Fortifying the spleen and harmonizing the liver acupuncture and herbal medicine for postpartum depression
Item
Title
Fortifying the spleen and harmonizing the liver acupuncture and herbal medicine for postpartum depression
Description
International Journal of Clinical Acupuncture (2018), Mi, Huiru.
Abstract
Postpartum depression is a psychological condition that first arises in a new mother after giving birth. The mother generally has no history of mental depression, first onset generally occurs during the six weeks after delivery. Clinical symptoms resemble other forms of depression: sorrow, dismay, weeping, irritability, being agitated and even having suicidal thoughts or tendencies. The situation is closely related to many psychological and social factors; the multi-demensional nature of the disease often influencing physical and psychological health, growth and development of the infant, as well as harmony of the family. Considering the overall impact, sufficient attention should be given when symptoms arise, and the patient should seek immediate care and treatment. Until recently, anti-depressants were the primary treatment option for treating postpartum depression in western medicine. With psycho-pharmacology, the curative effect is nearly satisfied; however, the adverse reactions are serious and the medications influence lactation, limiting clinical use for postpartum depression. The severity of the condition combined with the desire to safeguard the infant necessitates finding a more suitable treatment. Years of clinical experience with postpartum depression patients due to various traditional Chinese medical syndrome patterns validate that each type needs a different treatment approach. To gather scientific data on a common treatment approach in traditional Chinese medicine, researchers conducted a trial to compare pharmacological intervention, citalopram, with acupuncture and Oriental medicine for 74 cases of postpartum depression. For the acupuncture and Oriental medicine group, the approach of fortifying the spleen and harmonizing the liver was applied as all participants were diagnosed as having a deficient spleen combined with a constrained liver. The results were compared with 37 patients treated with citalopram.
Alternative Title
International Journal of Clinical Acupuncture
Creator
Date
Date Created
5/1/2019
Language
English
Type
Journal Article
issn
1074-1979
issue
1
page end
9
page start
6
volume
27