[An experience applying Gua-Sha to help a parturient women with breast fullness]

This paper was designed to describe the experience of nurses who applied Gua-Sha, a traditional Asian healing technique, in caring for a parturient woman suffering from breast fullness. The caring period ran from the second day postpartum through the mother's discharge from the hospital, and included telephone follow up during the first and second postpartum weeks. Main caring activities included: (1) supporting and reinforcing the mother's confidence to encourage continued breastfeeding; (2) making sure the baby suckled in a good position and that the mother mastered proper breastfeeding techniques; (3) applying Gua-Sha to help breast milk expression and reduce the breast fullness discomfort; and (4) following up regularly on breastfeeding and breast fullness conditions. As a result, the mother was able to continue breastfeeding and could eventually take care of herself, thus achieving a satisfactory breast feeding experience.