The Fetus is Grewing

31st week-35th week: continue to increase in size, mutual influence between the mother and the fetus. 36th week: desire for movement. It seems that the fetus is not accustomed to its inhabiting location. 37th week: the fetus seems to dislike its location, and is unwilling to stay there any longer. 38th week: the fetal head begins to turn downward, preparing to be delivered.
Based on the above description, it can be said that the recognition of fetal development in Tibetan medicine is the most advanced among all the ancient world’s medical systems. Despite that some of the detailed description may not be so accurate, it is basically scientific. Historically, it is rather progressive. Actually, the description of fetus development in TCM is earlier than this,
as shown by the Book of Labor and Foetus found in Mawangdui, Changsha city. Moreover, the Care for Embryo Month by Month written by Xu Zhicai in the 5th century AD, has the same description (see above). Obviously, the description is not so minute as that of Tibetan medicine.
In the Western world, in the 5th century BC, Hippocrates held that all parts and organs of the body secreted semen, which were mixed to form a fetus. In other words, the semen of corresponding parts of the parents forms all parts of the next generation. For instance, the eyes of the fetus are produced by the semen of the eyes of the parents, and that of the ears from the semen of the parents’ ears. These ideas seem to be incorrect and are very primitive.
In the 4th century BC, Aristotle saw the fetus as a whole that could not be interpreted by its parts. He claimed that there was a soul in the organism, and the development of the body was motivated and controlled by its soul. Later, a pre-formation theory ” appeared in the West, claiming that, from the beginning, the fetus had a complete form of its parent, and only increased in size without any morphological changes. They even claimed that, in the sperm of the parent, the minute fetus already existed. This minute “person,” once combined with the ovum, began to increase in its size, and develop. Others believed that this minute “person” existed in the ovum. In short, the development of fetus involved merely an increase in its size, without any other changes.