论曰阳施阴化所以有妊遇三阴所会多生女子但怀妊三月名曰始胎血脉不流象形而变是时
男女
未定故令于未满三月间服药方术转令生男也其法以斧置妊妇床下系刃向下勿令人知恐不信者
令待鸡抱卵时根据此置窠下一窠尽出雄鸡此虽未试亦不可不知凡受胎三月逐物变化故古人立
胎教能令生子良善长寿忠孝仁义聪明无疾十月之内常见好境象远邪僻真良教也
妊孕欲得男女觉有孕未盈月以弓弩弦为带缚腰中满三月解转女为男宫中秘法不传(房室
经)
博物志曰妇人妊身三月未满着婿衣冠平旦绕井三匝映水视影勿反顾必生男陈成者生十女
其妻绕井三匝咒曰女为阴男为阳女多灾男多祥锁井三日不汲及期果生一男
女子二七而天癸至任脉通太冲盛月事以时下故有子丈夫二八肾气盛天癸至精气溢阴阳和
故有
子年老有子者气脉常通肾气有余也有子男不过尽八八女子不过七七而天地精气竭矣子寿不过
天癸之数
精神受于天形体禀于地一月而膏二月而 三月而胎四月而肌五月而筋六月而骨七月而成
八月而动九月而躁十月而生(淮南子)
妇人妊身不欲见丑恶物食当避异常味不可见兔令儿唇厥不可啖姜令儿多指(博物志)
郝翁者名允博陵人晚迁郑圃世以神医目之里妇二一夜中口噤如死状翁曰血脉滞也不用药
闻鸡
声自愈一行 踔辄踣翁曰脉厥也当活筋以药熨之自怏皆验士人陈尧遵妻病众医以为劳伤翁曰
亟屏药是为娠症且贺君得男子已而果然又二妇人妊一咽嘿不能言翁曰儿胞大经壅儿生经行则
言矣不可毒以药一极壮健翁偶诊其脉曰母气已死所以生者反恃儿气耳如期子生母死翁所治病
神异不可胜纪(邵氏后闻见录)
论述说：阳气施布、阴气化生，所以能受孕。遇到三阴经交会之时，多生女孩。但怀孕三个月时称为“始胎”，此时血脉尚未流通，胎儿随母体形象而改变，这时男女之形尚未确定，因此让人在未满三个月时服药或运用方术，转令生男孩。其方法是把斧头放在孕妇床下，使刀刃向下，不要让人知道。如果担心别人不信，可以让人在公鸡抱窝孵卵时，按照这个方法把鸡窝放在下面，一窝鸡蛋全部孵出的是雄鸡。这虽然未曾亲自尝试过，但也不可不知道。大凡受孕三个月，胎儿随所见所闻而变化，所以古人设立胎教，能使孩子善良长寿、忠孝仁义、聪明无病。在十个月期间，常看美好的景象，远离邪僻之事，这才是真正的良教啊。
想要决定胎儿性别，发觉怀孕未满一个月时，用弓弩的弦做腰带系在腰间，满三个月解开，这是《宫中秘法》中不传的法术（出自《房室经》）。
《博物志》记载：妇女怀孕未满三个月，穿着丈夫的衣冠，清晨绕井三圈，映水看自己的影子，不要回头，必定生男孩。陈成生了十个女儿，他的妻子绕井三圈，咒愿说：“女属阴，男属阳；女多灾祸，男多吉祥。”锁住井口三天不汲水，到期果然生了一个男孩。
女子十四岁天癸至，任脉通畅，太冲脉盛盛，月经按时来潮，所以能生育。男子十六岁肾气旺盛，天癸至，精气溢泻，阴阳调和，所以能生育。年老有子的人，是因为气血经脉常通，肾气有余。有子的男子不超过六十四岁，女子不超过四十九岁，因为天地精气已经枯竭了。人的寿命不超过天癸枯竭的岁数。
精神禀受于天，形体禀受于地。一月形成膏脂，二月形成……三月形成胎，四月形成肌肉，五月形成筋腱，六月形成骨骼，七月形体完备，八月胎动，九月躁动，十月出生（出自《淮南子》）。
妇女怀孕期间，不希望看到丑陋的事物，饮食应当避开异常的味道。不可看见兔子，否则导致孩子兔唇；不可吃姜，否则导致孩子多指（出自《博物志》）。
郝翁，名允博陵人，晚年迁居郑圃，世人称他为神医。同乡一位妇人，一夜之间口噤不能言，像死了一样。郝翁说：“这是血脉阻滞，不用药，听到鸡叫声就会自愈。”另一人行走跳跃跌倒，郝翁说：“这是脉厥证，应当活血通络，用药热敷，自然都见效。”士人陈尧遵的妻子生病，众医生认为是劳伤所致。郝翁说：“赶快停用药物，这是妊娠症候，并且祝贺您得了个男孩。”后来果然如此。又有两位孕妇，一个咽喉闭塞不能说话，郝翁说：“胎儿胞宫大，经络壅塞，孩子出生后经络通畅就能说话了，不可用毒药攻伐。”还有一个极其壮健的人，郝翁偶然诊察他的脉象说：“母亲的气血已死，之所以活着，反而是依赖胎儿的气血罢了。”如期孩子出生，母亲死亡。郝翁治疗的病症神异，不可胜数（出自《邵氏后闻见录》）。
Discourse states: Yang qi exerts and yin qi transforms, thus conception occurs. When the three yin meridians converge, female offspring are more likely to be born. However, at three months of gestation, it is called "initial fetus" (shǐ tāi), at which point the blood vessels have not yet circulated, and the fetus changes according to the mother's form. At this stage, the sex has not yet been determined; therefore, medication or methods are administered before the third month to transform a female fetus into a male. The method involves placing an axe under the pregnant woman's bed with the blade facing downward, without others knowing. To dispel disbelief, one may place a hen's nest under the same condition when a rooster is brooding eggs; if all chicks in the hatch are males, it confirms the efficacy. Although untested personally, this knowledge should not be ignored. Generally, within three months of conception, the fetus changes according to external stimuli. Thus, ancients established prenatal education (tāi jiào) to ensure the child is virtuous, long-lived, loyal, filial, benevolent, righteous, intelligent, and free from disease. During the ten months of pregnancy, one should frequently view beautiful scenes and avoid perverse influences; this is true good teaching.
To determine the sex of the offspring, upon feeling pregnant but less than one month along, use a bowstring as a belt tied around the waist, and remove it after three months. This is the secret method of the palace, not transmitted externally (from *Fangshi Jing*).
