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How can one know that a pregnant woman is about to give birth? The body exhibits symptoms of illness, but the pulse is not pathological. ("Body with illness" refers to conditions such as amenorrhea and morning sickness. Typically, when the body is ill, the pulse should also be abnormal, such as being intermittent or irregular, or presenting as wiry (Xian), choppy (Se), fine (Xi), or rapid (Shu). These are all pathological pulses indicating true disease. If the six pulses are harmonious and slippery, yet the body feels uncomfortable, this is undoubtedly due to fetal qi.)

A pregnant woman is referred to as having "double bodies" (Chongshen). By the ninth month, she may become aphonic (Yin). (Pregnancy means there is a body within a body, hence "double bodies." Aphonia refers to hoarseness or inability to speak.) This is because the collaterals of the uterus are obstructed. (By the ninth month of pregnancy, the fetus has grown sufficiently to block the flow of collaterals within the uterus.) Why is this so? The uterine collaterals connect to the Foot-Shaoyin Kidney meridian, penetrate the kidney, and link to the root of the tongue; therefore, speech becomes impaired. No treatment is required; speech will return after the tenth month. (The collaterals within the uterus refer to the Chong and Ren meridians. The uterine collaterals connect to the kidney and ascend to meet at the throat. When these collaterals are blocked, speech is lost. After the tenth month, when the fetus is born, the uterine collaterals reopen, and speech returns. Thus, no treatment is necessary.)

Do not damage those with deficiency of healthy qi, nor tonify those with excess of pathogenic factors, lest you exacerbate the condition. ("Zhen" here refers to disease. Treating when treatment is not indicated will only cause further illness.) "Do not damage the deficient" means that emaciated individuals should not undergo harsh treatments like bian stone therapy. (In the ninth month of pregnancy, the body is heavy and fatigued, and energy is depleted nourishing the fetus. This is a time of righteous qi deficiency and insufficiency; it is absolutely forbidden to use needles or stones to further injure the qi.) "Do not tonify the excessive" means that if there is a formed fetus in the abdomen, using purgative methods will cause essence to leak out, leaving the pathogen dominant in the interior. Hence, the disease forms. (If the fetus in the uterus is pierced, essence must leak. Leakage of essence injures fetal qi, allowing the pathogen to dominate the center. This increases the excess, leading to disease formation.)

Regarding the principles of conception, the *Cranium and Fontanelle Classic* (*Lunxin Jing*) states: In the first month, it is called "Tai Bao" (fetal sac), formed by the condensation of essence and blood; in the second month, it is called "Tai Xing" (fetal form), where the embryo begins to take shape; in the third month, the Yang Spirit manifests, forming the Three Hun souls; in the fourth month, the Yin Spirit manifests, forming the Seven Po souls; in the fifth month, the Five Elements distribute, differentiating the Five Zang organs; in the sixth month, the Six Laws stabilize, differentiating the Six Fu organs; in the seventh month, essence opens the orifices, granting vision; in the eighth month, the Yuan Spirit is complete, descending with true spiritual power; in the ninth month, the palace structure is fully arranged, determining the human form; in the tenth month, qi reception is sufficient, and all phenomena are completed.

After birth, at sixty days, the pupils form, and the infant can cough, laugh, and respond to others; at 150 days, the Ren Meridian forms, allowing self-turning; at 180 days, the hip bones form, enabling sitting alone; at 210 days, the palm bones form, enabling crawling on hands and knees; at 300 days, the patellae form, enabling walking. Failure to develop according to schedule indicates imbalance. Chao Yuanfang stated: The first month of pregnancy is named "Tai Pei," nourished by the Foot-Jueyin Liver Meridian; the second month is named "Shi Gao," nourished by the Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian; the third month is named "Shi Tai," nourished by the Hand-Jueyin Pericardium Meridian. At this time, blood circulation is sluggish, forms are just beginning to transform, and there is no fixed pattern, making them susceptible to change through external influence. To desire a dignified and upright child, one should speak rightly and act rightly; to desire beauty, wear white jade; to desire virtue and ability, read poetry and books. This is the principle of "external images affecting internal sensations."

In the fourth month, blood vessels begin to form, nourished by the Hand-Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian; in the fifth month, Qi begins to form, nourished by the Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian; in the sixth month, sinews begin to form, nourished by the Foot-Yangming Stomach Meridian; in the seventh month, bones begin to form, nourished by the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian; in the eighth month, skin and flesh begin to form, nourished by the Hand-Yangming Large Intestine Meridian; in the ninth month, hair begins to form, nourished by the Foot-Shaoyin Kidney Meridian; in the tenth month, the Five Zang and Six Fu organs, joints, and human spirit are all complete. This is the general outline. One should deduce the underlying logic. For instance, the Foot-Jueyin is the Liver Meridian, and the Foot-Shaoyang is the Gallbladder Meridian; this is a Zang-Fu pair. Similarly for the rest. Generally, the seasonal commands begin with Spring Wood; thus, the nourishment of the twelve meridians starts with the Liver and Gallbladder. Therefore, nourishment of the fetus occurs in the first and second months. The Hand-Jueyin Pericardium and Hand-Shaoyang Sanjiao belong to Fire and flourish in Summer; thus, nourishment occurs in the third and fourth months. The Foot-Taiyin Spleen and Foot-Yangming Stomach belong to Earth and flourish in Late Summer; thus, nourishment occurs in the fifth and sixth months. The Hand-Taiyin Lung and Hand-Yangming Large Intestine belong to Metal and flourish in Autumn; thus, nourishment occurs in the seventh and eighth months. The Foot-Shaoyin Kidney belongs to Water and flourishes in Winter; thus, nourishment occurs in the ninth month. By the tenth month, the fetus in the womb has received sufficient qi from all zang organs and waits for the proper time to be born.

