Hi!

Im a 1st time preggy, 7 wks

if u r seeing a TCM Dr for pregnancy or can recommend 1 pls reply

ive tons of Q.s lk can consume lingzhi?
birdnest for those preggys who had childhood asthma?
'dong chong cao' with ginseng?
or anything else gd for BB & preggy?

tx!

Dear.... Still very early to "bu" leh.... Wait till after 3 or 4th mth then start to eat tonics bah... I waited till 5th mth then eat birdnest and last tri then every 2 wks or 3 wks my mil and granny boil black chicken soup for me to drink...

From what I understand, 1st trimester eat all these also no use. Plus, cannot anyhow eat, eat wrong thing can cause miscarriage...

I read somewhere before that cannot take dong chong cao at all during pregnancy, think lingzhi also, but not too sure.

Birdnest with pao sheng is good to take from 2nd trimester onwards, asthma or no asthma. Supposed to be very good for mother & baby in general.

Some people say take ginseng is good, but my mom say better not, too "bu", can only take pao sheng (a more mild version of ginseng).

Other things like your normal herbal chicken soup, also better wait until 2nd trimester onwards then take, can take until about mid-3rd trimester.

But when you reach around last month of pregnancy, stop taking all these "bu" stuff & start drinking a lot of barley water, etc. to help your body cool down from all the "bu" (when you take all these pao sheng & other herbal stuff, it's actually very heaty), so that it's easier for you during giving birth + baby cleaner at birth (don't know what that means) & won't be too heaty at birth & therefore prone to illness from too young age. I hear of a lot of people who drink coconut near labour date, but my mom said that is way too cooling. She said barley water & crysanthemum is better & more gentle, but barley must be China barley & not the normal barley.

Anyway, majority of the above is my mom teach one, not from doctor, so you might wanna verify them.

Tx Carolina & Purplewish!

during this period of time i went to chk it out too
some of d things r as what ur mum has said, Carolina.

i also found out preggys cant eat "LingZhi".

hope these helps for any1 concerned =)

Hi everyone,

I'm new here! I hope I can stay here.

I tried taking the medicine that my TCM physician gave me which helps me to ovulate but was suffering from diarrhoea instead. My gynae told me to stop everything.

I'm into my 5th week now but no morning sickness yet. Only feel cramps constantly and nauseous at times but not to the extent of vomiting. Am I normal?

Hi Bikimee,

Thanks for sharing. You check with TCM doctor? Also, can advise which parts of my mom's advises are true? Can share?

Hi lailai,

You're still in early days, so not surprising that your MS, etc. are still mild, as they are caused by your body's reactions to the changes in your hormones levels, which will build up over the next few weeks, generally peak around 8 - 10 weeks then start dropping again around 10 - 12 weeks.

Also, different people react differently to the hormones, so let's hope that you're 1 of the lucky ones who don't have serious MS, etc.

As for the cramps, it might be due to the fertilised egg attaching itself to the lining of your womb, known as implantation. My gynae told me that it's even common to have a little spotting during this phase of the pregnancy. However, if you find your cramps quite painful or getting worse, you might wanna see your gynae to check if you're having miscarriage.

Congrats & take good care~

sure!
i found out what ur mum said is true abt bird nest is gd for both mother & child, no matter mother has had childhood asthma
ginseng or "pao sheng" is gd for replenishing energy
china barley or chrysanthemum is gd for cooling & 'clean' delivery, coconut also can but mayb too cooling for baby, lest baby develop asthma when born

other things i found out preggys MUST NOT TAKE: aloe vera, sodium sulphate, sea horse, turtle shell, tortoise shell & plastron, green oranges, cinnamon

i believe preggys shd take a balanced diet, all food groups in moderation & nothing excessively

hope this helps

Interesting...

You know why cannot take aloe vera? I ate aloe vera during my 1st pregnancy & sometimes got eat during my current also...

hmmm...above r what i read from "Essential Chinese Medicine" reference bks
no reason given or what it'll cause
so i went into further research...

(from Medline Plus) Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Although topical (skin) use of aloe is unlikely to be harmful during pregnancy or breastfeeding, oral (by mouth) use is not recommended due to theoretical stimulation of uterine contractions. It is not known whether active ingredients of aloe may be present in breast milk. The dried juice of aloe leaves should not be consumed by breastfeeding mothers.

