Daoism has often been characterized as reflecting a proto-feminist propensity due to its emphasis on the balance between yin and yang and its preference for the feminine and weak over the masculine and strong. However, this propensity did not extend to ritual practices. On the contrary, Daoist rituals frequently reinforced the patriarchal and misogynistic notions deeply embedded in medieval Chinese society. Yet paradoxically, these same rituals—particularly those addressing childbirth and maternal mortality—provided women with instruments to negotiate their familial and religious lives. This paper examines childbirth-centered rituals in medieval Daoism. These practices, often rooted in beliefs about female impurity and pollution—most famously illustrated by the 'blood hell' belief—simultaneously constrained and empowered women. By focusing on the cosmological frameworks and ritual mechanisms underpinning these practices, the paper explores how Daoist gendered soteriology operated. While the childbirth-centered rituals reinforced prevailing misogynistic norms, they also created spaces for women to exercise agency. This paradoxical dynamic highlights an intriguing tension between ritualized misogyny and gendered agency.