治滑胎。
菟丝子（四两，炒炖） 桑寄生（二两） 川续断（二两） 真阿胶（二两）
上药将前三味轧细，水化阿胶和为丸一分重（干足一分）。每服二十丸，开水送下，日再服。气虚者加人
参二两，大气陷者加生黄 三两，食少者加炒白术二两，凉者加炒补骨脂二两，热者加生地二两。
胎在母腹，若果善吸其母之气化，自无下坠之虞。且男女生育，皆赖肾脏作强。菟丝大能补肾，肾旺自
能荫胎也。寄生能养血、强筋骨，大能使胎气强壮，故《神农本草经》载其能安胎。续断亦补肾之药。阿胶系
驴皮所熬，最善伏藏血脉，滋阴补肾，故《神农本草经》亦载其能安胎也。至若气虚者，加人参以补气。大气
陷者，加黄 以升补大气。饮食减少者，加白术以健补脾胃。凉者，加补骨脂以助肾中之阳（补骨脂善保胎修
园曾详论之）。热者，加生地黄以滋肾中之阴。临时斟酌适宜，用之无不效者。
此方乃思患预防之法，非救急之法。若胎气已动，或至下血者，又另有急救之方。曾治一少妇，其初次
有妊，五六月而坠。后又有妊，六七月间，忽胎动下血，急投以生黄 、生地黄各二两，白术、山萸肉（去净核）、
龙骨（ 捣）、牡蛎（ 捣）各一两，煎汤一大碗，顿服之，胎气遂安。将药减半，又服一剂。后举一男，强
壮无恙。
流产为妇人恒有之病，而方书所载保胎之方，未有用之必效者。诚以保胎所用之药，当注重于胎，以变
化胎之性情气质，使
之善吸其母之气化以自养，自无流产之虞。若但补助妊妇，使其气血壮旺固摄，以为母强自能荫子，此又非熟
筹完全也。是以愚临证考验以来，见有屡次流产者，其人恒身体强壮，分毫无病；而身体软弱者，恐生育多则
身体愈弱，欲其流产，而偏不流产。于以知∶或流产，或不流产，不尽关于妊妇身体之强弱，实兼视所受之胎
善吸取其母之气化否也。由斯而论，愚于千百味药中，得一最善治流产之药，乃菟丝子是也。
寿胎丸，重用菟丝子为主药，而以续断、寄生、阿胶诸药辅之，凡受妊之妇，于两月之后徐服一料，必无
流产之弊。此乃于最易流产者屡次用之皆效。至陈修园谓宜用大补大温之剂，使子宫常得暖气，则胎自日长而有
成，彼盖因其夫人服白术、黄芩连坠胎五次，后服四物汤加鹿角胶、补骨脂、续断而胎安，遂疑凉药能坠胎，
笃信热药能安胎。不知黄芩之所以能坠胎者，非以其凉也。《神农本草经》谓黄芩下血闭，岂有善下血闭之药
而能保胎者乎？盖汉、唐以前，名医用药皆谨遵《神农本草经》，所以可为经方，用其方者鲜有流弊。迨至宋、
元以还，诸家恒师心自智，其用药或至显背《神农本草经》。是以医如丹溪，犹粗忽如此，竟用黄芩为保胎之
药，俾用其方者不惟无益，而反有所损，此所以为近代之名医也。所可异者，修园固笃信《神农本草经》者也，
何于用白术、黄芩之坠胎，不知黄芩之能开血闭，而但谓其性凉不利于胎乎？究之胎得其养，全在温度适宜，
过凉之药，固不可以保胎，即药过于热，亦非所以保胎也。惟修园生平用药喜热恶凉，是以立论稍有所偏耳。
Treats habitual abortion (Hua Tai).
Cuscutae Semen (Tu Si Zi, four liang, stir-fried and stewed)
Baiji Branch (Sang Jisheng, two liang)
Dipsaci Radix (Chuan Xu Duan, two liang)
Donkey-hide Gelatin (Zhen E Jiao, two liang)
Grind the first three herbs into fine powder. Dissolve the donkey-hide gelatin in water, mix with the powder, and form pills weighing one fen each when dry (one fen is the dry weight). Take twenty pills per dose, swallowed with boiled water, twice daily. For patients with Qi deficiency, add Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Ren Shen, two liang); for those with sinking of Great Qi (Da Qi), add Astragali Radix (Sheng Huang Qi, three liang); for those with poor appetite, add Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Chao Bai Zhu, two liang); for those with cold constitution, add Psoraleae Fructus (Chao Bu Gu Zhi, two liang); for those with heat constitution, add Rehmanniae Radix (Sheng Di Huang, two liang).
