昔庞安治产七日不下,诸治莫效。庞令其家作汤,温其腰腹,自以手上下与之拊摩,孕妇觉肠痛甚,少间
生一子。问其故曰∶儿已出胞,因手执母肠不能出,我为隔腹扪儿手针之,无他术也。视儿右手虎口,果有针
痕。
又妇坐草早恐惧气结不下。盖恐则气结而精神怯,上焦闭,下焦腹胀,用紫苏饮即产。
滑伯仁治七日不产且食少,用凉粥一盂,捣枫叶煎汤调饮,旋产(枫叶,先生者先落,后生者后落,是用
意也)。
吴菱山见产三日不下,以车前子为君,冬葵子为臣,枳壳、白芷为佐,服下立产。高宾治刘姓之妇,产不
出而死矣。临殓经过,见容貌不似死者,因问其故。斯时天正严寒异常,知是冻产,必由血冷凝滞不行,即令
用红花浓煎汤,绵醮乘滚 于腹上,再用热汤烧暖而苏,苏随生下一子安全。
朴治钱氏妇产难,用佛手散加炮姜,再用薛立斋法,取路旁草鞋一双,取鼻络小绳烧灰,酒调和入,片时即
产下一男。又治许卫中妻产难,三四日不能下,稳婆欲用折胎之法。予曰∶不可。设胎未伤而用刀,必负痛上
冲于心,岂不两命俱丧?纵使胎死,不下,予自有药下之。乃令稳婆出。随用佛手散加炮姜二钱,
浓朴一钱,煎服。时初更,至半夜而生下。胎虽稳婆动手所伤,而产母无恙。此亦冬寒血冷之故,得温而出,以
保全产母。又于胜元五日产不下,用四物汤加倍进之,不应。因思胞水滤干,再进八珍汤助其气血,更煎汤熏
洗阴户而生。此皆在浙时,略记之余惟用保胎无忧散,及佛手散应验者多,不及重载。诸书催生奇方颇多,缘方
愈多而用心者愈乱,可不必繁载。至于安产妇卧房,虽有其说,然不必尽信。思小户之家,无处可移,俱要
生子。至于符诀催生之法,皆非正道,亦不载也。
In the past, Pang Anshi treated a parturient who had been in labor for seven days without delivery, and various treatments proved ineffective. Pang ordered her family to prepare hot water to warm her waist and abdomen, and personally used his hands to massage her up and down. The pregnant woman felt severe intestinal pain, and after a short while, she delivered a child. When asked about the reason, he said: "The fetus had already emerged from the amniotic sac, but because its hand was grasping the mother's intestine, it could not exit. I palpated the fetal hand through the abdominal wall and pricked it with a needle; there was no other technique." Upon examination, the infant's right hand indeed showed needle marks at the thenar eminence (tiger's mouth).
Another woman went into labor prematurely and became fearful, causing Qi stagnation and failure to deliver. Fear causes Qi to knot and spirit to become timid, leading to closure of the Upper Jiao and distension of the Lower Jiao. After administering Zisu Yin (Perilla Decoction), she delivered immediately.
Hua Boren treated a woman who had not delivered for seven days and had poor appetite. He gave her one bowl of cool congee, mixed with decoction made from crushed maple leaves, after which she delivered immediately (Maple leaves have the property that those born first fall first, and those born last fall last; this principle is applied here).
Wu Lingshan saw a woman who had not delivered for three days. He used Cheqianzi (Plantago Seed) as the sovereign herb, Dongkuizi (Malva Seed) as the minister herb, Zhike (Aurantii Fructus) and Baizhi (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix) as the assistant herbs. After administration, she delivered immediately. Gao Bin treated a Mrs. Liu who died due to dystocia. While passing by during the funeral procession, he noticed her appearance did not resemble that of a corpse and inquired about the cause. At that time, the weather was exceptionally cold, indicating frozen childbirth (Dongchan), likely caused by blood coagulation and stagnation. He ordered a strong decoction of Honghua (Carthami Flos) to be prepared, soaked in cotton cloth, and applied hot to the abdomen. Then, using hot steam, she revived and subsequently delivered a safe infant.
Pu treated a difficult birth for Mrs. Qian using Foshou San (Buddha's Hand Powder) combined with Paojiang (Prepared Ginger Rhizome). Additionally, following Xue Lizhai's method, he took a pair of straw sandals from the roadside, extracted the small rope from the nasal area, burned it to ash, mixed it with wine, and administered it orally. A male infant was delivered shortly thereafter. He also treated the wife of Xu Weizhong for difficult birth; after three or four days without delivery, the midwife intended to use the method of breaking the fetus. I said, "This is unacceptable. If the fetus is unharmed and a knife is used, the severe pain will cause Qi and Blood to rush upward to the Heart, surely resulting in the death of both mother and child? Even if the fetus is dead and retained, I have my own medicines to expel it." Thus, I dismissed the midwife. I then prescribed Foshou San with 2 qian of Paojiang and 1 qian of Houpo (Magnolia Bark), decocted and administered. It was early evening (Chu Geng), and she delivered at midnight. Although the fetus was injured by the midwife's intervention, the mother remained unharmed. This was also due to winter cold causing blood coldness; warmth allowed the expulsion, thereby preserving the mother. In another case at Shengyuan's home, where delivery had not occurred for five days, I administered Sini Tang (Four Substances Decoction) with doubled dosage, but it was ineffective. Recalling that the amniotic fluid had dried up, I administered Bazhen Tang (Eight Treasures Decoction) to tonify Qi and Blood, and additionally used decoction for fumigation and washing of the vulva, after which she delivered. These are cases briefly recorded when I was in Zhejiang. I only record formulas such as Baotai Wuyou San (Fetus-Protecting Carefree Powder) and Foshou San, which have proven effective frequently, and do not burden the text with excessive records. There are many strange prescriptions for inducing labor in various books; precisely because there are more prescriptions, practitioners may become confused in their application, so it is unnecessary to record them extensively. Regarding theories on arranging the parturient's bedroom, although such theories exist, they should not be fully trusted. Considering that ordinary households have nowhere to relocate and must give birth wherever they are, methods involving talismans and incantations for inducing labor are not orthodox and are therefore not recorded.