Life’s News: A Newsletter about Chinese

Medicine for Women

Winter, 2008 Issue 5

Life’s News is a newsletter from Life Healing Life & Fertile Ground CHinese Medicine Clinics in Minneapolis, MN

Specializing in Women’s Health & Fertility. It is Written by Nicole Lange & Kara Yorkhall. We hope you enjoy it!

Guarding the nest:

suggestions for the first trimester

by Kara Yorkhall, Lic.Ac. MA.OM.

Although experiencing miscarriage is devastating for any woman, it may be particularly difficult for women who have been struggling to get pregnant. If a woman has fertility issues, she may have been waiting for a positive pregnancy test for years, and once it finally happens the fear of miscarriage can be more overwhelming and emo-tionally exhausting than the challenges of not being preg-nant.

First of all, if you are reading this and you are pregnant, relax, take a deep breath, congratulate yourself. You may have made sacrifices of time, energy, and money, many times foregoing what you wanted to eat or do to help you achieve this pregnancy. Welcome that new baby (or ba-bies) into the nest you have created in you.

If you are not pregnant, read on to discover helpful sug-gestions that you can incorporate during your luteal phase when you are trying to encourage implantation and the earliest stages of pregnancy.

As an acupuncturist and practitioner of Traditional Chi-nese medicine specializing in fertility and pregnancy care I rejoice in every new pregnancy, especially when the couple has been battling fertility issues. However the humbling statistic that 15-20% of pregnancies end in mis-carriage during the first trimester keeps many of my pa-tients from enjoying this time because they are terrified of loosing the precious life inside of them. While some

small amount of fear is probably inevitable and may even be helpful, fear verging on paranoia needs to be worked through and addressed.

It may be reassuring for women in this situation to know that Traditional Chinese Medicine is effective in treating threatened miscarriage should vaginal bleeding, cramping and a low back ache occur during pregnancy. We can’t stop a miscarriage that is occurring due to genetic abnor-malities, but the use of acupuncture and herbs can often times stop the bleeding and cramping if it is due to mater-nal factors. There are also some preventative things that you can do to optimize your chances of having a success-ful first trimester-- so that you can embrace the things that you can control and let go of the things that you can’t.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Pregnancy loss due to maternal factors is often the result of the same imbalances that were making it difficult to

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In This Issue:

Guarding the nest 1 & 2

Easing the pain of ART Injections Pg 3

Book Report: Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Anger-

wisdom for cooling the flames” pg 3

Warming up to winter pg 4

Seasoned Cooking: LAMB WITH GINGER Pg 4

Ask the Acupuncturist pg 5

Mindfulness 101 Pg 5

conceive in the first place. Therefore if you were employ-ing Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques such as acu-puncture, herbs, breathing and Qigong techniques, dietary therapy, and stress reduction practices to help you get pregnant, continue with those practices! Of course you will want to consult a professional herbalist or other medical practitioner to discuss any herbal prescriptions and review your case now that you are pregnant.

If you are newly pregnant, you want nothing more than to protect the precious and vulnerable seed within you. You want to create a warm, harmonious, calm and welcoming environment in your body. The feelings and thoughts that you experience are passed on to your baby, so taking care of yourself emotionally, physically and spiritually is very important right now. Now is an essential time to listen to your body: rest when you are tired eat when you are hun-gry, cry or express your emotions in other ways when you are sad or frustrated, connect with loved ones when you are lonely. Now is not the time to tough it out- to exer-cise strenuously, to push yourself at work, to ignore your feelings or your need for intimate connection. Your em-bryo will benefit from every moment that you can spend in a calm and centered state.

Here are some more Traditional Chinese Medicine sug-gestions for creating the stable and safe environment in which a miscarriage is least likely to occur.

Exercise Gently•Avoid any movement that causes your pelvic muscles to contract strongly such as pilates, sit-ups, or standing poses in yoga. Take stairs slowly and avoid them if possible. Leisurely walking, Qigong, or restorative yoga are good options. Never exercise to the point of feeling tired.

Avoid extremes of heat and cold.

•Do not eat spicy foods.

