临产时。宜老成安静二三人伺候。不必多。一切亲族妇女。俱婉言谢却，勿令入房。夏月
更不宜多人在房。热气拥盛。能令产母。烦躁发晕。其害非小。
房中宜轻行轻语。不宜多话。令其安睡为妙。
第一要劝其放心安静。忍痛歇息。切忌在房中大惊小怪。交头接耳。咨嗟叹息。皆能
令其忧疑扰乱。以致误事。
房中宜安静如常。不得当面求神许愿。呼天叫地。稳婆只宜一人入房。且令在傍静
坐。勿得混闹。
饮食宜频频少与。或鸡鸭肚肺等清汤更妙。
房中冬天宜设火盆。以避寒气。夏月多贮井水。以收热气。
或问试痛何故。曰儿到七八个月。手足五官全备。已能动转。或母腹中有火。或起居
不时。令儿不安。以此大动而痛。此等十胎而五。不足为奇。只宜照常。稳食安眠一二日。自然
安静。或痛之不止。用安胎药一二服自止。此后近则数日。远则月余。甚至再过四
个月才产。人多不知。轻易临盆。终日坐立。不令睡倒。或抱腰擦肚。或用手拖。或用药打。生
生将儿取出。母则九死一生。儿则十胎九夭。惨不可言。世间难产。皆此故也。盖胎养不
足。气血不全。如剖卵出雏。裂茧出蛹。宁可活乎。只说小儿难养。谁复根究到此。又有受寒
。及伤食腹痛。不可不知。
或问何以知其试痛。曰只看痛法。一阵紧一阵者。正生也。一阵慢一阵。或乍紧乍慢
者。皆试痛也。
或问伤食受寒。何以辨之。曰伤食者。当脐而痛。手按之更痛。或脐傍有一硬块。寒痛多在脐
下。绵绵而痛。不增不减。得热物而稍缓是也。
或曰试痛亦有。或未必多。曰甚多。曰何以见之。曰以今之难产者多也。
或问将试痛认作正生。其害如此。倘将正生。认作试痛。以致过时。不亦有害乎。曰无
害。果当其时。小儿自会钻出。纵或过时。不过落在裤中。生在床上而已。有何大害。
而如此谆谆乎。
临产时，宜有两位年长稳重、性格安静的人在旁伺候，人数不必多。所有亲属妇女，都应委婉地谢绝，不要让他们进入产房。夏季更不适宜有多人在房内，热气聚集旺盛，会导致产妇烦躁头晕，其危害不小。
产房内应轻声行动、低声说话，不宜多言，让产妇安心睡眠为妙。
首要的是劝慰产妇放心安静，忍受疼痛并休息。切忌在产房中大惊小怪、交头接耳、叹息嗟呀，这些行为都会导致产妇忧虑怀疑、心神扰乱，从而延误生产大事。
产房内应保持安静如常，不得当面求神许愿、呼天抢地。接生婆只宜一人进入产房，并让她在旁边静坐，不得混乱吵闹。
饮食宜频繁少量给予，或者鸡鸭肚肺等清淡汤水更好。
产房内冬天宜设置火盆，以避寒气；夏天多储备井水，以收敛热气。
有人问：什么是试痛？回答说：胎儿到了七八个月时，手足五官已完备，已经能够活动。如果母腹中有热，或者起居作息不规律，导致胎儿不安，因此大幅动转而引发疼痛。这种情况十胎中有五胎，不足为奇。只需照常对待，安稳进食睡眠一两天，自然就会安静。如果疼痛不止，服用一两服安胎药即可停止。此后近则数日，远则月余，甚至再过四个月才分娩。人们大多不知道这一点，轻易认为即将临盆，整天不让产妇坐卧休息，或抱着腰揉肚子，或用手拉扯，或用药物强行催产，硬生生将胎儿取出。母亲则九死一生，婴儿则十胎中九个夭折，惨状不可言说。世间难产，都是因为这个原因。因为胎养不足，气血不全，就像剖开蛋壳取出小鸡，撕裂蚕茧取出蛹，怎么能存活呢？只说小儿难以抚养，谁又会追根究底到这一步呢？又有受寒以及伤食腹痛的情况，不可不知。
有人问：如何知道是试痛？回答说：只看疼痛的规律。一阵紧似一阵的，是正产（真正分娩）；一阵慢一阵，或者忽紧忽慢的，都是试痛。
有人问：伤食和受寒引起的腹痛，如何辨别？回答说：伤食者，疼痛在肚脐周围，用手按压疼痛加剧，或者脐旁有一个硬块；寒痛多在脐下，绵绵作痛，不增不减，得到热物后稍微缓解，这就是区别。
有人说：试痛也有，但未必很多。回答说：非常多。为什么说很多？因为现在难产的人很多。
有人问：如果把试痛认作正产，危害如此之大；倘若把正产认作试痛，以致错过时机，难道没有害处吗？回答说：没有害处。如果真的到了分娩的时候，胎儿自然会钻出来。即使过了时辰，也不过是生在裤子里、躺在床上而已，有什么大害处呢？所以如此反复叮嘱告诫。
During labor, it is advisable to have two or three mature and quiet attendants. The number should not be large. All female relatives should be politely declined entry into the delivery room. In summer, it is especially inappropriate to have many people in the room, as the accumulation of heat can cause the mother to feel irritable and dizzy, which is quite harmful.
Actions and speech in the room should be light and quiet; excessive talking is discouraged. It is best for the mother to sleep peacefully.
The primary goal is to advise the mother to relax and remain calm, enduring pain while resting. One must strictly avoid showing alarm, whispering, sighing, or groaning, as these behaviors can cause anxiety, doubt, and disturbance, leading to complications.
The environment should remain quiet and normal. Do not make vows to deities or cry out to heaven and earth in front of the mother. Only one midwife (Wopo) should enter the room and sit quietly nearby, without causing chaos.
