When Birth is Not Beautiful.
Posted by realityrounds on April 16, 2010
There are many references in religion to childbirth. Many of these references refer to childbirth as “dirty.” The Bible, the Torah, the Koran all have passages that suggest the act of childbirth as being somehow “evil,” as if women are somehow possessed while giving birth. There are references to women having to be “churched” after childbirth before they were considered clean. I am not an expert on religious interpretation, but my guess is this ancient thinking was based on ignorance. The power of birth was scary. Life continued. Women died. A confusing dichotomy. These disparities were maybe best described as being other worldly. Easier to understand if it was the women’s fault. She must be possessed by the devil because she gave birth, she yelled in labor, the baby died, she died while giving birth.
After a recent religious service I attended with my husband, I complained about the misogyny of religion. How women were often blamed for the greatness and the tragedy that is childbirth. The further I thought, the more I began to think that maybe we have not changed that much since ancient times.
Are we still blaming women for the outcomes of childbirth?
RR
mamapoekie said
Religion has been keeping women suppressed for hundreds of years… sometimes even recruting them to be the supressor of other women themselves. And then we wonder why women are so hard on each other
Kathy said
When a woman was ceremonially unclean after giving birth, she was prohibited from cooking meals, cleaning the house, or basically just about everything else except to be lie in bed recovering and getting to know her baby. Sounds like a good idea to me!
Ethel said
And yet God “labors” to bring forth God’s people, nurses them as a mother, clutches them to God’s bosom.. I am not so sure that all the Bible talks about childbirth in a negative light since God has been caught doing the laboring and delivering, I only know about the references of God as a woman in childbirth in a good light not as it being inherently a bad thing.
Joy said
I agree. Not only that but I’ve never read a passage in the Bible that compares labor/birth to something evil. The only reference I can think of that the writer of this post is thinking about is when God told Eve that because of her sin she would bring forth her children in pain. But even then that isn’t evil. There are SO many beautiful passages about birth in the Bible so I’m really confused by this article.
Laura said
I’d be interested in seeing some of the passages you’re referring to. In the Bible, women who conceive and bear children are considered highly honored, and called “blessed.” Severe penalties were inflicted on men who harmed pregnant women — even death, if their actions caused her to miscarry. I did a quick search and the only Bible references I could find for pregnancy and birth being associated with “evil” is when men are said to conceive and give birth to wicked plans, LOL!
Are you thinking of ceremonial “uncleanness” in the Old Testament? That’s related to the fact that blood was considered to be the seat of *life* — so whenever a person had a flow of blood, he or she (most often she, obviously) was temporarily prohibited from doing certain tasks. It has to do with the importance of blood in the worldview of that time, not with the person being inherently bad or wicked or evil *because* of the blood. And as Kathy said, it was really a blessing for new moms not to have to worry about anything but getting to know their new baby! And they had a “six-week rule” just like docs give dads today… *grins*
mommymichael said
I too would like to see some references. Were the ones you saw out of context?
realityrounds said
I am going to ask some of the more religious readers to help me out on this one. It was definitely the old testament and there were also passages that described skin afflictions for some reason. Anyone?
Becky said
Leviticus 12 talks about uncleaness after childbirth, and the different length of time a woman was considered unclean depending on whether she had a boy or a girl. The next chapter (Lev. 13) talks about laws concerning leprosy, so I think this may be what you’re remembering. It does say that a woman was “unclean,” meaning that “she shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled.” (v. 4) But, the chapter never mentions childbirth as being something evil, or something where the mother becomes demon-possessed.
The Jewish Torah is the same as the first 5 books of the Old Testament, so that would be the same as above. However, the other Jewish writings surrounding the Torah–the rabbi’s commentaries–may have elaborated upon this chapter in Leviticus. I would not know how to go about finding that out or what they wrote. I’m also not sure what the Koran says…I have a copy of it, but I’ve never read it all the way through, and am definitely not as familiar with the Koran as I am with my Bible.
If you want to double check any of these references for yourself, or search for additional passages, and you don’t have a Bible handy, a good website is http://www.biblegateway.com. Hope this helps a little bit!
