Feeling fatigue during your pregnancy?
10 Dec 2021
By Physician Na Yi Ting
Do you feel extremely fatigued, tired or lethargic during your early pregnancy? How do you go about to make yourself more energized? Some TCM herbs are effective in eliminating fatigue and are safe during pregnancy.
Fatigue, tiredness, and lethargy during pregnancy is a sign of qi deficiency. As the fetus develop in the uterus, qi and blood are drawn to the uterus for the fetal development. At the same time, the body is adjusting to the pregnancy due to the hormonal changes and physiological changes the body undergo during a pregnancy. Coupling these two factors, most women feel more tired during their term of pregnancy, especially in the first trimester.
During this period, adequate rest is very important for these mums-to-be to restore their qi and let their body adjust to the changes due to the pregnancy. There are some common herbs which are qi tonifying which may benefits these mums-to-be to help reduce the fatigue.
Prince Ginseng (Tai Zi Shen)
Prince ginseng is mildly tonifying, tonifying the qi and replenishes yin, and are suitable for all body constitutions. For people with heaty constitution and are qi deficient, the prince ginseng would be a suitable choice for them to help tonify qi.
Astragalus (Huang Qi)
Astragalus is warm in nature and possesses stronger qi boosting effect as compared to the prince ginseng. It is especially useful boost the Lung qi which helps to alleviate symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue. It is suitable for people who has a cold constitution, or someone who is not heaty.
Codonopsis Radix (Dang Shen）
Codonopsis Radix is warm in nature and is commonly used to boost qi to improve fatigue. While Astragalus focuses on boosting the Lung qi, Codonopsis Radix focuses on invigorating the spleen's qi which helps to alleviate symptoms such as poor appetite, poor digestion, watery stools and fatigue . It is suitable for people who has a cold constitution, or someone who is not heaty.
Do consult a licensed physician on what is suitable for you based on your body constitution. It is important to note that one should not to self-medicate without supervision or advise of a licensed TCM physician. Improper or overuse of these qi boosting herbs may cause some side effects such as thirst, dryness in the throat and constipation.
Read this article to find out how TCM can help you cope with your pregnancy.
Which herbs should I avoid if I am breastfeeding? This article addresses your concerns about TCM treatments during breastfeeding.