Threatened Miscarriage
What is Threatened Miscarriage?
A threatened miscarriage refers to the symptoms that indicate a miscarriage may occur before the 20th week of pregnancy. Warning symptoms of a threatened miscarriage can be vaginal bleeding, lower back ache, cramps, and abdominal pain.
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL) is defined as two or more consecutive pregnancy losses. Miscarriage is quite common for women, and may occur up to 50% in the first trimester. Most women who have experienced miscarriage go on the have successful, healthy pregnancies.
Miscarriages can happen due to a number of reasons: heavy metals, immune disorders, stress, or hormonal imbalances.
In traditional Chinese medicine miscarriage occurs when Kidney qi is unable to sustain a fetus. Whereas conventional medical professionals are unable to do much in the way of preventing or handling a threatened miscarriage, approaching this condition from a traditional Chinese medical perspective allows for many options in safely and naturally reducing risk of miscarriage.
A combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can help correct deficiencies, balance hormones, and reduce risk the risk of miscarriage naturally. Regular support and treatment during the first trimester can greatly reduce the chance of unexplained miscarriages.
Treatment
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an effective treatment option for stabilizing and maintaining pregnancy. Acupuncture works to strengthen the kidney and spleen, and to calm the heart and liver. By increasing the release of ACTH, beta-endorphins, serotonin, and noradrenaline acupuncture treatments can help increase blood flow, regulate hormones and enzymes, and relax and promote natural healing of the body. In women, increased blood flow to the ovaries helps improve egg/embryo quality, and increased blood flow to the placenta improves fetus nourishment and helps reduce uterine contractions, and regulated hormone levels improve ovarian function and egg quality, all while relaxing the body and reducing stress that may lead to early uterine contractions. In men, increased blood flow to the testicles helps improve sperm quality, which is essential to embryo quality.
Chinese Herbal Medicine
In conjunction with acupuncture or as treatment on its own, Chinese herbal remedies are useful in treating threatened miscarriage gently and naturally. Chinese herbal formulas are specially tailored for each individual case and are safe to take during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Some herbal formulas are surprisingly effective in supplementing deficiencies and saving pregnancy.
Nutrition and Diet
It is important to note that unhealthy diet and weight can lead to a higher risk for complications during pregnancy, so it is critical to ensure optimum nutritional health before, during, and after pregnancy and childbirth.
Because healthy egg and sperm development is so critically linked to proper nutrition, it is imperative to ensure that both partners have corrected any vitamin and mineral deficiencies and have avoided as much toxic chemical exposure as possible.
Minimizing risk of miscarriage from a nutritional standpoint includes minimizing consumption of caffeine and processed sugars, avoiding alcohol, cigarettes, illicit, and certain prescription drugs, avoiding exposure to toxins, and maintaining regular physical-health and mental-health checkups.
Lifestyle and Mind-Body Medicine
In addition to acupuncture and nutrition, learning relaxation techniques can greatly reduce risk of miscarriage. Practicing focused deep-breathing, meditation, yoga, tai-chi and other activities are among those that can increase your chances of a healthy pregnancy. Listening to music, focused breathing, or being outside in nature are also effective methods of managing stress. Calming the heart and mind is particularly important in the context of Chinese medicine for a successful pregnancy.