Kathy said
There were several forms of uncleanness in Leviticus — that book of the Bible is more or less the rituals of the priests with the sacrifices and such, and also the standards of cleanliness and right living for the rest of the nation (those who were not priests). It dealt with everything from diet to defining incest, to types of sacrifices (daily, yearly, for specific sins), etc. Chap 12 deals with childbirth and postpartum, while Chapters 13-14 (just click on the arrow on the link to go ahead one chapter) deal specifically with leprosy (and also mildew) — describing it, symptoms of it, how to differentiate true leprosy from other skin conditions which are not leprosy, quarantining a person with leprosy; as well as sacrifices to be made if a person was healed. Chap. 15 discusses semen & menstrual flow, and yes, a man was just as unclean from ejaculating as a woman was from her monthly flow — except he was only unclean until the sundown after he came whereas she was unclean for 7 days or however long her period was. So, if he masturbated or had a wet dream, he was unclean; if he had intercourse, he got his semen on/in her and made them both unclean. However, this was not to imply that sex was evil — God made sex to start with and told people several times over the course of human history, “Be fruitful and multiply,” and children are always seen as a great blessing, with large families as a blessing — which requires sex. However, we do know that blood and semen can harbor diseases, so it seems a healthy thing to do, to minimize contact with others at that time when they could come in contact (perhaps unknowingly) with a pathogen that could cause disease.
NavelgazingMidwife said
“Are we still blaming women for the outcomes of childbirth?”
Absolutely.
If women don’t eat right, if they don’t exercise, if they are the wrong race, if her uterus ruptures trying to have a VBAC, if she hemorrhages during a chosen cesarean, if her blood pressure rises (she’s too tense), if she wants more than a couple of children, if she won’t accept blood, if she’s young, if she’s old, if she needs medical assistance to get pregnant, if she needs to be induced, if she goes into pre-term labor, if she has a miscarriage, if she’s infertile, if she has an abortion, if she gives the baby up for adoption, if she births at home in the water, if she births in the hospital, if she never reads a book about childbirth, if she reads everything about childbirth, if she lives in Africa, if she lives in Haiti, if she lives in the Netherlands, if she lives in Harlem, if she lives in Los Angeles, if she’s here illegally, if she hires a doula, if she hires a nanny, if she plans on breastfeeding, if she refuses to breastfeed, if she was sexually abused, if she’s single, if she’s short, if she’s skinny, if she’s fat, if she’s rich, if she’s poor, if she depressed, if she’s shackled, if she has a baby born with defects, if she’s screaming, if she’s silent, if she has a birth plan, if she doesn’t have a birth plan, if she has an epidural, if she’s birth traumatized, if she’s birth abused, if she’s birthraped, if she’s cut open, if she has an episiotomy, if she hires a doctor, if she hires a midwife, if she births unassisted… if she was born with the potential to birth a child… it is always her fault. No matter what happens in birth, it is always her fault.
realityrounds said
I am sad, and speechless.
pinky said
no win situation. Sad really, I agree.
SaanenMother said
I would like to pose- what paved this road- I think the answer can be traced literally and figuratively (kind of like stating the obvious- and I apologize if it sounds didactic) back to the paving over of all that was womanly- by all that was manly-
Starting with the heroism of the midwives in the Old Testament—->to the midwives who pretty much were one of the most reliable health care providers in ancient then colonial times—->taken over and squashed by the butcher midwives in england—>to the dumb physicians who killed us all with puerperal fever b/c they didn’t wash their hands–> to the formation of modern obstetrical education- to DeLee to ACOG- .
I personally, (bias alert)get despondent when I see modern organizations joining in this pavement party- for instance the ACNMs insistence through policy, and lobbying that CPMs are not fit to deliver well woman care during birth. It is male identified behavior- that has its cultural hangover in the little ole historical time line I sketched out.
