Chinese motherwort

Postpartum woman with lingering dark lochia and cramping low abdominal pain that eases once clots pass

Painful periods with dark clotted blood, premenstrual pelvic heaviness and puffiness that resolves with the flow

Edema and scanty urination in a patient who also carries menstrual stasis signs, so that water and blood need moving together

Overview. Yi mu cao is the Asian motherwort, an annual or biennial mint with deeply cut leaves and whorls of small pink flowers, growing in fields and roadsides across China, Japan, Korea and temperate Asia. The fresh or dried aerial parts, gathered in early flowering, are the pharmacopoeial drug. Its name means the herb that benefits mothers, and it has been the standard blood-moving remedy for menstrual and postpartum disorders in Chinese medicine for over a thousand years, with a secondary role as a cooling diuretic and a detoxifying herb for sores.

Clinical Notes. This is the herb for blood stasis and fluid retention arriving together in a gynecological picture: clotted painful periods with premenstrual bloating, retained lochia, or the sluggish uterus after a miscarriage.

Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: slightly cold. Taste: acrid, bitter. Channels: Liver, Heart, Bladder. Actions: Invigorates blood, dispels stasis and regulates menstruation; Promotes urination and reduces edema; Clears heat and resolves toxicity in sores and swellings.