Pregnancy period
Your excitement is undoubtedly immense. You have just been informed about a new soul that is about to arrive in your home.
From this moment onward, for the upcoming months until birth at a good hour, you are entering a new, thrilling, and joyful period.
Beyond opening a pregnancy follow-up file, maintaining health and diet, and all other things related to a proper and healthy pregnancy, Judaism has several tips and instructions for you. For your sake and for the sake of your future child.
The idea at the base of all these things is that within you, new life is developing and is destined to come into the world and continue the human race in general, and the Jewish people in particular.
At the end of the nine months of pregnancy, it will emerge, but already now it is developing, and attention should be paid to its physical and spiritual development. Moreover, now, when it is completely within the mother, she can influence it completely.
Therefore, your responsibility as a mother for its proper, physical and spiritual development together, is great and unique during this period, much more than all the periods that follow it.
Announcing the pregnancy
When the pregnancy becomes known, despite the great excitement and the desire to share with family and friends, it is not advisable to post on Facebook or a three-dimensional ultrasound picture of the fetus on Instagram.
A bit hard? That’s okay. It’s worth it.
The Sages of Israel said that blessing rests on something that is hidden from the eye, that is not publicized. Therefore, it is not advisable to talk about the pregnancy in the first three months of it, except for the closest family members. These months are the most sensitive for the pregnancy’s normalcy and the blessing that will rest on it is more important.
After the first three, sensitive months have passed successfully, you can start telling close family members and perhaps very close friends. Still, don’t reveal the happy news to all friends and acquaintances.
Only in the fifth month, can you share with all those known to us who will be happy to hear about the new offspring that is about to be born to us soon.
- This does not mean that it is not recommended for the prospective mother to walk around the street so that they won’t know, but about active and intentional publicity.
Why did the ‘pregnancy file’ fall specifically on the woman?
Everything began on the first day of creation. Shortly after the first couple in history was created. God forbade Adam and Eve to eat from the tree. The woman was tempted to eat from it and managed to tempt her husband as well.
Her punishment for this was: “To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly increase your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children…” – so God lengthened her pregnancy period, and added to her the difficulties of pregnancy and childbirth.
Be fruitful and multiply
“Be fruitful and multiply” is a central commandment in Judaism, already mentioned in the creation story. The commandment was given to the first man immediately upon his creation, “And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”. The sages emphasized the importance of the commandment, which is the basis for human continuity and the nation, and established it as a cornerstone in the Jewish family “A man is obligated to marry a woman to be fruitful and multiply”, and whoever does not engage in childbirth is considered (according to the sources of the sages) as one who diminishes the image and greatness of God in the world, since man was created in God’s image.
The Talmud states that birth is one of the three processes that the Creator of the world left in His hands – “Three keys” that He kept for Himself and did not give to a messenger. 1( Key of rain, 2( Key of childbirth, 3( Key of the resurrection of the dead.
Maintaining Health
If Judaism always obligates the preservation of health, all the more so during pregnancy when the health of the woman and the health of her fetus depend together, and there is a clear connection between the woman’s eating habits, drinking, rest, and mental calmness to the health of her fetus.
Even if the hospital was not one of your leisure spots in recent years, from today you need to insert its address into Waze. You’re going to visit there occasionally for close monitoring of the normal development of the fetus.
Beyond fulfilling God’s will in maintaining healthy life, think about the sweet smile of the baby when he is born healthy and complete, a smile that seems to say “Thank you, Mom, for caring for my proper development when I was inside you”…
Medical Examinations
Medical examinations today are an integral part of pregnancy. As the years go by and the medical world evolves, so do the number of examinations a woman goes through during pregnancy.
After a significant examination, the heart anxiously beats in anticipation in the doctor’s room awaiting the results. In another minute, you will leave the doctor’s room smiling and happy with the message of normality or anxious and crying when a problem with the pregnancy or fetus is announced.
Regardless of the reliability of the medical equipment, always remember:
- Even negative, definite, and absolute results are not final. It is within God’s power to change any situation and any medical fact. Trust in Him, pray, and add good – and He will take care of the opposite results in the next examination.
- A new soul in a different body may be coming into your world. God puts special souls into limited bodies. You have a holy task that God has only given you to raise a special child who also has a role in the world. Help this special soul to fulfill its role under the best conditions.
- God gives the hard tasks to people he believes in! Only people whom He has given special abilities receive the heavy tasks. And you are among them. Show Him that He didn’t give you the challenge of raising such a child in vain. You can raise him happily and joyfully.
- Never, but never, consider having an abortion. Abortion (from God’s perspective) is the murder of the helpless.
- In cases of danger to the woman’s life – you should consult with a rabbi who understands this field.
If you’re struggling with a decision, or if you’re facing an economic issue or similar that causes you to contemplate an abortion, you should contact the ‘Efrat’ association which specializes in this field at www.efrat.org.il
Increasing good deeds
It’s always good to do a mitzvah (commandment) or another good deed. During pregnancy, it’s twice as good. Every good action you take increases God’s blessing for the healthy progress of the pregnancy and positively affects the fetus.
- Looking for ideas? Here are some:
- Say a small prayer to God every day for your health and the health of your fetus. It’s both a good deed for you and a mitzvah. God ‘loves’ our communication with Him.
- Become good friends with the Book of Psalms – the book of requests and pleas of the Jewish people throughout history. Read it whenever you have a chance.
- Put a small coin aside for charity every day for your merit. When the box is full, pass it to a good cause close to your heart.
- Check the mezuzahs in your house, and make sure they are kosher and properly placed.
And if you think that by filling in the pregnancy check chart and adding a few good deeds, your role for the future child is over? Know that it is not. You also need to care for its spiritual-Jewish development, which is not done in the hospital, but at home, in your daily lives.
Everything that happens around you, what you hear, see, feel, and so on, also affects the soul and spirituality of the fetus.
Preparations for birth
The hourglass is running out, and your special moment is just around the corner. You’ve already finished the birth preparation course, the bag is ready, and your parents are already on birth alert.
Here are a few more important things to prepare for:
- Birth on Shabbat: It’s advisable to consult in advance with a doctor (who will give the medical aspect) and a Rabbi (who will provide the halakhic aspect) about when you should go to the hospital. Maybe you could easily ‘save’ the Shabbat trip early on and go on Saturday night as the pregnancy progresses. Check if it’s better to take your private car or to go by ambulance.
- Prepare in advance for the things you will need in place, such as: Psalms – for prayer during the birth, food – for the stay in the place during hospitalization, Shabbat candles – if you will be there on Shabbat.
- From the moment the baby comes into the world, his environment is important.
Provide him with a good Jewish environment. Bring with you a picture of a tzaddik (righteous person) to be in his environment, a page of “Shir Hama’alot” (Song of Ascents) and the like.
There is a special charm in hanging “Shir Hama’alot”, which is Psalm 121 in the Book of Psalms, in the delivery room, as well as in the room where the new mother stays with the baby. This page can be obtained at Judaica stores or Chabad Houses.
Prayer for an Easy Birth
The labor pains are also mentioned in the Bible and are called chevlei (pains of) birth. While the woman is in the delivery room, it’s beneficial for the husband to say these chapters of Psalms: 1, 2, 3, 4, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 33, 47, 72, 86, 90, 91, 104, 112, from chapter 113 to chapter 150.