However, among the twelve meridians, the Hand-Shaoyin Heart Meridian, Hand-Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian, and Foot-Taiyang Bladder Meridian are not explicitly mentioned as nourishing the fetus. This is likely because the ninth-month nourishment lies in the Kidney, which includes the Bladder. Only the Heart and Small Intestine are exterior-interior pairs. The Heart is the master of the five zang and six fu organs. Although noble and non-action-oriented, wherever its zang qi reaches, its spirit arrives. The Small Intestine is close to the fetal sac, transformed by Bing Fire, so its qi reaches everywhere. Thus, they do not govern specific months but are present in every month. The principles of conception do not go beyond this.

Nevertheless, male and female fetuses differ in the speed of development due to their nature, and in position due to yin-yang distinctions. Male fetuses move at three months because yang energy acts early; female fetuses move at five months because yin energy acts late. Female fetuses face away from the mother, so the mother's abdomen feels soft; male fetuses face the mother, so the mother's abdomen feels firm. These are differences between male and female fetuses.

Regarding lifespan after birth, there are two causes: constitution (Binfu) and upbringing (Fuyang). Constitution is the root of the fetal origin, receiving essence and qi from parents. Upbringing is the root of longevity or premature death, involving the warmth/cold of the dwelling and the gains/losses in diet. Children of young parents are often frail because desires are frequent and essence is thin. Children of older parents are often robust because desires are few and essence is complete. Those who drink excessively have children who often fail to survive, as alcohol disturbs essence, making it impure and increasing damp-heat. Those with excessive sexual desire have children who often fail to survive, as lack of restraint during pregnancy drains the mother's yin and steals the qi used to nourish the fetus. Additionally, hunger/fullness, work/rest, the five emotions, and the six climatic factors are all relevant; these constitute "constitution."

Regarding upbringing methods, folk wisdom says, "To keep a child safe, keep them slightly hungry and cold." This statement is highly inappropriate. Overeating damages the Spleen and generates accumulations; thus, one must prevent uncontrolled indulgence. Eating too much too quickly overwhelms the Spleen's transformation capacity. Diet must be balanced and regular, avoiding raw and cold foods, to prevent disease. Advocating "hunger" is inadvisable. Regarding "cold," the implication is profound. Sages avoid wind as if avoiding arrows; thus, the harm of wind-cold is significant. Infants, with undeveloped blood/qi and tender skin, differ from adults by hundreds of times. How can they be allowed to endure cold? Newborns often suffer from convulsions and spasms because they were tightly protected in the womb and are easily invaded by pathogens upon birth. If midwives are slow or careless, wind-cold attacks, often leading to fatal outcomes. As they grow slightly older, fever is common. Mild cases present as nasal congestion and cough; severe cases present as pediatric exogenous febrile diseases. Pediatricians unfamiliar with these may misdiagnose them as "bianzheng" (transformational fever), leading to death from incorrect medication. Cold damaging the zang organs causes vomiting and diarrhea; cold generating heat causes convulsions and malnutrition syndromes. Various complications arise mostly from external invasions. Even strong infants who resist wind-cold exist, but they are one-third; weak ones are two-thirds. Heat injuries account for 30%, while cold injuries account for 70%. Moreover, nobles and commoners have different constitutions. Physicians who fail to identify the root cause and merely attack heat with cold herbs, combined with infants' inability to speak and families' inability to distinguish symptoms, lead to resignation to fate, which is lamentable.

Another saying claims, "Infants are pure yang bodies and should be treated with cooling agents." This is particularly misleading. Women reach menarche at fourteen, men at sixteen, marking the arrival of Tian Gui (innate essence). Tian Gui is yin qi. Since infants have not yet attained yin qi, they are called "pure yang," meaning they possess only immature yang, not an excess of yang. Immature yang is minimal. If one mistakes this non-excess for fire and wrongly uses cold-cooling herbs to attack heat, both yin and yang will be damaged, leading to failure of both yin and yang, and injury to the Spleen and Kidney. What then remains to sustain life? Another claim states, "There is no method to tonify the Kidney in infants." What kind of reasoning is this? If an infant's yin qi is undeveloped, it constitutes Kidney deficiency. If parents had excessive desires, the inherited water essence is deficient, also constituting Kidney deficiency. If yin is insufficient and not tonified, yin exhaustion leads to the extinction of lone yang. How can one say there is nothing to tonify? This insight was uniquely grasped by Xue Lizhai.)