•Avoid very cold foods such as frozen foods, iced beverages, and a lot of raw foods. Let your diet consist mostly of cooked foods that are easy to digest.

•Avoid baths, swimming pools, and hot tubs. Take warm showers but do not linger in the shower. Be sure to thoroughly dry your hair after washing it.

•Take special care to bundle up warmly in the cold winter months. Even in summer do not ex-pose yourself to drafts, sit on cold surfaces, or get chilled. Do not get overheated.

Avoid strongly invigorating activities and substances. •Avoid shoulder rubs or deep tissue body work. There are acupuncture points on the tops of the shoulders that cause the Qi to descend. During pregnancy we want to pull the Qi up, to keep the baby inside.

•Do not wear strong perfumes which are invigo-rating to the senses.

•Avoid uncooked fresh ginger and dried ginger. Ginger is often recommended as a remedy for morning sickness but it important to make sure it is sauteed or cooked. Otherwise it’s affect on the body may be too strong.

If possible, avoid travel by air or by car on bumpy roads. • Exposing a pregnant body to the stress of flying is not optimal for regulating the flow of Qi and blood and protecting the embryo. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the safest time for a pregnant woman to travel is during the second trimester (specifically 18 through 24 weeks). If you must fly, try to make is a quick flight, get up and walk around every 30 minutes, and try to make the flight as stress-free as possible.

• While in the car be careful not to get jostled around too much, so drive slowly over bumps...and keep breathing deeply to keep oxy-gen flowing to your embryo.

It may be helpful to remember that half of all first trimes-ter miscarriages are due to congenital defects and cannot be avoided. That said, by working with a TCM practitio-ner and following the above suggestions for self-care you can feel confident that you are doing what you can to carry your embryo through this delicate time.

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Ouch!

Tips to lessen the

discomfort of ART

Shots

by Nicole Lange Lic.Ac. MAOM

Deciding to pursue assisted repro-ductive therapies (ARTs) such as inseminations and IVF is filled with difficult choices and sacrifices. Still, a suc-cessful outcome can make it all worthwhile. Try the fol-lowing tips to help make your injections a less painful part of the process. Remember: always follow all steps to insure clean needle standards, remove air and bub-bles from syringes and always follow your clinics proce-dures carefully and ask if you are unsure whether a tip is right for you.

Generally:

• Insert and remove all needles at 90 degree angles

• Massage the injection site* afterward to help your body absorb the injection, move stagnation and prevent pain (*do not massage injection sites when you are using blood thinners like heparin or lovenox)

• To reduce stagnation and increase absorption try using heat locally or move the area (literally) by going for a walk or doing light Qigong.

• Ice can numb the nerves to decrease pain at injection, but will also cause the blood flow to the area to stag-nate, slowing absorption and increasing pain after the injection is over. It is best to develop a good technique for puncturing the skin and avoid ice when possible.

• If you find injections with syringes painful (as opposed to pre-made pens) ask your clinic if they can provide you with larger gauge needles (larger gauge means smaller needle size). This will mean the needle is less painful going in, but will also require you to take longer injecting the same amount of fluids (through the smaller needle).

Sub-Q injections:

• Try different locations and move locations around from day to day (some women prefer the hip, while others find the lower abdomen more comfortable)

• Some stimulation meds are known for stinging as they are injected. Some women find that letting the needle “rest” (sit out in the prepared pen/syringe) for 15 min-utes prior to injecting help take the sting out.

IM Injections:

• If at all possible get assistance with these injections

• Lie down and try to relax the muscle you will inject, the more tense the muscle, the more resistance and pain.

• Stretch the skin of the injection site slightly before nee-dling it so the needle will puncture the skin quicker.

• Progesterone in sesame oil can be thick and difficult to inject. Warming the oil to body temperature by placing the vial in your bra* for 15 minutes helps thin the oil and make it more comfortable to inject (*be sure to thoroughly clean the rubber top with alcohol before you draw the shot to avoid contamination).

• Use small circular bandages or draw a chart and mark where you did your last progesterone shot to help move the site around (if you are doing these for several weeks into pregnancy this can be a big help for your bottom!)

• You may also want to ask your clinic if they offer Pro-gesterone in Ethyl Oleate (instead of sesame oil). Ethyl Oleate is much thinner and easier to inject/absorb.

