See Heather’s DVD “Getting There” about achieving pregnancy

Perhaps the wondrous has happened, and finally you are “with child”. You are now ecstatically happy, BUT in the back of your mind, lurks a worry, as a caution — don’t tell anyone till three months, in case “something happens”. What? – Miscarriage.

As most tend to live in a fear-based reality with any, and every thing the current medical fads espousing as ‘gospel’ being followed religiously, “in case something goes wrong” — the inner thought patterns grow: if I do NOT follow the current versions of supposed safe practice, I will have a less than perfect child.

But as with ‘a healthy diet’, there are so many versions, so many ‘rights’ that it maybe very difficult to follow everyone’s ideas of how to grow a well infant.

Each of these pamphlets firmly spells out the need for strong constitutional vigour, and good kidney energy on the part of both parents, to allow for the best possible beginning.

Once conception has been achieved, the next hurdle is growing a well baby, and having a well pregnancy, within a happy, stable relationship with the baby’s Dad.

Most people have been so focused on the attainment of the state of pregnancy, that once there, they discover a whole new realm of potential panic laden situations to entertain themselves.

Miscarriage, fear of prematurity, fear of labour, and possible stillbirth or birth damage,
what will happen if you don’t circumcise, SIDS, what will happen if you don’t vaccinate,
the potential disadvantages if your milk dries up/is not good enough…

And as they grow older, stranger danger, bogeymen . . . . .

And you thought it was a trauma not getting pregnant the instant you had planned!

Miscarriage

As an outsider, I am aware that the point of the exercise is attaining as perfect a baby as possible, something that is often overlooked in the race to conceive (any baby) in the rush for a positive pregnancy test. First base achieved.

It is after that, that the fruits of the preparation, or lack thereof, can become evident.

Generally, if BOTH prospective parents have abstained from caffeine, alcohol and marijuana, and have consumed a regular balanced diet of minimal processed foods, and have regularly taken various pre-pregnancy supplements, there is little cause for concern.

However, often, it is that the potential father has not taken the matter seriously, still engaging in ‘his’ habits, as though his contribution to the process was slightly irrelevant — this pregnancy business all being a ‘woman’s thing’.

Unfortunately, it is the woman who experiences the results of this fallacy – the threatened, and often subsequent frequent miscarriages. It is also the woman who, (as we have been so well socialized in this culture to do), feels guilt, as though had she done something better, this would have not occurred.

The ‘this’ may be continual miscarriages, or apparent inability to be pregnant.

However, it may well be the errant Dad to be creating the mischief, by refusing to stop smoking, drinking alcohol and caffeine.

By not eating regularly or taking supplements, less than perfect sperm may initiate the pregnancy, but the mother’s bodies wisdom may expel the possibly defective potential baby.

As it is the mother’s body that has rejected the pregnancy the state of miscarriage is seen as something being ‘wrong’ with her, that is to be ‘fixed’ in some way.

It may be that the egg was prefect, the sperm less so, thus she tries even harder to ‘do it right’ next time.

Both parties need to be in peak condition.

This is slightly difficult with the polluted state of our food supply, general environment, plus our personal choices of lifestyles.

She is usually the one who has taken every precaution, stopped ingesting anything remotely dangerous, taken a lot of vitamins, minerals and herbal preparations, and is yet the one who is totally wired into the emotionality, the hormonally driven consequences of a less than expected pregnancy outcome.

Acupuncture Explanation For Miscarriage

There are two major possible causes — either the potential baby, or the mother has problems.

Baby not Strong Enough

Maybe the factors mentioned above have meant that the baby’s constitutional vigour is not strong enough to support life.

Classically, in China, if parents were ‘too old’ or ill when the fetus was conceived, this would result.

Reframed in our modern world, it is less likely to be chronological aging, and more likely to be biological aging, through ‘fast living’, illness resulting from the lifestyle or personal constitutional factors, or contamination.

This results either indirectly through the living or working environments, possibly from several decades ago, or from recent lifestyle choices – either aspect weakening the “jing”.

It is possible for the weakened fetus to possibly make it to birth, maybe arriving early, very ill, structurally compromised in some way, or still born.

If a defective one ‘makes it’, this may not be cause for celebration.

Whilst ‘special’ children can teach us enormous amounts about ourselves, about the way we run our lives, and our expectations of ‘prefect’, ‘good’, ‘right’ and ‘happy’, it may be one you wish to consciously avoid.

So, is it a tragedy if a miscarriage happens?

Is it the ‘baby’ MUM & DAD reason, or the ‘mother’ body reason?

