A woman who had three miscarriages has given birth to a healthy child after changing her dietary habits and being treated by Chinese traditional medicine, said Chang Chiung-Hung (張?宏), a doctor of Chinese traditional medicine at Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
The 35-year-old woman, surnamed Lee (李), married in 2013 and tried to have children with her husband, but had three consecutive early-term miscarriages over 18 months, Chang said.
After several doctors of obstetrics and gynecology failed to find any abnormalities with Lee’s reproductive system, the couple turned to Chinese traditional medicine, he said.
He found that the patient had “coagulated coldness of the uterus,” a diagnosis he made on account of her reported dietary habits, which included eating salad for every meal of the day and drinking cold beverages, Chang said.
Lee also said she had menstrual cramps with dark and clotted menses, and her hands and feet frequently became uncomfortably cold, he said.
“Hot” and “cold” refer to the two states of the body as theorized by traditional Chinese medicine that must be in balance for good health, and the states can be influenced by factors such as diet, Chang said.
An excessive intake of foods with “cold” qualities might impede the flow of qi (氣) and blood from weijing (胃經, stomach meridian) and ganjing (肝經, liver meridian) to the uterus, which are crucial to fetal health, according to traditional Chinese medicine, Chang said.
He advised Lee to avoid foods and drinks with “cold” qualities and prescribed “hot” medicines and foods, Chang said.
Lee became pregnant two months after the treatment began and gave birth without complications, he added.
A 15 percent risk of early-term miscarriage is considered normal, said Gong Xiao-fan (宮曉帆), doctor of obstetrics and gynecology at Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
In modern medicine, insufficiency of the corpus luteum — a temporary structure in the endocrine system that secretes hormones necessary for fetal health — appears to correspond to “coagulated coldness of the uterus” in traditional Chinese medicine, Gong said.
Gong said that women who have had two or more miscarriages should seek help from modern medicine, adding that Chinese traditional medicine is a viable option in cases of luteal insufficiency.
Pregnant women should avoid cold or uncooked foods, refrain from using alcohol or tobacco and avoid stress, Gong said.
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