Oriental postpartum care helps body recovery
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By Lee Seung-hun
Childbirth is a blessing in and by itself, and to the women who go through it, it is quite a great emotional and physical experience.
Physiologically speaking, a woman’s body goes through multiple changes that need to be addressed so that it can return to its pre-pregnancy state.
Hence, the need for postpartum care rises.
Without proper postpartum care, the changes in the mother’s body and mind may not fully be restored and suffer various types of postpartum disorders for a long period.
Some Korean readers have heard of the old Korean adage of “three/seven days.”
The term refers to the first three weeks right after the delivery.
In the old days, for the duration of this period, the house with a newborn baby would be marked with straw twines to prevent visits from relatives and neighbors.
Medically speaking, this period is critical as lochia is discharged from where placenta has been and the uterus contracts and recovers from pregnancy.
Taking care of the new mother’s body for this critical period forms the basis for a proper postpartum care.
For the new mother and baby, current Korean trend is to stay at a postnatal care center for a while once discharged from a hospital after the childbirth.
Many postnatal care centers provide treatments in conjunction with Oriental clinics for better treatment for the mother and the baby.
However, even with such trend, new mothers visit my clinic as they feel that their body has not fully recovered several months after the delivery.
In Oriental medicine, postpartum care for the new mother is administered in two phases.
First phase aims to lay the foundation for proper recovery by aiding in proper discharge of lochia and by promoting healthy circulation of blood in the organs within the pelvic cavity.
“Hanyak,” or Oriental herbal medication, prescribed for this first phase is called “eohyeolyak” and it is prescribed to the mother from the day when she can eat a normal meal.
Depending on the mother’s recovery progress, the prescription can be administered for 10 to 15 days.
Second-phase hanyak is called “sanhuboyak” and it aims to replenish the body with the main focus of restoring the qi and blood spent during the delivery process.
The overall aim of the second phase is to strengthen the joints and muscles, and to enhance general stamina.
Usually, the prescription is administered for 15 days, but can be taken for longer periods depending on the mother.
In principle, patients are recommended to receive the first and second phase treatments in succession.
However, for patients who have not planned ahead and thus can only visit some time after the delivery, both phases can be administered in parallel.
As it is recommended that a new mother stays indoors for a certain period right after childbirth, it is best to plan postpartum care in advance by visiting the clinic during the final weeks of the pregnancy.
That way, the doctor can be properly consulted in advance to have future treatments in place so that the recovery treatments are administered in due time.
Another aspect of postpartum care regards the body’s posture and alignment.
It is not only during delivery when the pelvis twists to open up the birth canal, but also during the entire pregnancy as the fetus grows inside, the mother’s spine gradually takes a different shape as the belly becomes larger.
The upper back extends backward and the lower back curves forward gradually to exaggerate the curvature.
Although the widened pelvis and bent vertebrae can naturally restore themselves after delivery, many mothers experience that they do not, and require separate treatments.
Telltale signs include finding it difficult to fasten the button on the pants that you used to wear although you have lost the “pregnancy weight” or feeling thicker in the thighs in comparison to the pre-pregnancy state.
Other signs of changed posture include slightly wider gap between the knees, and pains in the neck, shoulder, lower back and pelvis.
Breastfeeding and holding the baby in the arms, even though they are necessary parts of child-rearing, puts the mothers’ body in strain as they force the upper back bend forward and add extra load on the lumbar area, which can hinder recovering from the posture issues.
Posture correction treatments include Chuna chiropractic and acupuncture in parallel.
Chuna chiropractic corrects the twisted and misaligned spine and pelvis while acupuncture relaxes the strained muscles around the spine to alleviate the pain and help with posture correction.
Naturally, this posture correction treatments can only administered once the uterus has properly contracted and the body has fully recovered.
Doctors will recommend that they be started four to six weeks after the delivery to
allow the body to recover its stamina spent from the delivery process.
At the opposite end, the treatments are more effective if the mother starts with the treatment no later than six months after childbirth.
Many families still rely on home remedies for postpartum care as has been practiced for centuries.
However, it is strongly recommended that expectant mothers visit a local Oriental clinic and consult with the doctors to have a postpartum care options in place tailored for the mother’s body.
The writer practices Oriental medicine at the UN Oriental Medical Clinic in Hannam-dong, Seoul.