"I...I want a child, but I've been married for seven years now, and...we still haven't heard anything about it..."
Cui Xiaochai, the woman who entered the consultation room, stammered as she spoke, but then paused halfway through her sentence, lowered her head in silence for a long while, before looking up at Song Lan again and continuing:
"I ran into Sister Wei not long ago. I noticed her belly was swollen, so I couldn't help but chat with her for a bit. That's how I learned about you, Dr. Song, and that's why I came here to have you take a look."
"There are many reasons why you can't conceive after many years of marriage. Do you know them?"
Song Lan asked gently.
"Um."
Cui Xiaocha nodded and said, "I...I know, but my man is definitely healthy!"
"Whether there's a problem or not can only be determined after a hospital examination, do you understand what I mean?"
With a smile in her eyes, Song Lan didn't need a reply and continued, "Let me put it this way, you've been married for several years and haven't been able to conceive. It could be due to your own health, or it could be related to your husband's health."
Another possibility is related to the timing of your intercourse. Finally, simply put, the timing of your intercourse may have coincided with your ovulation period, which may have caused you to be unable to conceive for a long time.
However, that's less likely, considering you've been married for seven years. It's unlikely you'd miss your ovulation period every month for intercourse.
Cui Xiaochai blushed at Song Lan's words, feeling embarrassed. Looking at her, Song Lan didn't seem to notice anything amiss, a faint smile playing on her lips as she said, "You don't need to feel embarrassed..."
No, I didn't.
She's just a little shy and a bit uncomfortable.
With a gentle expression, Song Lan asked the other woman about her menstrual cycle each month. After understanding the situation, she said, "Your menstrual cycle is very normal. Now I will take your pulse and take a look. If there is nothing wrong with your body, then we can only ask your husband to come and have a check-up."
After a pause, Song Lan asked, "Have you been to other hospitals?"
Cui Xiaochai paused for a moment, then shook her head: "My mother-in-law said that going to the hospital is a waste of money, and she has been trying to find folk remedies for me to drink over the years."
Upon hearing this, Song Lan was briefly taken aback, but quickly regained her composure.
"Switch to your left hand."
Upon hearing what Song Lan said, Cui Xiaochai withdrew her right hand and placed her left hand on the pulse pillow.
Time passed quickly, and after about two or three minutes, Song Lan said calmly, "That's enough."
"Dr. Song, is there something seriously wrong with my health?"
Seeing Song Lan's solemn expression, Cui Xiaochai's heart leaped into her throat, her expression tense, and even her eyes revealed unease.
What folk remedies did your mother-in-law give you?
Song Lan asked.
Cui Xiaochai didn't hear what she wanted to hear, and she became increasingly nervous. Her lips trembled, and she almost said in a trembling voice:
"My mother-in-law found several talismans and, for over a month, burned them to ashes and had me take them with rainwater she collected."
Later, when it didn't work... my mother-in-law found some yellow powder for me to eat, but it still didn't work.
Then she brought back a lot of herbs from home, brewed them, and made me drink them... I drank that herbal soup for a long time, but I still couldn't get pregnant.
So, behind my mother-in-law's back, I threw away all the herbal medicine she had prepared, and for almost half a year I didn't take any medicine at all.
"Whether it's a folk remedy or a medicine prescribed by a doctor in a hospital, you can't just take it randomly. Don't you know that?"
Song Lan said with a serious expression, "Even if you don't know, haven't you heard the saying 'every medicine has some toxicity'?"
"I... I've heard that you can't take medicine indiscriminately, but I haven't been able to conceive since I got married. My mother-in-law and my own mother are constantly pressuring me, especially my mother-in-law. She often yells and says hurtful things at me. I really had no other choice..."
At home, her mother-in-law made veiled insults, saying that she was a barren hen, and that even though she had a job and wasn't just a freeloader, she was still being scolded so much because she couldn't get pregnant that she couldn't hold her head up.
Recalling the folk remedies she had drunk, and the hurtful words her mother-in-law had hurled at her without regard for her feelings, Cui Xiaochai couldn't help but tear up.
Song Lan: "Did you never have any health problems while taking the folk remedy?"
"I sometimes have stomach aches."
Cui Xiaochai said, "My menstrual cycle was irregular for a period of time. After I stopped drinking the folk remedy, my period returned to normal after a while, but... the flow was less than before."
"You have toxins in your body, which are accumulated from the folk remedies you've been taking. It's good that you've stopped taking them; otherwise, those toxins would have accumulated more and more, causing not only menstrual irregularities but also damage to your internal organs."
As for the rest of your health, there are no other problems.
Song Lan's voice was soft and gentle. Upon hearing this, Cui Xiaochai's eyes filled with panic and fear. She asked, "Then... is there any hope for me?"
"Through acupuncture and herbal medicine, as long as the toxins in your body are expelled, and after a period of rest, your body will be able to recover its health."
At this point, Song Lan paused for a moment, then continued, "But if you want to get pregnant, it's not enough for just your body to be healthy."
Cui Xiaochai pursed her lips tightly. After a long while, she forced back the tears in her eyes and asked, "Dr. Song, do you mean that if I don't take those folk remedies, my body is actually perfectly fine?"
"Um."
Song Lan nodded.
Cui Xiaochai then asked, "So, the reason I haven't been able to conceive since we got married is because of my husband?"
"More or less."
To make sure the other person didn't misunderstand, Song Lan explained, "If you've been having intercourse every month without avoiding your ovulation period, then the problem is basically with your husband if you haven't gotten pregnant yet."
Cui Xiaochai lowered her head and remained silent for a long time.
"Do you want to receive treatment now? If so, I'll give you acupuncture today. When you leave, take the prescription to the pharmacy to get the medicine..."
Song Lan slowly explained her treatment plan, and as soon as she finished speaking, Cui Xiaochai nodded: "I'll treat her, I'll start treatment today!"
"I understand, please wait a moment."
Picking up her pen, Song Lan began writing a treatment plan and prescriptions.
A few minutes later, she put down her pen and said to Cui Xiaochai, "Have your husband go to the hospital for a check-up later. If there is a problem with his health, my advice is to actively seek treatment. If your husband doesn't believe me, you can have him go to a hospital in the county or city for a check-up."
"He won't go to the hospital for a checkup... I'll... I'll divorce him..."
As Cui Xiaochai spoke, her eyes gradually hardened. "Since we got married, he's been working and earning money, and so have I. We haven't been able to get pregnant. He's anxious, and so am I, but he and his family put all the blame on me, saying I can't have children, and they want me to hand over more than half of my salary every month."
Now I know the problem isn't with me, and I won't... I won't let him and his family continue to humiliate me like this!
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