Questions tagged [pregnancy-birth]
laws and customs pertaining to pregnancy, labor, and childbirth
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Pregnant woman with male fetus in a minyan?
There is a Halachic option that says if there are otherwise 9 adult (above bar mitzvah age) Jewish males, an underage (pre bar mitzvah) Jewish male can be counted to make a minyan (which normally ...
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What should a Jew do if he got a non-Jew pregnant?
This is NOT a situation that I or anyone I know is facing. It is hypothetical.
Imagine that a Jewish man impregnates a gentile woman. The woman refuses to convert. Which (if any) of the following ...
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Working out due date
I remember hearing once that there is a gematria how to work out the due date, something like the gematria of Ibur either 282 (w/o the vav) or 288 (with vav) from the last leil tevila. It may have ...
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Can i convert if I'm pregnant? [closed]
I was late 3 days and my biyfrend was concerned that his familly wouldnt accept the baby because i haven't started the conversion process, i dont even know how to start,Is it possible to have a speedy ...
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Can pregnant women look at animals? [duplicate]
Ive heard that pregnant women should not look at animals. What is the inyan behind pregnant women not looking at animals?
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Minhag to not share a photo of a newborn
Is there anything mentioning about either sharing photos of a newborn child or specifically not sharing photos of a newborn?
(or maybe not sharing pictures before the bris?)
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LOR Questions family planning
One of the most common questions Rabbis tend to get is about contraception. Specifically a discussion about family planning, and how long one can use contraception for. Before the man has fulfilled ...
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If one has frozen blastocysts, is one obligated/encouraged to use them
Would a couple who have some frozen blastocysts1 left in storage from previous collections during IVF, and now after menopause, be expected to try to become pregnant with all of them (or until it ...
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Halachically at what time is a baby born?
Is a baby born when the head emerges, when the whole body emerges, when the cord is cut, or something else? This is relevant, for example, in order to determine the baby's birthday or when to do a ...
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Were there any so to speak "divine conceptions," physically or spiritually, or conceptions by angels?
This question has been edited to add sources.
Bereshit 4:1 states, Now the man knew his wife Chava, and she conceived and bore Cain, and she said, "I have acquired a man with the Lord."
...
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Kohanic in vitro Pregnancy
I have the following theoretical questions, from many I’ve met and even a real case of someone very special I met in a hostel in Israel.
My assumptions are between parentheses after the list item.
...
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How did the Jews in Egypt have children if they couldn't go to the mikveh after giving birth?
This question is based on a few assumptions, which are based on a couple of Midrashim.
First of all, Shemos Rabbah 9:10 and Tanna D'Vei Eliyahu Chapter 6 say that the Egyptians were punished with the ...
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What type of pain allows a woman to choose to sterilize herself?
In bYevamot 65b there is a discussion as to a woman's mitzvah obligation (or not) to have children. The gemarah cites an episode of a woman who had an (unusually?) painful childbearing experience who ...
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Why do Chazal refer to the emergence of a baby from the womb as pesichas hakever
A term throughout Chazal is פתיחת הקבר, pesichas hakever, translated literally as the opening of the grave. For example, Niddah 21a. This term refers to the emergence of a fetus or baby from the womb (...
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The Word נולד by Each Tribe
The Yalkut Shimoni uses the word נולד when each tribe was born:
ראובן נולד בי"ד בכסליו מת בן מאה חמשים וחמש שנים
שמעון נולד בכ"ח בטבת ומת בן מאה ועשרים שנה
לוי נולד בי"ו בניסן ומת בן ...
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Can a pregnant woman go through the Sotah process?
A woman is 3 months pregnant from her husband. He now warns her not to seclude with Ploni. She does seclude and have carnal relations with Ploni.
If she is treated as a Sotah, the embryo will be lost ...
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Is it true that abortion is allowed if it endangers the mother's mental health?
I heard this and it makes no sense because then almost every mother would have the excuse to abort; What would the exact parameters of such mental health issues be?
