Is hiesho in pregnant women a risk factor for postpartum haemorrhage?

INTRODUCTION In Japanese culture, a cold sensation known as “hie” is an important symptom in traditional medicine. Hiesho is considered to be a condition in which the sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant, resulting in poor circulation in the extremities due to contraction of the peripheral blood vessels. In Nakamura, Ichisato, Horiuchi, Mori, and Momoi’s (2011) analysis of the concept of hiesho, it is defined as a condition in which “there is a difference between core temperature and peripheral temperature and a delay in the rise of the peripheral temperature even when the individual is in a warm environment, resulting in a ‘chilly feeling’ in many cases” (p.2).