[Ciara McNiff]

I regret not being more a part of this group. I am still working on writing about scalp acu and birth and LBP which I spoke of one class. I am currently gathering info as I have not had many prego people I can use this on lately. However, I did add scalp acu on someone at 41 weeks with a long hard cervix and 1 cm dilated on a Tuesday pm and on Thursday when she came back had a soft cervix and was 3 cm. She also did liver gummies and moxa for a posterior babe… but that was so amazing! I am keeping on this idea and documenting the case studies.

Claudia, you are lovely, amazing and such a wealth of info. I hope you feel valued and that your wisdom is appreciated. I hope my inability to attend will not turn you off of this!!

[Ciara McNiff]

Carmen,

I did St 36 often pregnant with twins where one babe was a small babe with marginal cord. It helped so much and he grew beautifully once I started and continued throughout my pregnancy.

I also heard from a practitioner who supported his wife with moxa on St 36 and stopped the babe from having an early section and went full term.

[Ciara McNiff]

Kristen :). I completely agree with Claudia- I used that for myself in my pregnancy and use it with others regularly and see great results. Ciara

[Ciara McNiff]

I love this recipe. It was super helpful for me when feeding my twins. Someone I loved would make a huge pan of it and I would eat a chunk of it daily and, if possible, nap. I would wake full of milk. More than that- it was a really good lesson- as a busy mom of three- what it actually took for me to nourish myself. I often chose to eat rice with veg and meat… but comparing my milk supply after eating something so nourishing to a normal meal- it was a really good indication of what I was needing to nourish myself and my babes.

Milk making Lasagna

Tomato Sauce

1tbsp of olive oil

1 medium onion chopped fine

6 garlic clove minced or pressed

1/3 lb each of pork, veal and beef

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ cup of heavy cream

1 28oz can of tomato puree

1 28oz can of drained diced tomatoes

Ricotta, Mozzerella and pasta layers

15 oz of ricotta chesse (14/4 cups)

1 1/4 cups of Paremesan cheese freshly grated

½ cup chopped basil leaves

1 egg lightly beaten

½ tsp salt

½ tsp of pepper

12 no boil lasagne noodles

4 cups shredded mozza

<ul role=”list”>

[Ciara McNiff]

I thought I would post an update. Thank you Sarah and Deb. Sarah I will try to address all of your questions below. I cannot read your post while I type, so if I miss any- I will try to add them in after.

I’d like to correct- she had been contracting starting at 32 weeks.

It was her midwife who contacted me about the client. She is an excellent midwife who has been in practice for 25 years and trained as a NICU and Land D nurse. The mama was being closely monitored for infection. This client is her daughter and she was staying with her mom (the midwife during this time).

I saw the Mom the evening before the Ultrasound. She presented with a lot of pain. She had no fever. She had started to bleed fresh blood upon contractions the day before- not a lot, but enough. I cannot remember the color of the blood at this time. Her biggest complaint was the pain of the contractions- worse when feeding. She presented as blood deficient and very tired- her constitution is damp and stagnant however. Just by way of back ground- Her little babe ate three or four times when I was there- she fed, had a massive burp, a toot, hung out for a little bit and then yelled to feed again. At one point she ate a pumped bottle to give the mom a break. It seemed like she was making up for lost time now that her tongue tie was snipped.

The midwife and I discussed 3possibilities- could this cramping be normal? It may be hard for her uterus to shrink with the large fibroid? The cramping as the uterus returns to normal size is more painful as you have more kids- this is babe number 3 and she now has a large fibroid. Her uterus was very large. At this point in time (28 days post birth), her uterus has not shrunk and her abdomen was very hard and tender to the touch?

On the other hand- Is it worth just trying to settle the cramping- is her uterus just irritable as it had been starting at 32 weeks?

Or does she actually have retained products? This is her body trying to expel it.

The midwife felt that we should address the possibility of retained products because she was concerned about infection.

MY treatment included moxa on the ren channel, the belly button and some over the pubic bone. The mom loved this- the moxa on the Ren and over the pubic bone and it seemed to decrease the cramping. I did acupuncture on Sp 6, 8, St 36, Li 4, St 29, CV 6. We did acupressure on GB 21. Once the needles were removed- chafing on St 36 and while she was feeding acupressure on Sp 6. The mama fell asleep. Once she emptied her bladder the contractions picked right back up again. After the treatment, the mom passed “brown, slimy blood.” In the morning when she went to the bathroom she passed fresh red blood on her pad and into the toilet. She continued to contract and be in pain. (just noting- her ability to deal with pain could have been reduced as she was very tired and blood deficient). At this point her tailbone was extremely sore.

The ultrasound was somewhat inconclusive as the shadow from the fibroids cast shadows where they could not see the whole uterus. They did both a trans vaginal and a regular ultrasound on her lower abdomen. There were no products seen.

After this, they came to my house. I laid her on a queen sized bed, surround by pillows to prop the babe in order to nurse. I worked to decrease the contractions and nourish the mama. I treated: UB 32, 23, 20 and 17. Sp 6, 9 St 36, Kd 9 and the tailbone point. The babe ate and the mama relaxed and eventually fell asleep. As she lay there the contractions decreased. After the treatment, her eyes were brighter and she was more engaged and she walked normally- not bent over in pain. Upon palpation her abdomen was much softer, although the uterus was still large. I sent her home with tacks in Sp 6 and the tailbone point.

