Miscarriage and Chinese Medicine

During an interview for her best-selling memoir, Michelle Obama said about her miscarriage, “I felt like I failed, because I didn’t know how common miscarriages were, because we don’t talk about them. We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow, we’re broken.” The former first lady continues to say that she blamed the lack of public health information and open conversations about fertility problems for her anguish.

Miscarriages are difficult to talk about and the fact that they are common (1 in 4 pregnancies ends in a miscarriage) does not make it any easier to avoid the stigma surrounding them or to understand how to handle this kind of loss.

It is a deeply personal experience and can be absolutely heartbreaking. 

At our clinic, we see patients in various stages of trying to conceive and supporting women through miscarriages is an important part of our practice. “I think it’s the worst thing that we do to each other as women,” Michelle Obama continued to say, “not share the truth about our bodies, and how they work, and how they don’t work.” At UFWC, we focus on treating both the physical and emotional health of the individual and/or couple and allowing space to process and grieve. When we face the loss, talk about it and share in the experience of it, we are able to move forward and make way for another pregnancy. 

Food and diet are a great way to fortify one’s constitution after a miscarriage. Eating warm cooked foods are easier to digest and comforting during a time when the body needs to be healed. Nourishing foods like dark leafy greens, beets and bone broth increase blood, tonify the spleen and strengthen one’s entire system. One of the classic comforting foods in Chinese culture is rice porridge or “jook” (also known as “congee”). What is great about jook is that it can be one bowl of complete nourishment; you can add bone broth, ginger, greens to the porridge and get all your nutritional needs in one serving.

Here is a recipe for jook that is catered to recovering from a miscarriage:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of jasmine rice

• 7 cups of bone broth (chicken or beef)

• ½ tsp sea salt 

• 1 inch ginger 

• 1 boiled egg

• 1 tbsp organic goji berries

• ½ cup of spinach

• green onion

1. Rinse the rice and add in a large pot with bone broth, salt and ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Stir occasionally so that the rice doesn't clump or stick at the bottom.

2. Simmer the rice for about an hour until it is thick and creamy. When it is done and still hot add goji berries, spinach and top it off with some sliced green onions. Add salt for more flavor. 

3. Enjoy! 

The fundamental philosophy of Chinese Medicine is to see the body as an interconnected unit and to treat both the body and mind. This can be a powerful tool to utilize when experiencing or having experienced a miscarriage. Particular acupuncture points and herbs can encourage clearing out any stagnant blood and help heal the uterus. Other points can treat the “shen” or “spirit” as well as the lungs, to help with feelings of sadness or grief and any emotional pain one may be going through. Many people feel a sense of loss when a pregnancy does not go full term; whether it is a physical loss or an emotional loss, Chinese medicine can help to “add” and rebalance and to create an optimal internal environment for the next pregnancy. 

Please reach out to us any time. 

Yume Takeuchi, L.Ac.

Universal Family Wellness Clinic