The Treatment of Postnatal Depression with Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture

The condition ‘postnatal depression’ does not appear in the historical texts of Chinese medicine as such. In this article the author investigates the treatment of postnatal depression using Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture, with particular reference to the Ji Yin Gang Mu (Compendium of Benefits to Women) and Zhen Jiu Da Cheng (Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion). Specific treatments for postnatal aphonia and ‘postnatal intemperate speech and delirium’ are documented, as well as acupuncture treatments for postnatal pathology. The theory is illustrated by two case histories from the author’s clinical practice.