Food and drink should be given frequently but in small amounts. Clear soups made from chicken or duck organs are particularly beneficial.
In winter, a charcoal brazier should be placed in the room to ward off cold. In summer, well water should be stored to absorb heat.
Q: What is "false labor" (Shi Tong)?
A: When the fetus reaches seven or eight months, its limbs and senses are fully formed, and it begins to move. If there is heat in the maternal abdomen or if the mother's daily routine is irregular, the fetus may become restless and move vigorously, causing pain. This occurs in five out of ten pregnancies and is not unusual. One should maintain normal routines, ensuring stable eating and sleeping for one or two days, after which the pain will naturally subside. If the pain persists, one or two doses of fetal-calming herbs will stop it. Delivery may occur within a few days, a month, or even four months later. Many people do not know this and mistakenly believe labor has begun. They keep the mother sitting or standing all day, preventing her from lying down, or they massage her waist and belly, pull on her, or use drugs to force delivery. This results in the mother facing near-death experiences and nine out of ten infants dying. Such tragedies are often caused by insufficient fetal nourishment and incomplete Qi and Blood, akin to cracking an eggshell to extract a chick or tearing a cocoon to free a pupa—survival is unlikely. People often blame infant care difficulties without investigating the root causes. Additionally, one must be aware of abdominal pain caused by cold invasion or food stagnation.
Q: How can one distinguish false labor?
A: Observe the pattern of pain. Contractions that become progressively tighter indicate true labor. Contractions that alternate between slow and fast, or are irregular, are false labor.
Q: How to differentiate abdominal pain from food stagnation versus cold invasion?
A: Pain from food stagnation is centered around the umbilicus, worsens with pressure, and may present with a hard mass beside the navel. Cold-induced pain is usually below the umbilicus, characterized by a continuous, dull ache that does not fluctuate significantly and provides slight relief with warmth.
Q: Is false labor common?
A: Very common. This is evidenced by the high incidence of difficult deliveries today.
Q: If mistaking false labor for true labor is harmful, what about mistaking true labor for false labor and missing the timing? Is that not harmful?
A: There is no harm. If the time is right, the fetus will emerge naturally. Even if delayed, the birth will simply occur in the underwear or on the bed. There is no major danger, which is why such repeated caution is necessary.