Courtney Phan- Week 7

The traditional postpartum practices in Asian countries are very different compared to what people in westernized countries believe. Traditional Thai medicine focuses on how childbirth effects the elements of the body: water, earth, air, and fire. The water element represents our blood and other bodily fluids. The earth element is effected by the perineal wound due to childbirth. The long and strenuous amounts of pushing during labor effects the air element and the efforts of during labor unbalances the fire element. Each of these elements can affect the mind of a women and when unbalanced, can cause postpartum depression. In order to restore the balance in the women's bodily elements, doctors can use spiritual healing, massage, and herbal medicine. All of these help align the energy of the body and the mind. I think we can learn a lot from these traditional Thai medicine methods especially to help all of the moms after labor. According to postpartum depression stats, about 10 percent of women are clinically diagnosed in the United States and about 80 percent experience mild symptoms alone. Hospitals only care about expecting mothers while they are in labor, but once the baby is born, if there are no physical injuries that need medical attention, they send the mothers home and most doctor appointments after that are only focused on the baby.