Postpartum bleeding.

Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 09:54:34 -0800
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: jonathan treasure <jonno.TELEPORT.COM>
Subject: Re: Bleeding

> Do any of you knowledgable people know of herbal treatments that have been used in the past, or that are presently used to prevent or stop excessive bleeding postpartum?

Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) and Ladies mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris).
are specific, the former is more usually used in the USA. Fresh plant tincture 1:2 , 90 drops every half hour until the bleeding is arrested. Works well.

jonathan treasure

Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 11:20:22 -0500
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: "M.A. MCClelland" <u9319320.MUSS.CIS.MCMASTER.CA>
Subject: Bleeding after birth

Hi,

I would like to make a few comments around excessive bleeding after birth. The original poster talked about the traditional Western way of using pitocin (a synthetic form of a human hormone) and D & C. As D & C is a surgical procedure and therefore takes much more time and effort, it is way down on the list of ways to deal with post partum hemorrhage. If bleeding does not resolve (usually after 2 different drug regimes), and especially if examination of the placenta leads you to believe that some pieces of it didn't come out, then it is a reasonable therapy. In some REALLY rare cases, hysterectomy is a reasonable alternative to bleeding to death. If the problem truly is bits of placenta still adhering to the uterine walls, then no herb or drug can cause a strong enough contraction to clamp off the open blood vessels.

That said, I am a senior midwifery student who wants to incorporate the use of herbs into my practice. However, I want to learn much more about them (and their benefits and potentially bad effects too) before doing so. I would really like to be able to use tinctures for smallish bleeds, but I will still carry oxytocin (pitocin) and ergometrine (a synthetic form of ergot, a rye fungus or mold) for those torrential bleeds. They don't happen very often, but a woman can bleed to death in such cases in under 10 minutes without extreme measures. Also, I must carry these drugs under the mandate of my professional College, as well as other life saving measures - oxygen, IV equipment, suction, etc.

Enough already. I do love this list, and have learned much from it.

Herbally,
Maureen