Post Labor use of Cold Witch Hazel Packs

Witch hazel pads are often recommended for postpartum pain and swelling - with ice packs also being recommended in the acute stages. While in general terms, Chinese Medicine, prefers warmth and circulation to cold, these are usually used for a very short time so I feel the affect would be quite minimal. I certainly wouldn&#39t tell a new mother that they are robbing their vital qi by using such a widely used and relatively easy and effective solution to postpartum swelling.

Now that said, there are a host of viable treatment options with the witch hazel pads being one of the easier self-help treatments. If you have an active patient who has just given birth certainly appropriate acupuncture can be quite helpful to calm the swelling and ease pain.