Traditional Chinese medicine infers the gender of the fetus by observing the pulse of pregnant women. This practice is derived from the theory of \”yin and yang and five elements\” and the theory of \”viscera and meridians\” of traditional Chinese medicine. In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, men belong to yang and women belong to yin, and the growth and development of the fetus is closely related to the yin and yang qi and blood in the mother\’s body. Therefore, by analyzing changes in the pulse of pregnant women, Chinese medicine believes that the gender of the fetus can be inferred.
What is pulse?
Before understanding the specific method of Chinese medicine to predict whether a boy or a girl will be born by looking at the pulse, let us first understand what a pulse is. Pulse is a term specific to traditional Chinese medicine, which refers to the pulse felt with your fingers. When we suffer from a certain disease, our pulse often changes and reacts accordingly. Therefore, pulse condition is one of the important basis for diagnosis and treatment of diseases by traditional Chinese medicine.
Traditional Chinese medicine diagnoses the pulse of a boy or girl by taking it. When diagnosing the pulse in traditional Chinese medicine, the doctor will touch the pulse of the radial artery in the bowl with the pads of the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger, and use different finger pressures to diagnose the pulse. In ancient times, pulse diagnosis was usually performed in the morning or in the morning to avoid the influence of other factors such as mood, diet, medicine, exercise, etc. When diagnosing the pulse, you and the doctor also need to pay attention to your posture. standardization. In order to achieve calm breathing, doctors generally use the \”Siping Pulse Diagnosis\” method of one level and one inhalation, while you usually lie down or sit down. The doctor\’s finger pressure should be moderate and divided into three categories: floating, medium and heavy. 
What does a pregnant woman’s pulse look like?
The qualitative, positioning and quantification of pulse diagnosis refers to first determining the rise and fall of the pulse, the left and right inches, and then judging the nature of the pulse. When diagnosing the pulse, the positioning of cun, guan and chi must be accurate. First, determine the pass. There is an inch in front of the pass and a ruler behind the pass. The pulse condition of a normal person is called \”Pingmai\”, which means that there are pulses in all three parts of the Cun Guan Chi, the rhythm is regular, the pulse comes and goes calmly, gently, and is full and powerful. Generally speaking, women\’s pulse conditions tend to be slightly weaker than men\’s. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that \”men are based on Qi, and women are based on blood.\” Modern medical research has also proven that pulse status is related to cardiac output. Men and women have different cardiac outputs and therefore different pulse profiles. During pregnancy, a woman\’s pulse usually appears around the 6th week of pregnancy. The pulse is strong or fast, and the ulnar pulse is constantly under pressure.
Traditionally, Chinese medicine can determine pregnancy by taking the pulse. The pulse change that occurs after pregnancy is one of the important basis for traditional Chinese medicine to check whether you are pregnant. Yan Chunxi, a native of the Qing Dynasty, pointed out in \”Fetal and Childbirth Heart Method\”: \”When a woman is pregnant, the blood and gas are stagnant in the uterus, so the Qi and Yin pulses are slippery.\” In clinical practice, we have found that most women’s pulse after pregnancy shows signs ofThe most common symptom is Hua Mai, but conversely, if Hua Mai is diagnosed, it does not necessarily mean that you are pregnant. Because when you eat too much, your pulse tends to be slippery; when there is moisture in your body, your pulse is also slippery.
In modern medicine, the determination of fetal gender mainly relies on ultrasonic examination technology. This non-invasive and safe method can clearly show the gender characteristics of the fetus in the second trimester of pregnancy. Although traditional Chinese medicine\’s method of predicting the gender of the fetus by taking the pulse has a long history, its scientific basis is not solid.
Pulse taking in traditional Chinese medicine is a traditional diagnostic method in which the doctor touches the arterial pulse of the patient\’s wrist and diagnoses the disease and determines the physical condition based on the depth, speed, strength and other subtle changes of the pulse. In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that men and women are divided into yin and yang, and the physiological functions and pathological changes of the body are also different. Therefore, to a certain extent, there seems to be a logical basis for inferring the gender of the fetus by observing changes in pulse conditions.
However, from the perspective of modern medicine, the determination of the gender of the fetus lies in the combination of sex chromosomes, that is, XX (female) or XY (male). Many factors such as changes in hormone levels in pregnant women, physical conditions, and even daily habits may affect the pulse, making the results of taking the pulse to predict gender highly uncertain and random.
In addition, there is currently a lack of large-scale and rigorous scientific research to support the accuracy of TCM pulse measurement in predicting fetal gender. Existing studies are mostly case reports or small sample studies, making it difficult to draw conclusions of general significance. Therefore, although in some cultural backgrounds, TCM pulse detection to predict fetal gender is still accepted and practiced by some people, its effectiveness as a scientific diagnostic method has not been recognized.
To sum up, the traditional Chinese medicine method of checking the pulse to determine the gender of the fetus more reflects the unique understanding of human physiology and pathology by Chinese medicine, rather than being based on modern medical genetics and reproductive physiology. superior. For modern pregnant women, if they want to know the gender of their fetus, ultrasound examination is undoubtedly a more scientific and reliable choice. For pregnant women, it is most important to understand the health status and development process of the fetus, rather than paying too much attention to the gender of the fetus.
