ABSTRACT
Objective By combining the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) health care service and the current community puerperal women's health management, to explore the feasibility of TCM health management in the grass-roots community on puerperal women’s breast-feeding. Methods 440 patients meeting the inclusion criteria of puerperal women according to the neighborhood of residence were recruited into a non TCM intervention group of 225 people, and a TCM intervention group of 215 people. The non TCM intervention group was given health guidance on puerperal women. On such basis, the TCM intervention group was further cooperated with appropriate technical guidance of TCM. Puerperal women breastfeeding before and after the intervention was studied. Results After the intervention, the milk shortage of puerperal women breastfeeding rate of TCM intervention group was higher than the non TCM intervention group, 76.9% (60/78) vs. 56.9% (41/72), and mixed feeding rate was lower 21.8% (17/78) vs. 40.3%(29/72), the difference was statistically significant (χ2=5.916, 5.178; P < 0.05). The rate of breast feeding and mixed feeding rate were also statistically different between the TCM intervention group and the non TCM intervention group 78.1%(168/215) and 17.2% (37/215) vs. 62.7% (141/225) and 33.3% (75/225), (χ2=11.860, 14.226; P<0.01). Conclusion TCM health management guidance on puerperal women in the community can effectively improve the hypogalactia puerperal women's breastfeeding rate.