What are the characteristics of the pulse in early pregnancy?

In ancient times, women usually judged whether they were pregnant by the characteristic changes in their pulse in the early stages of pregnancy. So what are the characteristics of a woman’s pulse in the early stages of pregnancy? What does a pregnancy pulse look like? Let’s take a look at what a happy pulse is like and how it differs from an ordinary pulse!

1 How does the happy pulse beat?

The feeling when you take the Xi pulse: It is like a row of bubbles swimming through the patient's blood vessels, passing through your ring finger, middle finger and index finger in turn, at a relatively fast speed, one after another. To put it simply, it is the feeling of a small iron ball rolling over your fingers one by one. Li Shizhen's description of the happy pulse in "Bencao Pulse Study" is: The slippery pulse is like beads, moving back and forth fluently but returning to the front. Do not mistake the slippery and rapid pulse for the same thing; only look at the slow and idle pulse. Smooth like pearls. The number is six.

2 How long does it take to detect pregnancy pulse?

The pregnancy pulse can usually be felt 4-6 weeks (forty to fifty days) after menopause. Diagnosing pregnancy by taking the pulse requires an experienced Chinese medicine practitioner. It can usually be done 4-6 weeks (40 to 50 days) after menopause. However, due to different physical conditions, the time of feeling the pulse may vary. Some may feel the pregnancy earlier, while others may feel it later. It mainly depends on the doctor's experience in labor and delivery. Recommendation: The accuracy of diagnosing pregnancy by taking the pulse is not high, the waiting time is long, and it is also necessary to distinguish it from other diseases such as phlegm, damp heat, and food accumulation. Therefore, it is recommended that women diagnose pregnancy through other more accurate and faster methods, such as morning urine tests, blood HCG tests, ultrasound, etc.

3 How is the happy pulse formed?

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine: The formation of a happy pulse is due to the contraction of veins, relaxation of arteries and increase in stroke volume when the pregnant woman is in a resting state. From a Western medicine perspective: Since the blood circulation of pregnant women is affected by pregnancy, changes in pulse may theoretically occur. The slippery pulse mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine is not a pulse condition exclusive to pregnant women. Under pathological conditions, slippery pulse can be seen in patients with anemia, rheumatism, late stage of acute infection with fever, acute and chronic gastroenteritis, etc. Some normal people may also have a slippery pulse. For example, people with phlegm-dampness constitution are often diagnosed with "slippery pulse". Such people usually have obesity, big belly, round waist, pale complexion, chest tightness and excessive phlegm.

4 The difference between a happy pulse and a normal pulse

Happy pulse: When pressed, it feels smooth, like beads rolling on a plate. It should be smooth and there is a feeling of swirling and moving forward, which can be understood as a fluent pulse. (When taking the pulse, you can feel that the pulse beats smoothly without any stagnation, and the pulse rate seems to be moving rapidly. There is a smooth feeling of "beads rolling on a plate" under the fingers). Normal pulse: The pulse is gentle, flowing smoothly, with an even rhythm, soft and powerful, and lasts four to five times in one breath. Depending on the season, there are tendencies of spring strings, summer floods, autumn hairs and winter stones. The pulse is very similar to the artery, so pay more attention when taking the pulse. Artery: The pulse is smooth, rapid and strong, and should be referred to as bean-like sudden beats, but the pulsation site is shorter and smaller than that of the slippery pulse, so it is said to be "as big as a bean, and shaken". The diseases it treats include shock and pain. Because pain causes disharmony between yin and yang, qi blocks blood, and fright causes disorder of qi and blood, making the pulse agitated, so arteries can be seen.