陈自明出身三代业医之家，广泛搜集北宋以来各家妇产科方论，撰成《妇人大全良方》，系统涵盖调经、种子、妊娠、产难、产后诸门，是中国现存第一部体系完整的妇产科专著，对后世妇科学发展影响深远。他晚年又撰《外科精要》，兼通外科。

Coming from three generations of physicians, Chen Ziming gathered gynecological and obstetric formulas and theories from across the Northern Song period to compile the Complete Book of Effective Prescriptions for Women, systematically covering menstrual regulation, fertility, pregnancy, difficult labor, and postpartum care — China's earliest surviving comprehensive treatise on women's medicine. Later in life he also wrote a treatise on surgery, extending his expertise beyond gynecology.