The Month After Delivery

                                     The Month After Delivery                           

By Lan Miles 邱雪兰Ph.D

月子  or "yue zi" is the month after delivery and it is a very important time for a woman to recover.  Most problems facing women in the US come from a  lack of care during this month.  Pain, depression, and hormonal problems typically come after childbirth, not because of the baby, but because of ignorance on how to care for women during this time of vulnerability.  This lack of regard for women's health leads to rapid aging and irritability.  These kind of diseases are difficult to treat and are called "Yue Zi Bing"  They are easiest to treat if the woman gives birth again and is carefully looked after.  Common health trends involving jogging and weight lifting for pregnant women are harmful and lead to long term problems.  I hope that you share this to spare women you care about the needless pain and discomfort of gynecological diseases which stem from improper care during this sacred month.

1. Stay warm.
Stay away from cold drafts, cold weather and avoid cold or raw food and drinks.  Keep your head and neck covered as well.  Avoid being by the air conditioner and getting your hair wet.

Foolish

Wise

2. Nourish blood
Blood nourishing foods such as buffalo, beef, ox tail, spinach, dang gui, dates, eggs, liver, and black chicken.

Its is particularly good to add yi mu cao60g and dang gui 40g to chicken soup.  A traditional American method to boost blood is to use buffalo wasna made of ground buffalo and cherries.

3.  Avoid heavy exercise, exuberant running, jumping or sweating.  Light Taiji or yoga is acceptable.

4.  Wash the body with alcohol or ginger water.  This has a warming property and will guard the body from infection.

5. At the end of the 30 days herbal steams are used to bring on a purifying sweat.  The herbal steam should be applied for an hour.  It should be hot,  but one should bear it.  Then use the water from this steam to wash the body and hair. Wait until the 32nd day to take a shower, being careful to dry quickly and stay warm.  This herbal formula should be adjusted by a Chinese Medicine doctor, but a base formula often used is:
Ginger 30g
Hua jiao 30g
Dang gui 30g
Ai ye  30g