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Trying to track down the textual source of a Jewish quote about a Rabbi Neskizh
I found the below quote in a a book called Spiritual Midwifery. I would love to know if the quote is real, and where it comes from. Thanks!
The Quote:
Rabbi Mordecai of Neskizh said to his son, the ...
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What is the connection between Noam Elimelech and childbirth?
This website says (and I’ve heard it countless times):
In his sefer Shulchan Melachim (page 35b), R. Moshe Tzvi Landau writes that it is customary to place the Sefer Noam Elimelech, beneath the head ...
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Is there a source for this Segulah to help somebody become pregnant?
There seems to be a Segulah to help a woman who is having trouble having a child.
The Segulah is to form a group of 40 women (or more) who will say Tefilas Chana (Perek Aleph and Perek Bais in the ...
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What is "unusual childbirth pain"?
The Talmud [Yevamot 65b, Ketubot 60a] allows a woman to sterilize herself if she suffers unusual childbirth pain.
What is "unusual childbirth pain"? Women testify to the fact that there is ...
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Why Hatov V'Hameitiv for son? [duplicate]
The Maharil (Milah 1:p.65) writes
נראה בעיני הטעם משום דאי׳ בגמרא אמרו לו אשתו ילדה זכר מברך הטוב והמטיב
וי״מ משום ארבעה צריכין להודות ואחד מהם היוצא מבית האסורים וכן התינוק
יצא כן מאסורי מעי אמו - ...
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Is stepping on fingernails still a concern today? [duplicate]
Rav Chaim Kanievsky is quoted saying a pregnant woman may walk on the nails of a non-Jew.
Does Rav Chaim Kanievsky hold it's still an issue for pregnant women to walk on cut nails today? I recently ...
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Is a baby born on Shabbos Muktza as Nolad?
Is a baby born on Shabbos Muktza as Nolad until the end of Shabbos?
I mean, he is quite literally Nolad - born on Shabbos. I understand that anything that the baby needs would would obviously be Mutar ...
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Why does the Torah say a woman has "sperm" or "seed"?
Why does the Torah say a woman has "sperm" or "seed" (for example, Genesis 24:60, and in other passages)?
And they blessed Rebecca and said to her, "Our sister, may you ...
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Who must "be fruitful and multiply"? [duplicate]
The commandment to be fruitful and multiply -- פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ [Gen. 1:28] appears to have been issued to all men [Yevamot 6:6], not just Jews. So why isn't it one of the Noahide laws, which apply ...
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Why Isn't There a Tefila for Fertility?
Within Shmoneh Esrai we daven for everyone of these items below, except for childbirth. Why?
R' Yochanan said: Three keys the Holy One blessed be He has retained in His own hands and not entrusted ...
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Symbolism of Childbirth impurity differences male and female children in Leviticus 12? [duplicate]
I am a gentile asking for Jewish insight regarding the differences in ritual impurity time that comes from child birth (the time is doubled for baby girls). As a Christian, I got ideas from my ...
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Woman praying for others during labor- any source?
I've heard multiple times that when a woman is in labor it is a special time to pray for other people. Is there any source for that?
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Giving birth twice in a month
I came across an article about a woman with two wombs giving birth twice, nearly a month apart. How should such a woman deal with all the regular rules after giving birth.
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What stone prevents miscarriage?
The Shulchan Aruch OC (303:24) writes:
יוצאה באבן תקומה [פי' הערוך אבן ידועה שכשהיא על אשה לא תפיל] - women
are allowed to walk outside on shabbos with an even tekuma used to
prevent ...
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Why Leah is so stressed? [duplicate]
On Gen 30:9
וַתֵּ֣רֶא לֵאָ֔ה כִּ֥י עָמְדָ֖ה מִלֶּ֑דֶת וַתִּקַּח֙ אֶת־זִלְפָּ֣ה
שִׁפְחָתָ֔הּ וַתִּתֵּ֥ן אֹתָ֛הּ לְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לְאִשָּֽׁה׃
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her ...
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Discrepancy between description of how Bilhah and Zilpah had children
I noticed three inconsistencies between how the Torah describes the conception and delivery of the children of Bilhah and Zilpha, only 5 verses apart.
