1. The liver enzymes are elevated in HELLP, meaning there is some liver injury. She should avoid traditional chinese medicine that may add to the burden of the liver.

2. The baby, being premature is already at risk for neonatal jaundice. Breastfeeding mothers who are on traditional chinese medicine further increases the risk of neonatal jaundice

This post has been edited by samowong: Oct 1 2019, 10:40 PM

When you say pills and confinement meal, what are the actual contents? Same goes for the confinement herbs. What's inside? How does it actually help the body? Has she taken it before? How will her body react to it? How will it affect the baby when it passes through the breast milk?

I understand that as Chinese, we are bound by thousands of years of tradition. Our parents are esp. kan cheong as they want the best for us. They do not want anything to go wrong by NOT following tradition.

But this is not the time to experiment esp. when your wife is recovering from PE and the baby is premature. Breast milk is precious to premature babies as their immunity is underdeveloped. Therefore, why compromise the breast milk by feeding the mother something out of the ordinary?

In my opinion, just give your wife freshly cooked food from fresh and natural ingredients. Make sure its a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. Once she is able to, bring her outside for a brisk walk and fresh air.

This post has been edited by samowong: Oct 2 2019, 10:56 AM