5. Advice on Healthy Delivery and Childcare

Many East Asian medical texts are particularly specialized in gynecology and pediatrics. In around the 10th century, gynecology and pediatrics appeared early as new subjects in the field of medicine and medical treatises on both of these sub-disciplines were published as well. This was before there were comparable specialized treatises on gynecology and pediatrics in Western medicine. As women's health is directly related to their children's health and the children's health becomes the basis of national competitiveness, giving birth to and raising healthy children was thought to be a significant issue at both familial and national levels. Women's health is the starting point of this problem in East Asian medicine. The Dongui Bogam claims that a woman's condition before pregnancy has a strong influence on her condition during pregnancy. Moreover, healthcare during pregnancy directly affects both the mother and baby's health.

The Dongui Bogam noted that menstrual conditions became a clue for observing women's health. It made detailed records of the following: constancy and length of the menstrual cycle; amount, color, and smell of vaginal discharge; pain; physical changes in the pre- and post-menstrual period. It also mentioned specific treatments for each type of disorder. It is also emphasized that infertility is not only a problem on the woman's side. It may be due to problems in the male as well as the female. Therefore, in order to bear and rear a healthy child, both men and women should be in mentally, socially, and physically healthy states.



6. Guidelines for Pregnancy

Here is a summary of the countless advice for pregnant women in the Dongui Bogam on giving birth to a healthy child:

- Behave with caution. Do not stay too hot or too cold.
- Avoid eating too much but make sure to get sufficient nutrition.
- Avoid drinking too much.
- Do not take decoctions or receive acupuncture and moxibustion treatment carelessly. Only certain herbs, acupuncture, and moxibustion treatments are allowed to be used during pregnancy.
- Do not carry heavy objects, climb or walk through rough terrain, or work too hard.
- Do not sleep or lie down for too long, or get frightened.
- Do not wash one’s hair too often [or she will be susceptible to cold], or go up to the toilet on a high place during the month of delivery.
- Never have intercourse after pregnancy. It may agitate the fetus and cause the discharge of blood.
- Certain foods are forbidden to eat so one must be careful.

7. How to Care for Children

It is now common knowledge that newborn babies are weak in every aspect including skin and function so they require special care. Nevertheless, overprotecting infants harms their health and restricts their growth. Thus, it is necessary to take proper measures.

- If a newborn is kept too warm with heavy clothing in cold weather, his or her skin cannot function normally and he or she easily catches a cold.
- Newborn babies should be taken outside often to get fresh air and sunshine. It will strengthen their qi and blood, enable them to endure cold weather, and give them resistance towards illnesses.
- Avoid holding a newborn in one’s arms too much because it is not good for the newborn’s bone and muscle growth. -When an infant sleeps at night, do not let the infant sleep with its head on a mother's arm. Make a small pillow and put it under the infant’s head. Do not let him or her sleep on one side all the time or he or she could develop infantile convulsion.
- If a newborn is heavily clothed, the newborn’s bones and muscles weaken, making the newborn more susceptible to illness.
- Make the baby's clothes out of old clothes worn by a 70- or 80-year old man. This will pass the genuine qi of the old man to the child and let him or her live long.
- Until the baby turns five months old, bundle him or her well and let him or her lie down, and never go out holding the baby upright. When the baby is six months old, feed him or her with clear rice porridge but do not mix it with breast milk.

Raising a child requires great carefulness. In another section of the Dongui Bogam, the following ten principles in raising a child are introduced. First, keep the child’s back warm. Second, keep the stomach warm. Third, keep the feet warm. Fourth, keep the head cool. Fifth, keep the chest cool. Sixth, do not show him strange things. Seventh, do not feed him cold food. Eighth, do not breast feed the baby until it stops crying. Ninth, be cautious in giving him Calomelas (經粉, calomel) or Cinnabaris (朱砂, cinnabar). [They are, however, occasionally used in treating infantile convulsion and epilepsy]. Tenth, do not bathe him too frequently. [Or he becomes susceptible to cold].