The conception/birth of Bilhah's son Dan is ...
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How is the date of Yitzchak's birth related to the dispute between R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua?
There's a famous dispute between R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua when the world was created: Tishrei or Nissan. Their dispute is recorded in Rosh Hashanah 10b - 11a:
תניא רבי אליעזר אומר בתשרי נברא העולם ...
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Is there any rule against finding out the gender of a fetus? [duplicate]
From my unscientific survey of what I've seen, it seems like most Orthodox Jews avoid finding out the gender of their child while it is still in utero (even if they otherwise take ultrasounds, blood ...
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Which parent names the first child?
Which parent names the first child according to current custom?
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May a pregnant woman eat non kosher food to satiate her craving?
An acquaintance of mine claimed that in the occasion of a craving of a particular non kosher food item, a pregnant woman would be permitted to consume it. Absent the food item, the woman and/or fetus ...
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How did Noah react to being childless?
Rashi to Genesis 5:32 reads:
אמר רבי יודן מה טעם כל הדורות הולידו למאה שנה וזה לחמש מאות אמר הקב״ה אם רשעים הם יאבדו במים ורע לצדיק זה ואם צדיקים הם אטריח עליו לעשות תיבות הרבה כבש את מעיינו ולא ...
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Grandfather opening the ark
What is the origin of a grandfather opening the ark if his daughter is pregnant? I am familiar with the custom for the husband to receive this honor in Shul.
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and daughters were born to them (bereishis 6:1)
There is a strange way of saying that the human population increase on parsha Bereishis (6:1). The pasuk says:
וַֽיְהִי֙ כִּֽי־הֵחֵ֣ל הָֽאָדָ֔ם לָרֹ֖ב עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֑ה
וּבָנ֖וֹת יֻלְּד֥וּ ...
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A Baby Too Large?
Apparently there is a gemara which says if a fetus is too large for the mother, then the mother is put in danger. (Heard in a recorded shiur) Where is this gemara?
[As a bonus point, why would Hashem ...
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Old fashioned telephone vs. Uber App on Shabbos
From Rabbi Moshe Heinemann:
Riding to the Hospital
A woman need not spend Shabbos/Yom Tov at a
location close to the hospital or arrive at the hospital before labor
starts to avoid riding on ...
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Source for parable about two twins in the womb
I once heard/read a parable about two babies in their mother's womb. It goes something like this.
Two twins in the womb are speaking of the world to come, one believes it exists, the
other not. ...
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Customs/Habits around having a second child?
Besides the brit milah ceremony, pidyon haben/habat (redemption of the firstborn) or kidush peter rechem (sanctification of the womb's opening) or seder kidushat chaye hamishpacha, (ceremony of ...
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Why human procreation is not voluntary?
Physiologically, the process of procreation is all "out of our control", whether on the side of men or women.
For example, women don't have a choice of deciding whether to get pregnant or not (think ...
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Prayer regarding the dangerous premature birth of gentile friend’s baby
My dear gentile friend gave birth very, very prematurely (at @ 5 months) to her due date. The female baby survived but is
still dependent on a breathing tube and is still very weak and underweight. ...
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Can a pregnant woman go to aquariums?
Some have the custom that pregnant women do not go to zoos. (See here)
Does this custom extend to aquariums too?
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A widow using her deceased husbands semen to conceive?
If a husband has some of his semen frozen/saved and then dies, what halachic and hashkafic issues have to be addressed when deciding if his widow is allowed to/can/should use that semen to become ...
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Earliest source for question on timing of birth control?
I am aware of discussions in the Gemara and Rishonim of the permissibility of various methods of birth control.
What I am looking for is the earliest mention of the modern day practice in which a ...
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Source for R' Soloveitchik's teaching about why we don't stand for a baby in utero?
There's a famous teaching from Niddah 30b that a baby is taught the entire Torah in utero.
Someone once referenced this gemara and asked The Rav, if that's the case why don't we stand for a pregnant ...
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