Book Report: Taming Your Temper

I recently came across Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames.” The title was laid out on the cover so that the word ANGER seemed to float on a background of tranquil blue. As a human being struggling with tendencies towards feeling angry and frustrated and as a person living in turbulent and sometimes angry times I was compelled to read on and to find out what I might learn from the writings of this Buddhist monk and intriguing man.

Imagine someone started your house on fire and you saw them do it. Now, imagine what your response would

be. Would you run after them and let your house burn down or would you try to put the fire out ?

Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that this is exactly the situation when someone or something makes us an-gry. To run after the thing or person who set the fire might make us feel temporarily justified but is ulti-mately unwise, has disastrous effects and does noth-ing for saving what might be saved. Instead, he sug-gests that readers tend to the fires in their lives and the world. Pay attention to the flames and save all that is important. But how?

Through mindfulness, breathing, walking, embracing our anger, looking deeply into the nature of our perceptions, and looking deeply into the other person to realize their suffering we might come to view our anger not as a fire, but rather as a crying child who needs our attention and care.

If these ideas intrigue you and you would like further information I highly recommend you check out this book! -Nicole

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Seasoned Cooking:

Lamb with Ginger

In traditional Chinese food therapy, foods are thought to be inherently warm, neutral, or cool. These warming and cooling properties are independent from the actual tem-perature the food is served. For example cooked lamb & beef are thought to be warming while cooked chicken and pork are cooling. Room temperature plums & cherries are warming while room temperature pears and apples are cooling. Ginger, pepper and cinnamon are warming while cilantro, salt and mint are cooling.

When choosing foods, their warming and cooling effects should be taken into consideration. Examples include: choosing warming foods if you tend to be cold, choosing cooling foods to avoid heatstroke, and choosing warming foods in the cold winter months. The following recipe is an example of this type of “winter” cooking:

1 1/2 lb. leg of lamb1 T. fresh grated gingerJuice of one lime1 1/2 cup cashew nuts2 sprigs fresh mint1 T olive oilS &P to taste4-5 cups prepared Basmati rice

1. In a hot pan dry-fry the cashews until they are golden 2. Remove cashews from pan and chop roughly.3. Cut lamb into small pieces4. Heat oil over high heat in a pan then brown the meat for 5-6 minutes.5. Remove the lamb and season with S&P (keep warm).6. Deglaze the pan with about 1/2 cup of water.7. Add ginger to pan and leave to boil and reduce to al-most dry. Scrape the juices from the bottom of the pan to create a light gravy. 8. Put meat back into pan, cook in juices over high heat for a couple more minutes (until lamb is done).9. Serve over basmati rice and drizzle with lime juice and sprinkle with cashews and chopped mint.

Serves 4: 15 min. prep, 10 min. cook, medium difficulty.

From Sofeminine.com

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In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. ~William Blake

Warming up to winter

By Kara Yorkhall, Lic.Ac., MaOM

The 21sr of December is always a notable day for me. The winter solstice represents the deepest Yin--the coldest and darkest time of the entire year. On this day the balance tips and we begin to move towards the warm, bright days of the Yang time, summer.

This winter while staying in a rustic cabin in the woods on one of the coldest weekends we’ve seen in years, my friends and I marveled at how people survived in these harsh conditions before the advent of central heating. We concluded that people must have spent a lot of time around the oven. The warmth and comfort of of a cookstove was not just a way to cook food, but probably also the central hub of family life.

Especially women would’ve found themselves bump-ing up against the oven all day, leaning over a steamy pot of soup, stirring porridge, making bread, or heating water for laundry. Upon returning to my south Min-neapolis home I began to notice how in these modern times, putting the oven in the center of my family’s life helps to anchor us, especially in this time of deepest Yin.

From the morning pot of congee or hot porridge to a cup of tea before bed I appreciate how even my oven adds a sense of warmth, rhythm and calm to my days. There is something soothing about the rhythm of a knife chopping, the sizzle of ginger and garlic in the skillet, the vibrant colors of fresh vegetables, the smells rising from the stove top and filling the house with lovely aromas.