*Bowuzhi* records: A woman pregnant for less than three months should wear her husband's clothes and hat, walk around a well three times at dawn, and look at her reflection in the water without looking back; she will surely give birth to a boy. Chen Cheng had ten daughters. His wife walked around the well three times, chanting: "Female is yin, male is yang; females bring disaster, males bring auspiciousness." She locked the well for three days without drawing water. Upon the due date, she indeed gave birth to a son.
At age fourteen, a girl's Tian Gui (heavenly water/essence) arrives, the Ren Mai (Conception Vessel) becomes unobstructed, and the Chong Mai (Penetrating Vessel) becomes abundant, allowing menstruation to occur regularly, thus enabling conception. At age sixteen, a man's Kidney Qi becomes robust, Tian Gui arrives, essence overflows, and yin and yang harmonize, thus enabling conception. Those who have children in old age do so because their Qi and blood meridians remain open and Kidney Qi is sufficient. Men do not father children beyond sixty-four years, nor women beyond forty-nine years, as the essence of heaven and earth is exhausted. Human lifespan does not exceed the number of years until Tian Gui ceases.
Spirit is derived from Heaven, and the physical form is endowed by Earth. In the first month, fat forms; in the second month... [text missing]; in the third month, the fetus forms; in the fourth month, muscles form; in the fifth month, tendons form; in the sixth month, bones form; in the seventh month, the body is complete; in the eighth month, fetal movement occurs; in the ninth month, restlessness increases; in the tenth month, birth occurs (from *Huainanzi*).
Pregnant women should avoid seeing ugly things and eating abnormal flavors. One should not see rabbits, lest the child have a cleft lip; one should not consume ginger, lest the child have polydactyly (from *Bowuzhi*).
Hao Weng, whose name was Yun Bolingren, moved to Zhengpu in his later years. People regarded him as a divine physician. A village woman suddenly became mute and appeared dead overnight. Hao Weng said, "This is stagnation of blood and vessels. No medicine is needed; hearing the rooster's crow will cure her." Another person stumbled and fell while walking/jumping. Hao Weng said, "This is Mai Jue (pulse syncope); activate the sinews using hot herbal compresses," which proved effective. The wife of scholar Chen Yaozun was ill; other physicians attributed it to labor injury. Hao Weng said, "Immediately stop all medications; this is a pregnancy symptom. I congratulate you on having a son." It turned out to be true. Two other pregnant women suffered from throat obstruction and inability to speak. Hao Weng said, "The fetal sac is large, obstructing the meridians. Once the child is born and meridians flow, speech will return. Do not use toxic drugs." He also examined an extremely robust man and said, "The mother's Qi is already dead; she survives only by relying on the fetus's Qi." As predicted, the child was born, and the mother died. The miraculous cases treated by Hao Weng are too numerous to recount (from *Shao Shi Hou Wen Jian Lu*).