8. Illness in the Elderly Differ from that of the Young.

Since the Dongui Bogam was written in a time when average people did not live long, it does not contain much content about the elderly. Yet, it does make clear that the health and illnesses of the elderly are different from those of the young. As old people have weaker qi and blood compared to younger people, strong prescriptions should be avoided. Even when pathogenic qi has invaded, cold medicinal herbs, or prescriptions inducing perspiration, vomiting, or diarrhea should not be used. Recuperating methods with mild and gentle medicinal herbs is the principle of treating the elderly.

9. Principles in Using Herbal Medicine

No matter how healthy you are, it is impossible to be completely free of disease. Developing a disease does not involve a simple mechanism. Some are easily cured, but there are cases in which mild sickness develop into severe illness. In any case, you should stay alert and take proper measurements. In East Asia, people took medications in order to stay healthy, not only when they become ill. People had continuously studied about how to process and combine specific parts of medical herbs, wild or cultivated, and how to administer these substances in oral medication forms. By the time the Dongui Bogam was published, nearly two thousand types of herbs had been discovered and more than one hundred thousand combinations had been developed in East Asian medical society. In East Asia, the terms "To cure a disease" and "To take medicine" have been used interchangeably from some point. Thus, prescribing and administering medicine became a core element of medical culture.

In East Asia, herbal medicines are generally processed from raw herbs and extracted with solvents such as water or alcohol. There are certain kinds of rituals as well carried out in the process of extracting herbal medicines because the process of decocting medicine was believed to be a part of treatment. In boiling a decoction, for instance, the person doing it as well as the tools used must be clean. Moreover, water must be carefully selected, and the procedure must be adequate. Active ingredients must be fully extracted, but one must be careful not to vaporize the components by boiling them too long. Boiling times differ with the symptoms of different diseases. Methods of drug administration also vary according to the various symptoms of disease. Some drugs are taken before meals, and others are taken after meals. Some are taken slowly, and others are taken quickly at once. Certain drugs should be taken at 4 a.m., or as soon as one gets up. Some decoctions are warmed or cooled before taken, depending on the nature of the disease and the herbs. As the procedure of boiling a decoction is very complex, restrictions on taking drugs and guidelines on diet cover a wide range. For example, it is often advised to avoid meat and strong-flavored food while taking decoctions.

Taking herbal formulas containing specific herbs accompanies restrictions on certain other herbs and foods. Avoid shellfish, garlic, or raw fish while taking prescriptions containing Atractylodis Rhizoma White, for example. Or avoid taffy, mutton, or seaweed while taking prescriptions containing Pinelliae Rhizoma or Acori Graminei Rhizoma. Never take prescriptions containing Coptidis Rhizoma when it is cooled. Avoid pork while taking a prescription containing Picororrhizae Rhizoma, or men will get seminal emission. Avoid vinegar or food with sour taste while taking prescriptions containing Poria. Vinegar takes away the effectiveness. Avoid pork and venison while taking any herbal medicine, since they have detoxifying properties and can take away the effectiveness of all medicines.

10. Principles in Receiving Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatments

East Asian medicine is unique in its treatment techniques using needling. However, acupuncture is not a panacea. It is only effective when used correctly. Bear in mind the following interdictions when receiving acupuncture and moxibustion treatment.

- Do not receive acupuncture and moxibustion treatment after sexual intercourse. - Do not have sexual intercourse after acupuncture and moxibustion treatments.
- Do not receive acupuncture and moxibustion treatments after drinking. Do not drink after acupuncture and moxibustion treatments.
- Do not receive an acupuncture treatment when extremely angry or surprised. Avoid getting angry or surprised after acupuncture and moxibustion treatments.
- Do not receive acupuncture and moxibustion treatments when exhausted. Do not work too hard after acupuncture and moxibustion treatments.
- Do not receive acupuncture and moxibustion treatments when very hungry. Avoid eating too much or being hungry after acupuncture and moxibustion treatments.
- When patients have traveled a long distance, they should take a rest before acupuncture and moxibustion treatments. After the treatment, they should take a rest before traveling a long distance.


*This series of articles about the Dongui Bogam has been made possible through the cooperation of the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine.