生产之顺易。全在一有胎孕。即加调养。诚水流之源也。要知妇人生子。与牝鸡
覆卵相似。雏在卵壳中。临出。乃雏自啄破卵壳而出。儿在胞胎内。乃儿自吮开
胞衣而生。凡有艰难延久者。多为胞衣坚浓。胎气肥大所致。孕妇能守淫佚诸
戒。产自不难。且又保婴儿之寿康。若不从孕时谨护。犹舍源而逐流。乌可得哉。
妇一有孕之后。切戒交媾。所以昔人有孕。即居另室。不与共寝。恐动欲念也。大抵三
个月以前犯之。则欲起而子宫复开。多有漏下。胎动。诸患。如三个月以后犯之。则胞
衣浓而难产。要知欲火伤胎。必致污浊凝积。且儿身白滞痘毒疮疾。医治难痊。俱因
父母不慎也。试以物观。其理易晓。牛马犬豕。胎胎顺易而无损。在人则未能矣。盖牛
马犬豕一受胎后。绝不交合。遇牡逼身。辄蹄之不得近。谓之护胎。人受胎后。多不禁
欲。每受此害。与其妇产艰难。子多病夭。何如戒一时之欲。受无涯之福。但妇难解。夫
男当细与讲明。
人有恼怒。最伤血气。血气既伤。自不能养胎。多有因此动胎者。即幸而不动。其怒气
入胎。生儿多疾矣。
妇人怀孕。原赖血以养之。气以护之。宜当常行小劳。令血气周流。胞胎活动。则气强
而胎旺。如久坐。久卧。久勤女工。纺织之类。不得行走散荡。以致气不营运。血不流润。
胎必凝滞不活。致多难产。且又胎气微弱。生儿软弱多病。凡孕妇。虽欲小劳。但不可
登高。上梯。举重妄作。恐有跌仆损伤之虞。常见田野辛苦之妇。必然途中腹痛。立便
生产。在富贵之家。每多难产。此安逸太过之验也。
分娩的顺利与容易，完全取决于怀孕期间的调养。这确实是源头活水般的根本道理。要知道妇女生育子女，与母鸡孵卵相似。雏鸟在蛋壳中，临近破壳时，是雏鸟自己啄破蛋壳而出。婴儿在胞胎内，也是婴儿自己吮开胞衣而生。凡是遇到难产、拖延时间久的情况，大多是因为胞衣坚韧厚实、胎儿过大所致。孕妇若能遵守戒除淫佚等禁忌，生产就不会困难，并且还能保全婴儿的长寿与健康。如果不从怀孕时就谨慎保护，就如同舍弃源头而去追逐水流，怎么可能得到呢？
妇女一旦怀孕之后，必须严格禁止房事。所以古人怀孕后，就居住在单独的居室，不与丈夫同寝，这是为了担心引发欲念。大致来说，如果在怀孕三个月以前犯禁，就会导致欲火兴起而子宫重新开启，多有漏下（阴道出血）、胎动不安等各种病患；如果在三个月以后犯禁，则会导致胞衣增厚而难产。要知道欲火会损伤胎儿，必然导致污浊之气凝积，而且婴儿出生后可能出现面色白滞、痘毒疮疾等疾病，治疗难以痊愈，这都是因为父母不慎造成的。试着用其他事物来观察，这个道理就容易明白了。牛、马、狗、猪等动物，每一胎都顺产容易且无损伤，而人类却做不到这一点。大概因为这些动物受孕后，绝对不再交合，遇到公兽逼近身体，就用蹄子踢开不让靠近，这叫作“护胎”。而人类受孕后，大多不禁欲，因此常受此害。与其让产妇生产艰难、孩子多病夭折，还不如戒除一时的欲望，享受无尽的福报。只是妇女往往难以理解，丈夫应当仔细向她们讲明。
人如果有恼怒的情绪，最易伤害血气。血气既然受损，自然不能滋养胎儿，多有因此导致动胎的情况。即使侥幸没有动胎，怒气进入胎中，生下的孩子也多疾病。
妇人怀孕，原本依赖血液来滋养它，依靠气来护卫它。应当经常进行轻微的活动，使血气周流全身，胞胎活动灵活，这样气强盛而胎儿旺盛。如果久坐、久卧，或者长时间从事女工、纺织之类的工作，不能行走散心，导致气机不运行，血液不流通滋润，胎儿必然凝滞不活，导致难产。而且还会造成胎气微弱，生下的孩子软弱多病。大凡孕妇，虽然想要轻微劳动，但不可登高、上梯子、举重物或妄作乱为，恐怕有跌倒损伤的危险。常见田野间辛苦劳作的妇女，必然在途中腹痛，立刻就能生产；而在富贵人家，却常常难产。这是安逸过度的验证啊。
The smoothness and ease of childbirth depend entirely on the care and regulation during pregnancy. This is indeed the source of the flowing water, the fundamental principle. One must know that a woman giving birth is similar to a hen incubating eggs. The chick inside the eggshell, when it is about to emerge, pecks open the shell itself to come out. Similarly, the infant inside the amniotic sac opens the membranes by its own sucking action to be born. Cases of difficult or prolonged labor are mostly caused by thick and tough membranes and an overly large fetus. If a pregnant woman can observe prohibitions against licentiousness and other vices, childbirth will not be difficult, and she can also ensure the longevity and health of the infant. If one does not guard carefully from the time of conception, it is like abandoning the source while chasing the stream; how could this succeed?
After a woman becomes pregnant, sexual intercourse must be strictly prohibited. Therefore, in ancient times, pregnant women would live in separate rooms and not share a bed with their husbands, to avoid arousing desire. Generally speaking, if this prohibition is violated within the first three months of pregnancy, desire may rise and the uterus may reopen, leading to various ailments such as vaginal bleeding (Lou Xia) and threatened miscarriage (Tai Dong). If violated after three months, it may cause the membranes to thicken, resulting in difficult labor. It must be understood that fire of desire damages the fetus, inevitably leading to the accumulation of turbid pathogens. Consequently, the child may suffer from conditions such as pale complexion, toxic acne, sores, and diseases, which are difficult to cure. All these result from the negligence of parents. Observe other things, and the principle becomes clear. Cattle, horses, dogs, and pigs give birth easily and without harm in every litter, whereas humans cannot achieve this. This is because these animals do not mate after conception; when approached by males, they kick them away to prevent closeness, a behavior called "protecting the fetus." In contrast, humans often fail to abstain after conception and thus suffer these harms. Rather than enduring difficult childbirth and having children who are sickly or die young, it is better to abstain from temporary desires to receive boundless blessings. Women may find it hard to understand, so husbands should explain this to them in detail.
Anger and indignation most severely damage Qi and Blood. Once Qi and Blood are damaged, they naturally cannot nourish the fetus, often leading to threatened miscarriage. Even if the fetus is fortunately not disturbed, anger entering the womb may cause the child to be prone to diseases after birth.
Pregnancy relies on Blood to nourish the fetus and Qi to protect it. Pregnant women should engage in mild physical activity regularly to ensure the free circulation of Qi and Blood and keep the uterus active. This strengthens Qi and promotes fetal vitality. However, sitting for long periods, lying down excessively, or engaging intensively in domestic tasks such as spinning and weaving, without walking around to relax, leads to stagnation of Qi movement and lack of moistening flow of Blood. This causes the fetus to become stagnant and inactive, resulting in difficult labor. It also weakens fetal Qi, leading to the birth of weak and sickly infants. Although pregnant women should engage in mild exercise, they must not climb high places, use ladders, lift heavy objects, or act recklessly, to avoid the risk of falls and injury. It is common to see hardworking women in the fields who experience abdominal pain on the way and deliver immediately. In contrast, women in wealthy families often suffer from difficult labor. This is evidence of the dangers of excessive comfort and inactivity.