Infant’s-pillow pain

Also mother’s blood lump. Postpartum lower abdominal pain caused by static blood. This pattern may stem from incomplete elimination of the lochia or wind-cold exploiting vacuity to invade the uterine vessels causing a collection of static blood. Both patterns involve stasis, but their pathomechanisms differ.

Patterns

Incomplete elimination of lochia (恶露未尽 è lù wèi jìn): Infant’s-pillow pain stemming from incomplete elimination of the lochia is characterized by hardness and pain in the lower abdomen that refuses pressure or a palpable lump combined with retention of lochia.

Medicinal therapy: Quicken the blood and eliminate stasis. Use Bind-Dispersing Pain-Relieving Decoction (散结定疼汤 sàn jié dìng téng tāng).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on CV, SP, and ST. Main points: CV-4 (Pass Head, 关元 guān yuán), CV-6 (Sea of Qì, 气海 qì hǎi), SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo), CV-3 (Central Pole, 中极 zhōng jí), and SP-10 (Sea of Blood, 血海 xuè hǎi). For incomplete elimination of the lochia, add LR-8 (Spring at the Bend, 曲泉 qū quán) and LR-3 (Supreme Surge, 太冲 tài chōng), needling with even supplementation and drainage and adding moxa.

Wind-cold (风寒 fēng hán): Invasion of wind-cold is characterized by cold pain in the lower abdomen that likes warmth, accompanied by a white green-blue or white complexion, lack of warmth in the limbs and stagnant inhibited flow of lochia.

Medicinal therapy: Warm the channels, disperse cold, and dispel stasis. Use Engendering Transformation Decoction (生化汤 shēng huà tāng).

Acumoxatherapy: To the main points given above, add ST-25 (Celestial Pivot, 天枢 tiān shū), ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ), ST-29 (Return, 归来 guī lái), and SP-8 (Earth’s Crux, 地机 dì jī), needling with even supplementation and drainage and adding moxa. Compare postpartum abdominal pain.

Etymology

Chinese: 儿 ér, infant, child; 枕 zhěn, pillow; 痛 tòng, pain; probably from the association of the pain with an abdominal mass imagined to be the pillow on which the infant’s head lay.