When the fetus is in the womb, if it truly excels at absorbing the mother's Qi transformation, there will naturally be no risk of falling or miscarriage. Moreover, male and female reproduction both rely on the Kidney's function of strength and vigor. Cuscutae Semen greatly tonifies the Kidney; when Kidney Qi is robust, it naturally nourishes and protects the fetus. Baiji Branch nourishes Blood, strengthens sinews and bones, and greatly stabilizes fetal Qi, which is why the *Shennong Bencao Jing* records its ability to calm the fetus. Dipsaci Radix is also a herb that tonifies the Kidney. Donkey-hide Gelatin is boiled from donkey skin; it excels at anchoring and storing Blood vessels, nourishes Yin, and tonifies the Kidney, so the *Shennong Bencao Jing* also records its ability to calm the fetus. For those with Qi deficiency, add Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma to tonify Qi. For those with sinking of Great Qi, add Astragali Radix to raise and tonify Great Qi. For those with reduced food intake, add Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma to strengthen and tonify the Spleen and Stomach. For those with cold constitution, add Psoraleae Fructus to assist Yang within the Kidney (Psoraleae Fructus is good at preserving the fetus, as Chen Xiuyuan discussed in detail). For those with heat constitution, add Rehmanniae Radix to nourish Yin within the Kidney. Adjust according to circumstances; usage is invariably effective.
This formula is a method of preventive treatment against potential issues, not an emergency rescue method. If fetal Qi has already moved, or if vaginal bleeding occurs, there are other emergency formulas. I once treated a young woman who had her first pregnancy but miscarried at five or six months. She became pregnant again, and between six and seven months, sudden fetal movement and vaginal bleeding occurred. I urgently prescribed Astragali Radix and Rehmanniae Radix, each two liang, along with Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Corni Fructus (pits removed), Dragon Bone (crushed), and Oyster Shell (crushed), each one liang. Decocted in a large bowl of water, taken in one dose, the fetal Qi stabilized. The dosage was halved, and another dose was taken. Later, she gave birth to a healthy boy.
Miscarriage is a common disease in women, yet formulas for preserving the fetus recorded in medical books have never been universally effective. Indeed, herbs used for preserving the fetus should focus on the fetus itself, changing its nature and temperament so that it excels at absorbing the mother's Qi transformation for self-nourishment, thereby eliminating the risk of miscarriage. If one merely supplements the pregnant woman, making her Qi and Blood robust and secure, assuming that a strong mother naturally protects the child, this is not a thoroughly considered approach. Therefore, since my clinical experience, I have observed that women who suffer repeated miscarriages often have strong bodies and no illness; while women with weak bodies, fearing that multiple pregnancies will weaken them further, desire miscarriage but do not miscarry. From this, I know: whether miscarriage occurs or not does not depend entirely on the strength of the pregnant woman's body, but actually depends on whether the conceived fetus excels at absorbing the mother's Qi transformation. Based on this reasoning, among thousands of herbs, I have found one that best treats miscarriage: Cuscutae Semen.
Shou Tai Wan uses Cuscutae Semen as the main herb in heavy dosage, assisted by Dipsaci Radix, Baiji Branch, Donkey-hide Gelatin, etc. For any pregnant woman, taking one course slowly after two months of gestation will certainly prevent miscarriage. This has been repeatedly effective even in cases most prone to miscarriage. As for Chen Xiuyuan, who believed that strongly tonifying and warming formulas should be used to keep the uterus warm, allowing the fetus to grow daily to term, he likely suspected that cooling herbs cause miscarriage and firmly believed that heating herbs preserve the fetus because his wife suffered five miscarriages after using Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Scutellariae Radix, and later stabilized the fetus using Si Wu Tang plus Cervus Cornu Colla, Psoraleae Fructus, and Dipsaci Radix. He did not realize that the reason Scutellariae Radix caused miscarriage was not due to its cooling nature. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* states that Scutellariae Radix treats blood obstruction; how can a herb that effectively unblocks blood also preserve the fetus? Before the Han and Tang dynasties, famous doctors strictly followed the *Shennong Bencao Jing*, thus creating classic formulas that rarely had adverse effects. Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, various practitioners have relied on their own wisdom, sometimes blatantly contradicting the *Shennong Bencao Jing*. Therefore, even a doctor like Zhu Danxi was so careless as to use Scutellariae Radix as a fetal-preserving herb, causing users to gain no benefit and instead suffer harm; this characterizes the "famous doctors" of recent times. What is strange is that Chen Xiuyuan was a firm believer in the *Shennong Bencao Jing*, yet regarding the miscarriage caused by Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Scutellariae Radix, he failed to recognize Scutellariae Radix's ability to open blood obstruction, attributing it solely to its cooling nature being unfavorable to the fetus. Ultimately, fetal nourishment depends entirely on appropriate temperature; overly cooling herbs certainly cannot preserve the fetus, nor can overly heating herbs. It is simply that Chen Xiuyuan preferred heating herbs and disliked cooling ones in his practice, leading to a slight bias in his theoretical arguments.