a good birth a bit after term, her baby had difficulty latching on.  The days of effort left the mom’s nipples feeling very raw and painful.  It’s much easier on the nipples when a baby really latches on.  But, she also felt that her baby was frustrated because the milk supply was not robust.  Since the birth she had not felt any sensation of fullness in the breast nor any sense of let-down.  She began to supplement with formula some to make sure her daughter was getting enough and also pumped to keep what milk she had available for the baby.  She was worried that her daughter would get so used to the ease of the bottle that she might not want to nurse any more at all.

Why was there not enough milk?  It’s normal for the postpartum woman’s breasts to be engorged with milk and for the let-down to allow milk to flow […]

By |2019-11-14T11:22:34-08:00November 14th, 2019|Adjunctive Therapies, Classic Formulas, Obstetrics, Qiu Xiaomei|0 Comments
Read More

Guest Post: Birth Basics Class

Guest Post by Claudia Citkovitz

I’ll be there!

Save the date!  Birth Basics Class has arrived.

My book, Acupressure, and Acupuncture during Birth won’t be out until December 19, but I’ll be teaching all the content (and then some) here at White Pine Healing Arts on September 28-29, 2019.

The class will cover needle and bodywork approaches for everything from labor preparation and prenatal homework through the three stages of labor and postpartum care.  In particular, we will look at the roles of Yin, Yang, Qi, and Blood in birth, and the effects of stagnation and deficiency on contractions, dilatation, and descent of the baby through the pelvis.

Suitable for non-acupuncturists such as doulas and midwives, students learn to recognize the faces of yin and yang, as they manifest and shift throughout the course of labor and delivery. Using a clinical problem-solving approach, you will learn to assess balance and flow from labor preparation through the postpartum period and use acupressure, bodywork, auriculotherapy, and moxibustion to support and encourage healthy labor. Acupuncturists taking the course will learn a full range of needling and non-needling techniques, suitable for even the most conservative hospitals. Non-acupuncturist birth professionals will come away with a powerful but manageable toolbox of new techniques for helping moms with breech, oligohydramnios and polyhydramnios, IUGR and other […]

By |2019-08-13T05:25:32-07:00August 12th, 2019|Acupuncture, Adjunctive Therapies, Books, Gynecology, Obstetrics|0 Comments
Read More

Ectopic Pregnancy Case: Da Huang Mu Dan Tang

Acupuncture for Acute Pregnancy Conditions

Last month, as part of the free formula series I am doing,  I did a talk on Healthy Seminars on the formula Da Huang Mu Dan Tang.  This is a Jin Gui Yao Lue formula that is not really known about or used in the TCM world.  Yet, it is extremely useful in the right situations and those to “carry up one’s sleeve.”   The formulas I have chosen for this series are ones I want to really get to the bottom of in terms of understanding. I find it so interesting that, when I take the time to really go in-depth into a formula, cases appear that need it!  In line with that, just after the June lecture on Da Huang Mu Dan Tang, Sara Rivkin, an herbalist in Brooklyn, NY, posted the query below on our forum.  She combined this formula with Yi Yi Fu Zi Bai Jiang San. This is a common combination. One of the lectures I gave in the series was on this formula so I am also including an Ebook here on […]

By |2018-07-10T07:28:02-07:00July 10th, 2018|Classic Formulas, Obstetrics|0 Comments
Read More

A Student’s Oligohydramnios Case

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, […]

By |2018-05-12T09:32:30-07:00May 12th, 2018|Classic Formulas, Obstetrics|0 Comments
Read More

Placenta Encapsulation: A Traditional Chinese Medicine for Post-Partum Healing

My personal experience has been nearly 100% positive, with mothers reporting feeling strong, bleeding times shortened, milk supply coming in full, and an overall sense of well-being. The clearest evidence, though, has come to me from second-time mothers who report feeling so much stronger and in control, even with a toddler to run around after in addition to the newborn. The placenta can easily be combined with a customized herbal treatment to provide the mother with full post-partum recovery.

By |2017-12-29T17:13:06-08:00December 27th, 2013|Adjunctive Therapies, Experiential Formulas, Gynecology, Obstetrics|3 Comments
Read More

Postpartum Care Continued…

In my clinic I have treated women who have contracted various illnesses, like fever, during the postpartum period. It is presupposed that one always differentially diagnoses in order to seek the cause and determines treatment upon examining the cause. At all times I pay attention to and give aid to the righteous Qi. Especially after the evil has retreated it is even more important to do such things as nourishing the blood and boosting the Qi, using banking up and supplementing methods.

By |2012-11-27T08:47:36-08:00November 27th, 2012|Diagnosis, Famous Doctors, Gynecology, Obstetrics, Qiu Xiaomei, Theory and Practice|0 Comments
Read More
Skip to content
Go to Top