Herbology Lecture: Herbs Contraindicated During Pregnancy

Introduction

• Importance of knowing which herbs are contraindicated during pregnancy for exams and clinical practice.
• Three primary reasons herbs might be contraindicated:
  1. Toxicity
  2. Strong invigorating blood action
  3. Strong downward/descending action

Toxic Herbs

• Toxic herbs have strong/harsh effects, dangerous during pregnancy.
• Harsh Expellents:
  • Drive out water through large intestine.
  • Examples: Soy, Bado
• Common Toxic Herbs:
  • Jerfutza (Aconite) aka Monkshood or Wolf's Bane (used to poison wolves)
    • All forms of aconite are toxic and contraindicated.
• Herbs that Transform Phlegm and Stop Cough:
  • Herbs with 'jer' in the name indicate processed to reduce toxicity but still avoided during pregnancy.
  • Exception: Gerbancha (used for treating morning sickness) - toxic raw but safe when processed.
• Other Toxic Herbs:
  • Insects like Choanchier (scorpion) and Wugong (centipede)
  • Liu Huang (sulfur) - toxic dose can cause coma

Herbs with Strong Invigorating Blood Action

• Can cause excessive movement, leading to potential miscarriage.
• Levels of Invigorating Blood Action:
  • Mild: Harmonize blood
  • Moderate: Quicken the blood or transform stasis
  • Strong: Break blood/Break up blood stasis (avoid during pregnancy)
• Examples:
  • Herbs treating fixed abdominal masses or accumulations
  • Herbs in other categories that invigorate blood:
    • Mudon P (cools blood but also invigorates)
    • Tusu (drains dampness and breaks up blood)
    • Pu Huang (cat tail pollen)

Herbs with Strong Downward/Descending Action

• May cause miscarriage by moving the baby downward and out.
• Purgative Herbs: Strong downward action, all contraindicated.
• Examples:
  • Matrician (heat toxicity category, 'slippery nature')
  • Shogun (similar descending action)
  • Hu Jiao (warm interior category, pepper)
  • Guiaban and the Aja (turtle shells for Yin deficiency)
  • Shushion and Niu Huang (aromatic substances that open orifices, hasten delivery)

Use Caution: Differentiating Contraindications and Cautions

• Some sources are ambiguous (e.g., 'relatively contraindicated' or 'use great caution').
• Likely to see case studies in tests rather than direct questions on contraindications.

Additional Considerations

• Herbs causing uterine contractions (historical/empirical evidence):
  • Chant Way: Promotes labor, expels birthing residue
  • Tusu: Expels retained placenta
  • Shanja (Hawthorne Berry): Can cause fetal death in large doses
• Long list of herbs where caution is advised during pregnancy.

Resources and Further Study

• Handout available with:
  • List of contraindicated herbs
  • List of herbs to use with caution
  • Info on 18 incompatible herbs and 19 antagonisms
  • Drug-herb interactions
  • Special cooking instructions for herbs
• Additional resources: Videos, handouts, practice tests (TCM Study website)

Conclusion

• Importance of knowing these contraindications/cautions for exams and clinical practice.
• Resource links provided for further study and review.