If we are looking for our perceived version of ‘perfect’, prenatal scans will be ordered, and maybe other checks such as amniocentesis will be performed.

To cull out that which ‘we don’t want’. But, that which we don’t want is far less likely to be there, if appropriate pre-pregnancy planning was adhered to by both parties, as the baby is formed from the jing – DNA and energy from both parents.

Mother not Well

If hair is falling out, in poor condition or not growing properly, and/or fingernails are slow growing /in poor shape, it is a fair likelihood that the blood energy is in need of assistance, and fertility treatments and baby making should wait till Mum is in perfect health, so no false starts occur.

She may have either a weak constitution in general, thus weakened kidney energy.

This may have arisen from too close together baby making attempts, or being chronically unwell.

She may have had one child successfully, but the process of milk production, poor sleeping habits, and little chance to regenerate between pregnancies may have exhausted her.

Emotional responses – especially the angst of not conceiving, and using artificial hormones at unreasonable levels to attempt pregnancy will play a large part in distorting inner energy flow, spilling over into hormonal imbalances.

Prior falls, accidents, excessive lifting, ingestion of some drugs/herbs or the contraction of a “warm” disease during pregnancy, or taking anything that is heating (toxic) – caffeine, alcohol, most drugs – may also create a state of imperfect biological baby readiness.

The usual characteristics in the above are overwork, over-worry, general exhaustion on all levels, all which help create a situation that even if pregnancy IS achieved, there is little maternal reserve to nourish and nurture it.

There may also be a state of blood energy deficiency (not the same as anaemia), due to poor dietary factors, especially from previous, or current attempts to concurrently lose ‘excess’ weight.

Any of the above situations may lead to an energy condition of ‘blood heat’.

Heat in the blood energy is one of the key reasons for bleeding out of turn – thus instigating premature labour, miscarriages and bleeding within a pregnant cycle.

The heat energy may also come from a continual, or episodic state of stress and tension – “liver qi stuck” from a lifetime of placing others, and their perceived needs ahead of self.

There may also be a prior condition of ‘Blood Stuck’ in the abdominal region, due to previous surgery, (however minor, including navel rings).

The ‘stuck blood’ energy may physically present as labelled conditions such a s fibroids, endometriosis, cysts and obstructed tubes.

Addressing these energy distortions that impinge on the ‘hormonal’ states, before conception is often overridden in the medical pursuit of pregnancy, yet would create a ‘win/win’ event for all.

Miscarriage – WHAT TO DO?

As with all things, prevention is simpler. This is why I attempt to slow down anyone who has arrived at my clinic, desperate to be pregnant.

Placing a three month embargo on conception, whilst tending the garden the seed is to germinate within, is easier on everyone, rather than trying to “patch up” after conception.

Especially as most still expect to be able to work for financial gain full-time whilst their body is undergoing immense change, constructing a new being.

Possible Cases For Concern

• Immense tiredness
• Back-aching, in the lumbar region.
• Menstrual-like cramping.
• Any form of brown or red vaginal discharge

Evasive Action

Please take to your bed, rather than going off to work, if any of these are happening, and ring me.

It is likely that I will give several treatments to ensure that your energy is stronger, thus there is no necessity for your body to give you warnings.

Have some folic acid tablets in the house, and start taking, depending on severity, at least one, possibly two, and maybe three, four times a day with a Multivitamin, or preferably a B complex.

The folic acid should not be taken without B vitamins, as it will imbalance all the other B group, contrary to CURRENT medical opinion.

Also take three Women’s Vitality capsules, four time a day, several serves of Vitamin C (a gram a time), and if you have it, 15 pills of Dang Gui and Peonia three times a day, or the No 3 pregnancy mix..

Positive Responses to Miscarriage

Worry and fear allow the vital life force to leak out, further weakening your life force.

Rather than trying to NOT worry, take positive steps.

Whilst resting, breathe gently and deeply into your fetal palace (uterus).

Visualize a golden web of light being spun around and throughout the area, enmeshing the uterus in healing energy.

Spend time on this often.

Surround it in love and compassion. Breathe golden light into it.

Allow the presence of (whatever you perceive God to be) the Christ Consciousness to fill your vessel, healing all wounds, all desired outcomes that are less than for the Highest Good of all concerned.

Allow the process of life, which is beyond our human conscious comprehension, to dictate the next steps. Be at peace. Beyond fear.

Fear is yet another aspect of kidney energy, and you tapping into it, further weakens the energy nurturing your infant.

Who is to say that this is the only pregnancy that you will ever manage?
Who is to say, in this time and place, what is in store in any next minute?
That it is not perfect in the entirety of the scheme of things, that THIS particular soul only inhabits the earth plane, through you, temporarily?

Practical Responses to Potential Miscarriage…

You may also need a number of acupuncture treatments, sometimes daily, occasionally twice daily, initially, to stabilize your energy.

Think – What Happened?

Think – what was it that was happening prior to ‘the scare’?

Often you do not register situations that are highly notable to me, as you do not usually have the framework to consult.

What has excessively ‘upset’ you — the straw that broke… situation.

This leads to the unleashing/further repression of the anger that generates heat that creates bleeding . . . probably in the short term nothing whatever to do with fetal damage. A cold drink /salad/environment, that in addition to other cofactors, caused the spleen yang holding energy to collapse, resulting physically in the opening of the cervix.

Whatever it is, it is likely that you have had something to trigger the scare. This is assuming that there is no fetal abnormality. (See thoughts on preparation again).

Similarly, a blighted ovum’, where there was no fetus, is in these terms, a lack of kidney energy strength – the jing was not flourishing. (again, how ‘pure’ is the Dad’s sperm raw ingredients?

The sperm count is only ONE measure of male fertility).

How Treatment Can Help Threatened Miscarriage

In acupuncture, threatened miscarriage is called “slippery fetus”.

The aim of treatment is to strengthen your spleen yang energy, which has as part of its duties, holding everything (including babies) in place, and to strengthen the kidney energy, which is the pivotal component of the gestation process. It also may be necessary to cool the blood energy slightly, as maternal heat is a major cause of bleeding out of turn.

Specific Miscarriage/Premature Labour Triggers

Hot Blood

Heat energy causes the blood to become ‘reckless’, and hence leak out of the vessels. This also includes any early termination of pregnancy, as there is downwards movement, and bleeding out of turn. The heat concerned may have been consumed, more noticeable if the mother’s energy was in an already weakened state – during exhaustion/overworking, rather than resting to grow the baby, or when she is already in a heated state – when very distressed, or agitated.

Foods such as curries, ginger, or spicy/pungent flavours, as well as those which create heat in the blood energy – alcohol, coffee, other drinks/foods/substances that cause heat by their toxic or dehydrating nature, are all best avoided in pregnancy and during breast feeding.

Heat additionally is generated by our emotional charges that are repressed, especially when we have had a life time of ‘being nice’, and not paying attention to our own needs first. Hot blood shows up before conception, as sometimes very heavy, gushing periods, often with shortened cycle, bleeding or hot skin rashes, pimples and great emotional volatility (taking things personally/having a short fuse). If some of these were your pattern prior to conception, the hot blood energy that created these may also be present to disrupt your well pregnancy.

Yang Qi Depletion (The Energy That Holds Everything In Place)

The other major reason for bleeding out of turn is a lack of energy to hold the blood, and in this case, the fetus, in place. This is the one of the roles of the spleen energy, which itself is greatly compromised by skipping meals, previous dieting and bulimia and anorexia, and general exhaustion. This is one of the many reasons for experiencing pregnancy sickness.

Physically, the uterine cervix may be considered incompetent, (again, a spleen yang deficiency) and a stitch may be inserted to attempt to physically constrain the ‘slippery fetus’. Obviously going out to work, even being out of bed, may jeopardize this pregnancy.

Chinese herbs, and acupuncture to strengthen the maternal energies is of vital importance here, as this is a case where the mother’s energy may be not quite strong enough to support both her and the pregnancy, and definitely not her, her working, and the baby.

The yang qi is compromised by consumption of cold and chilled foods and fluids, thus please ensure that all fluids are room temperature or warmer, and few cold foods are consumed. This alone can reverse the early pregnancy nausea, and ensure that your spleen energy is vibrant to hold in the baby.

It is often that the first three months of the pregnancy are marked by exhaustion. This is due to the body remaking itself in order to support the last three months.

Please go to bed, boring though it may seem, and sleep if your body gives you the exhausted messages.

This is the kidney energy deficiency signalling its need to restore and replenish – if you pay attention in early pregnancy, you will have far more reserves to call upon later. Typically, after lunch and late afternoon, you will peter out – stop, and nap then.

Sex

Sexual activity may be down on the body’s priorities, as libido is a measure of kidney energy, and yours is being diverted into baby making. Sexual activity when exhausted is liable to weaken your general energy, and separate to the possible mechanical damage to the cervix, may possibly assist the passage of the slippery fetus.

Loving sexual connection and communion is not necessarily banned – pregnancy may be a time for parental bonding and union in more inventive and connected way.