SaanenMother said
Oh man this is one of my actual favorite subjects. I did a short stint in divinity school where my focus was feminist hermeneutics of the bible and women’s feminist biblical studies.
here are some quick notes as I have to fly out the door- but will check in later:
The old testament its laws and prohibitions were all created in a time of nomadic relationships amongst communities- therefore- many of the ones we modernists see as wacky were put in place as safety and health prohibitions and also b/c science was not the derivative of explanation. G-d, pestilence and war were- many laws were made just for self preservation and protection. I do believe there is value in many of the ancient laws, and of course some pretty cruddy ones that we still culturally refer to today.
so having said that:
feminine blood was a monthly ritually unclean substance,but so was semen. The semen one is hardly ever recognized this I do have to look up- which parts of the old testament/bible it’s from. I am sure that is because dudes don’t sit around blogging about their ritually uncleanliness as we do from time to time. Semen was considered just as ritually unclean as mentrual blood on the Sabbath- if a man and woman had relations in their tent(I’m not kidding here)and sperm was spilled- they could not go to temple together as they BOTH were considered ritually unclean. I also beleive there were clothing- restrictions etc. so it was like a scarlet letter if you spilled semen even as a married couple- then went out in public.
Menstrual blood of course scared the wits out of everyone- it is pretty powerful if you think about it- so a monthly bleeding out of your vagina the thing that gives such pleasure and that which babies come out of is pretty f-ing powerful. Therefore- ritual baths were necessary and are today Mikvehs- after one’s period to cleanse oneself. A great book on the subject is Wholly Woman, Holy Blood. I think the thought of a mikveh as a modern ritual is actually quite appealing.
If you go to many of the old testament/Torah rituals and read them you can see how so much was hinging on myth being suddenly meshed with a Deity based religion.
I have friends that are in a religious community who follow the 613 laws of the old testament in addition to following the life of their messiah Y’shua. One thing they do is the 40 days rule. (it actually may be more) After they birth they literally are only required to take care of their babies- and get to know them nurse them etc. The women in the community literally tend to everything else they need- shopping, working, cooking, cleaning etc. I have tried to dialogue with them but they are insular about their beliefs and do not mesh them with biblical scolarly research. That’s fine I just want to get my books back. (LOL)
I guess this little ramble is in the hopes of a segue that we can discuss- which is perspective is everything- there is power in owning our womanly blood, our specialness after birth- it actually increases the power we possess- or you can say religion suppresses- the woman- and although rewrites of scriptures over time by different scribes with ulterior motives may have been what trekked us down misogyny lane. I admit there are huge problems with some of the Old Testament- rules- and these rules are in effect today through cultural hangovers (interesting of you deconstruct each one)but I will say even as a sassy lady there is much empowerment in the topic of ancient texts and births.
Willa said
It isn’t surprising to me that women who were menstruating & had given birth were considered “not clean”. Being unclean kept you from work when you needed rest or having to have sex when those things wouldn’t lead to being pregnant. In places where bathing wasn’t an everyday occurrence I would think these things would seem very unclean & the need for a ritual bath after this seem like a “no duh” kind of thing. There is a lot of atavistic fear from men especially (and women who need men’s power & acceptance) even now. Yes I do believe we are all prone to “blaming the victim” if you will, about many scary things- it seems like a distancing move to help us feel not so vulnerable.
Jennifer Z. said
In the bible god cursed Eve for eating the fruit by increasing her pain in childbirth. When I believed in the bible I used to view childbirth, particularly the pain involved, as a punishment from god. My particular religion always framed it that way.
Laura said
That is really interesting.
I know that there are some sects that call themselves Christian who would say that childbirth is a curse, but Christians throughout history have always viewed childbirth as a blessing. The “curse” on Eve is kind of the *explanation* for why there is pain in childbirth.
It’s sad that some people twist words meant for blessing to make a beautiful event seem like a punishment. So sorry you had to deal with this.
Amanda K. said
That seems to be a very, very common interpretation, however. The *explanation* does logically carry over to what Jennifer (and many others – me, from two very different biblical backgrounds) was taught.
The logic, unfortunately, is pretty sound from it. God cursed Eve with pain during childbirth due to her sin, and falling. Women today experience intense pain during childbirth . . . because it is God’s curse for being fallen. It is not a distant leap from there to make it a personal thing, where each woman is punished with pain while receiving the blessing of a child. =( Very, very common thought process.