(www.vitaminuk.com) Contra-indications/Precautions

(www.ayurvedic-medicines.org) Not recommended during pregnancy.
spontaneous abortion or premature birth (during the third trimester of pregnancy)

http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=85M0N8...ved=0CEMQ6AEwCQ has a detailed report for aloe's contraindication in pregnancy

as i mentioned in previous posts, as long as we preggys take a balanced diet with nothing excessive or overdose, everything shd b fine =)
most research r done w a basis of high dose of a certain foods, so if u dun eat it as a staple daily, u shd b fine ;J

Ic... Thanks for the info.

im glad i can help

Thanks carolinakoh!

My nausea was really bad for the past 2 days but I realised it sorta went off when I drink soya bean milk or ribena! As long I eat food that is sweet or spicy (mee siam, tom yam soup), I feel good! Totally no morning sickness!

I hope they are okay for the baby!

Hi lailai,
u r rite!
having some food does help mee get rid of nauseas too
& nowadays anything hot, spicy, sour is v appetizing to mee
fish stinks thou but still must eat for BB's sake

dun thk spicy food is harmful but take note of ur sugar intake to prevent gestational diabetes.

No problem...

Good to hear that your MS is pretty much under control... At least you're luckier than me. When I was having MS, nothing helps, so I can only suffer through it until it stops by itself.

It is ok to eat anything you want as long as it's ok-ed by your gynae. Just try to avoid raw or semi-raw meat (e.g. sashimi, half-boiled eggs, etc.) & raw cheeses in case of the live bacteria causing harm to your baby. However, my gynae actually said that occasional lapse is ok (e.g. when you have such strong cravings for half-boiled eggs that you can't stop yourself) as the chances of harm coming to your baby is actually very low, especially when the food we have here in SG is very tightly controlled.

Personally, I avoid sashimi completely no matter how much I wanna eat them, have half-boiled eggs (but more cooked than I usually take them) once in a blue moon, but avoid semi-raw beef (although I normally prefer my steak to be medium-done). My rationale is that, for sashimi, I don't know if wasabi really helps to kill the germs as it's said to, & our sashimi & beef are flown in all the way from Australia, NZ, US, Norway, etc., which means it's not that fresh given the time taken for them to reach us in the supermarket. Eggs, however, comes from neighbouring countries which takes at most a day to reach us, so it's still pretty fresh & safe plus I don't eat them completely raw... Raw cheeses I avoid completely too, as the yeast in these are still alive when you eat them, so... However, I take a lot of normal cheese like Kraft or Laughing Cow for both the protein & calcium...

I know of people who eat sashimi as per usual throughout pregnancies but babies are all normal & fine, as well as people who're extremely careful & avoid even occasional consumption of shark's fins, cod & other deep sea fishes in case of mercury poisoning, among other possible "harmful food". So I think how far you go really depends on individual & how much you believe in such things.

Hope the above info are not too overwhelming & are helpful...

Another thing, there is actually no need to worry too much about having balanced diet etc. during your 1st trimester, as baby is NOT feeding on what you eat. It's feeding on the hormones that your body is working hard on producing, the same hormones that's causing you all that discomfort!!

Bascially, baby only starts feeding on what you eat from about beginning to middle of 2nd trimester onwards. Even then, there is no need to over-worry about your diet, unless you're gaining too much weight. My gynae has actually confirmed my suspicions recently that the human species, as a form of protection from extinction, is built in such a way that the fetus operates much like a parasite, such that it will take all that it needs from the mother's body throughout pregnancy, whether or not the mother is taking enough. In other words, how well you eat is going more towards maintaining your own health rather than the baby...

In other words, if you can't stand the smell of fish (most pregnant mothers do, especially during the 1st trimester), it's ok not to eat any fish at all until you're comfortable with it even when you're in 2nd trimester. Meanwhile, you can take the needed extra protein from other food, like chicken & eggs & toufu, & omega 3 from omega 3 enriched food, e.g. omega 3 enriched eggs (easily available from supermarkets)...

Of course, how much you believe in that, again, depends on individual... I do, however, believe that Chinese herbal soups & bird's nests have added benefits to the baby, especially when taken during 2nd & 3rd trimester...

Pls refrain from taking in too much sweet stuffs ya...esp from the beginning...you might get high sugar level by return.. ( like me ) I had very diluted ribena for 3-4 mths as i cannot take plain water..in the end i was asked to access my sugar level now till birth...So pls drink morderately, best do w/o it.