During times of stress or overwhelm, a cooking project seems to create a sense of harmony. My stress seems to dissipate as a beautiful meal appears. My creative juices are flowing and my senses are enlivened. When our environment is muted in whites and grays, frozen and quiet, these bright moments bring joy to a winter’s heart.

In our busy modern lives we tend to move outward, to be working, shopping, doing, even as the seasons change around us. This winter, try to to look inward. Be home more. Find a warm spot. Cook Soup. Enjoy.

Ask An Acupuncturist

If you have a question you’d like an-swered please email it to nicole@lifehealinglife.com

Dear Nicole, I’d heard that acupuncture the day of embryo transfer in IVF has been shown to increase pregnancy rates, but now I’ve heard the opposite. Do you know which is true? --Confused

There have been several peer reviewed western studies that have aimed to determine the effectiveness of acu-puncture treatments before and after embryo transfer. While the first several studies (see Fertility & Sterility 2002, 2006) showed statistically significant improve-ments in clinical pregnancies and live births with acu-puncture, a more recent study (2007) showed the oppo-site. Although I'm sure most western minded physicians and patients would find this study alarming I hope I can shed some light on why I do not.

When I looked further into the study I noted that the author of the study (Dr. LaTasha Craig) noted two things: 1) she acknowledge the fact that several other larger stud-ies seemed to have findings that were quite the opposite and acknowledged the need for further study and 2) she stated that she believed the difference in pregnancy rates in this latest study may have more to do with the stress of having to drive to and from extra appointments than the acupuncture itself (The previous studies did the acupunc-ture on site). I would also suggest that the stress of having to find a clinic where one has never been and getting acu-puncture from a stranger are additional stressors.

Her latter point makes a lot of sense from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective and is already something I am sure to discuss with my patients as they approach their transfer date. I would never say everyone should have acupuncture on the day of transfer, but rather discuss op-tions, pros and cons and stress levels and suggest they consider a wide range of options...no acupuncture at all, house call acupuncture after, pre and post at my clinic, pre and post at the fertility clinic (some do allow this), just getting a treatment the day before and taking it easy the day of... there are many many viable options and no single one is right for every woman...no matter what a study says!

If indeed relaxing and listening to what is best on a unique, holistic and personal level is what makes tradi-tional Chinese medicine so powerful, and true traditional Chinese medicine is based on taking into consideration all that a woman is experiencing (both physically and emo-tionally) how could one thing be good for everyone!

It makes perfect sense that women who were randomized into two groups and then half of them were instructed to drive to and from a place they had never been to get acu-puncture (maybe never having had it before) from a com-plete strange might indeed cancel out any possible bene-fits by sheer stress alone.

Ultimately, I think this study could be helpful. It might be used as an example of why it is important to realize that stress is a very important factor and to make sure patients are making their decisions on what is helpful for them and not just what a study says.

Mindfulness 101: Naming Meditation

Try taking a walk and using as many different adjectives as you can to describe all that is around you. Use all your senses. What can you smell, taste, hear, see and touch?

Take the time to touch a few different things pick up a stone, leaf, or feather you see along the way.

Take the time to feel the temperature of the air as you breathe it in.

If your mind starts to wander, simply bring it back to the moment and start all over.

If you have received this newsletter through a friend and would like to be added to the mailing list or would like more information on treat-ments or classes please contact Nicole Lange or Kara Yorkhall

The information in this newsletter is based on classical Chinese medical theory and was written by board certified, licensed acupuncturists. It is intended for use as general information and should not replace individual care or be used in place of a medical diagnosis or specific treatment (by an acupuncturist or west-ern medical doctor).

Stock Photo Credits: istockphoto & microsoft clipart

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Nicole Lange: Life Healing Life Acupuncture for Women’s Health & Fertility 2917 Bryant Avenue South Suite No. 5 Minneapolis, MN 55408 nicole@lifehealinglife.com www.lifehealinglife.com

Kara Yorkhall: Fertile Ground Natural Care2917 Bryant Avenue South Suite No. 5Minneapolis, MN 55408 612-308-7993kara@fertilegroundnaturalcare.com www.fertilegroundnaturalcare.com