She went to see the osteopath after me, who worked on opening the right side – where she was most painful and where the fibroid lay. Her right should was also very tense. This was also very helpful.

An update later that night, that she was much less crampy and she was leaking milk all over the place.

I haven’t heard more of how she is although will reach out.

I am open to feedback and possible of suggestions- better points or additions that may benefit the mom and babe, concerns or questions that come up.

[Ciara McNiff]

Just wondering if anyone has any insight…

[Ciara McNiff]

Thank you for the great feedback. I am looking forward to trying it. The patient has had endless sick kids and has not been back. The last we spoke, she was trying Mercuris Solubis- a homeopathic for excess saliva and a metallic taste in the mouth. It was slightly helpful but not the great help she was hoping for…

I will keep you posted.

[Ciara McNiff]

Also- I took both Kate and Deb’s suggestions plus added more points- no improvement when the needles were in, but her eyes were more clear and her complexion was glowing after acu.

[Ciara McNiff]

Thank you for your feedback.

I saw her yesterday and it was very interesting. She carries a spit cup around and spits into it every 30 seconds. Needless to say she is very down- she is wearing a mask and pulling it up and down to spit…

She is 18 weeks- third pregnancy. She cannot stand any taste in her mouth and will only eat eggs, veggies and dip and some select cold foods- foods she calls bland. She cannot handle a lot. She drinks ice cold water with a little bit of apple juice in it. Anything warm makes the salivation worse and brings a metal taste in her mouth and makes her vomit. She vomits if she swallows the saliva but has no “hormonal pregnancy nausea or vomiting”- just from the saliva. She feels best if she does not eat or drink anything because it increases the saliva. She wakes at night to spit and if she falls asleep there is drool everywhere.

She repeatedly talked about the metallic taste in her mouth being unbearable. Any taste makes it impossible for her to function as the saliva increases a lot. As a result, she is brushing her teeth many many times a day. She did not mention that smells are head for her to handle. Typically she eats veg meat and fruit and stays away from anything processed, sugar and grains…

She has a little bit of flushing on her cheeks. She has some irritability but mostly just down.

She tends towards constipation.

Her tongue is purplish with no coat, a centre crack and a red tip.

Her pulses are pretty typical prego slippery

She would love to hear how other women handle this and what makes them feel better. She is very isolated, won’t even go to the store or leave the house because of covid etc she cannot carry a cup around and spit into it. Understandably, she regrets this pregnancy. Interestingly, her pregnancy with her first son had a lot of nausea and vomitting, her daughter was amazing and now she is carrying a boy again. Another interesting point is she has very high iron levels- the midwife said she has never seen anyone with that high of iron levels (she does not supplement).

Thank you for any further feedback.

[Ciara McNiff]

HI Anita,

I would highly recommend moxa on St 36- even direct moxa if you can. When my twin was IUGR I did moxa on myself every night- but I am cold and live in a snowy cold place- he ended up being called fatty when he was born…

Miso soup is so good for low amniotic fluids as is Coconut Water… I try to think of electrolytes– such as lemonade made with H2O, a pinch of salt, lemon/ citrus fruits- (like a squeezed orange, lemon and lime) and maple syrup. More than just water and drinking a lot.

For Each meal I would have her think- how can I get more nutrients through the placenta? How can I add more fats and protein to this? For example- not just an apple- but apple with nut butter and hemp hearts. Adding extra eggs to everything- pancakes- double the eggs and add seeds to them. High fat yogurt etc.

For some people whose spleen can take it- juicing is a great way to increase nutrients across the placenta… Also a digestive enzyme may be helpful to ensure she is getting her nutrients…

Hope some of these tips help.

Ciara

[Ciara McNiff]

Thanks for sharing- it is great to know! Do the moms come to you to prescribe the herbs afterwards or do you send some home with them for after birth?

Cheers,

Ciara

[Ciara McNiff]

FYI: the fibroid is fundal, 9.6 cm*10.6cm*10 cm

[Ciara McNiff]

Update.

I last saw this mom at 28 weeks. Her water broke at 31 weeks and she delivered via c-section after laboring for 22 hours. They were 3lbs 4oz and 3lbs 5 oz. The babies spent 14 weeks in the NICU and returned home this past weekend.

After all of the conversation on the chat group- the mom found it hard and uncomfortable to follow through on any of the advice. She did stop work by 28 weeks and tried once or twice the hot showers, barley tea etc, but mostly was immobile due to the water retention. In her words, her “legs were so heavy it was impossible to move and my feet and knees were non-functional due to water retention by the end. “

The recovery has been difficult as she is very deficient and finds it hard to go to the NICU daily. She needed a transfusion after the birth of baby B, as the placenta had grown into the uterus and the fatigue remains very high. She is feeding and pumping when she can, although it appears to be difficult (of course after all of this!)

As for post partum treatments- she says she would like to come but cannot find the time. Bringing the babies home has been overwhelming and, although she has a lot of support, is all consuming.

[Ciara McNiff]

Hi Kate,

I cannot see the infographic and would love to have it.

Thanks,

Ciara

[Ciara McNiff]

Just as a note- I had a client whose babe was oblique during two pregnancies. She came in for nerve pain and her treatment was intermittent- especially during the time of COVID. I cannot remember when it started in the pregnancy- and with each pregnancy, the pain was relieved after the birth. After the second birth (both 100% natural and very successful) the OB on call came in and told her she had a bicorniate uterus- which accounts for the oblique and the pain- and recommended a section for her next birth.