“Dr.Arthur Fan, Could You Tell Me by Taking My Pulse–If I Already got Pregnant?”
Many patients or friends of mine have asked me such a question,my answer is “NO!”
Surprise?
Maybe, a little bit?
Some Chinese Medicine doctors/practitioners may tell their patients–they could tell if the female gets pregnant or not–by Taking patient’s pulse only. To the patients or people who don’t know Chinese medicine, it seems really very magic! And this may attract some patients to see such providers.
However, I have to tell you the truth–We COULD NOT tell you if the woman already got pregnant or not, only according to the Pulse diagnosis.
The condition is very complicated.
Indeed, when a woman gets pregnant, her pulse should be stronger and bigger than before, we call this style pulse is “slippery Pulse”(Hua Mai).
But, if a female has slippery Pulse, we could not say–“it is sure you got pregnant”. The slippery pulse only reflects that the body’s Yang Qi is over strong or at moving.
When a female gets pregnant, her Yang Qi is stronger and stronger day after day due to her hormone changes during the pregnancy, such as HCG’s increasing significantly over the time.
However, when a female does not have pregnancy, such as getting her period, or getting ovulation, or she just had a sex, or just after an exercise; sometime, we also could find she has a slippery Pulse (or similar pulse)!
When a female takes some special medications/drugs, her pulse also becomes slippery!! For example, using prednisone or Progesterone.
When a female has hypertension, or headache, her pulse may become slippery too!!!
Only, when a female during her good age for pregnant (between her first menses to menopause), had sex with male (or IUI,IVF), then her period stopped over one week, her pulse becomes slippery, we could say this female has a bigger possibility–she may get pregnant.
However, the golden criterion is her HCG hormone significantly increasing, not the Slippery pulse.
So, if a provider tell you–“you get pregnant”–only after pulse taking and did not ask you the period condition, medication and other related issues, you should question him/her–“Did you had good training in Chinese gynaecology?”
Read more at:
https://arthuryinfan.wordpress.com/category/pulse-diagnosis/
Virginia Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine 