What we refer to as “threatened miscarriage” in allopathic medicine corresponds to two disease categories in Traditional Chinese Medicine, known as Tai Lou (“vaginal bleeding during pregnancy”) and Tai Dong Bu An (“restless fetus”). These are considered to be different from the benign You Jing (“swimming menses”), which is the harmless, slight vaginal bleeding that sometimes occurs during the first month of pregnancy.
Tai Lou and Tai Dong Bu An differ only in terms of degree of severity. In Tai Lou, there is a small amount of vaginal bleeding with no other symptoms. In Tai Dong Bu An, there is vaginal bleeding but also other symptoms such as backache, abdominal pain, and / or a bearing-down sensation. The threat of miscarriage is higher in the latter situation.
Over the millennia that TCM has been used to treat women during pregnancy, various different herbs and herbal formulas have been prescribed to help prevent miscarriage. As with all of Chinese Medicine, a TCM diagnosis according to the pattern(s) of disharmony is necessary in order to match the correct herbs to the correct situation. In some cases, there may be evidence of Stagnant Blood – in other cases, there may be evidence of Kidney Yang Deficiency. A Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine or Chinese Medicine Herbalist can advise you on which herbs best suit your pregnancy.
Some of the more common herbs used to treat a threatened miscarriage in Traditional Chinese Medicine are:
Ai Ye (Artemisiae Argyi, Folium) (“warms the womb and pacifies the fetus”)
E Jiao (Asinim, Gelatinum Corii) (“nourishes blood, stops bleeding, and helps prevent miscarriage”)
Huang Qin (Scutellariae Baicalensis, Radix) (“clears heat and calms the fetus”)
Tu Si Zi (Cuscutae Chinensis, Semen) (“tonifies Kidney Yang, calms the fetus”)
Xu Duan (Dipsaci Asperi, Radix) (“stops uterine bleeding and calms the fetus”)
Du Zhong (Eucommiae Ulmoidis, Cortex) (“tonifies the Kidney Yang, calms the fetus”)
Sang Ji Sheng (Sangjisjeng, Ramulus) (“nourishes the blood and calms the womb”)
Bai Zhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Rhizoma) (“strengthens the spleen and calms the fetus”)
Dang Shen (Codonopsitis Pilosulae, Radix) (“augments the Qi, for prolapse of uterus”)
Huang Qi (Astragali Membranacei, Radix) (“raises the Yang Qi, for prolapse of uterus”)
Zi Su Ye (Perillae Frutescentis, Folium) (“calms a restless fetus and used for morning sickness”)
Sha Ren (Amomi, Fructus) (“calms the fetus”)
These herbs are also often used when using Chinese Herbal Medicine to help maximize fertility, especially in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.
If a pregnancy is threatened because of a genetic abnormality or other physiological concern with the fetus which makes it not viable, unfortunately no amount of intervention will be able to save the pregnancy. This is nature’s way. However, if a pregnancy is threatened because of poor circulation, a pathogenic influence, or deficient energy Chinese Medicine may be able to help prevent a miscarriage.
-Bensky & Gamble’s Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, Revised Edition. Eastland Press, Incorporated, 1993.
-Maciocia’s Obstetrics & Gynecology in Chinese Medicine. Churchill Livingstone, 1998.