SaanenMother said
don’t ever forget- no wonder we scare the misogynist system- WE CAN GIVE BIRTH THEY CAN’T.
Emily said
Is your screen name a reference to Saanen goats? Do you happen to own goats?
Mandy said
I’m going to focus on your final question – Are we still blaming women for the outcomes of childbirth? Absolutely yes. I hear a lot of people bemoaning the high rates of C-sections and interventions in hospital births and crying, “If women would just educate themselves and fight for what they want!” You know what? They shouldn’t HAVE to fight! In what world is it ok for a woman in labor to be having to argue with a healthcare provider, repeatedly refusing unnecessary or unwanted interventions, being told she’s harming her baby with her choices, etc. Women should feel confident that their doctor, nurse, or midwife really wants what’s best for her and her baby, will never do anything to her that’s not absolutely necessary, and will work with her in a partnership to have the best and safest outcome to the situation.
By insisting that the answer to these problems is that women must educate themselves and fight for what they want places 100% of the responsibility on these women, who are often at their most vulnerable. If they ended up with an unwanted or unnecessary C-section, they just didn’t fight hard enough. If their doctor pushed induction and the baby crashed, well why did they show up to be induced? If the nurses gave the baby formula in the nursery, they should have put a sign on the bassinet or sent their husband to stay with the baby. It goes on and on. Women should not HAVE to fight to be treated like capable, intelligent human beings. They should not have to worry that their healthcare provider will do something to them that they didn’t want or need or could be harmful, then be blamed for not reading enough or not fighting enough or choosing the wrong hospital or whatever.
I’ll stop at that. I’ll just say that until the medical system changes substantially and becomes one that supports WOMEN instead of DOCTORS, women will continue to be blamed when things go wrong.
Joy said
Wow, bravo!
I also want to say that when I talk to some women about being advocates for their birth some of them honestly do not care. They just want the drugs, to pop a baby out and go home with their episiotomy sitz bath care sheet. They want to do their doctor’s bidding and some even get angry if their doctor goes on vacation and pushes their induction date to a later time (like how dare they go on vacation when they’re due or being induced is their attitude).
So do we blame women? Do we blame doctors? I really don’t know if I can answer that question in short. I think the system has made women complacent about birth. Some don’t want the joy and experience of natural, unhindered, uncomplicated birth anymore. Some want pain-free, clean, pampered birth. I just don’t know how I can answer the question.
Emily said
I think that complacency about birth is a wonderful luxury. If women have the information that they need to make an informed decision and they choose a medicated and pampered birth, I absolutely fail to see anything wrong with that.
As long as procedures or medications are not significantly endangering women without their knowledge or putting undue strain on healthcare resources, women should have the right to freely choose the level of intervention with which they feel most comfortable. This means that some may choose unmedicated, transformative, uncomplicated birth, and others will “not care” and concentrate only on having healthy babies and suffering as little as possible in the process. It really isn’t anyone’s place to judge the way a woman chooses to give birth.
Labor Nurse, CNM said
Joy, I feel the same way and have asked those questions myself.
I think we’ve gotten into a system that feeds on itself.
I agree with RR that generally in religious terms women are “blamed”. I could not quote specifc bible passages, as I am not christian and have no desire to read it, but my feeling is that perhaps there are not specific passages that quote “birth and women are to blame”, the interpretation is quite that.
And the navelgazing midwife is right on, unfortunately. Working with a group of physicians, listening to them talk about their patients’ labors or births that were complicated or resulted in complications, well…that says it all. How does this sound to you? “She just wasn’t changing her cervix and her uterus couldn’t organize into adequate contractions so we had to do a c-section and the baby was posterior because her pelvis wasn’t gynecoid.” Nurses have said similar things.
Emily said
Wow. That is SOME LANGUAGE. Sheesh. Has anyone brought to their attention just how ridiculous that sounds? Because language shapes perception in a big way, and you just can’t talk like that without internalizing those ideas. “SHE just wasn’t changing her cervix?” Oh fergodssakes. I’m sure if she could change her cervix there would be a lot less for OB/GYNs to do.
Labor Nurse, CNM said
Emily, my point exactly!!!
Karen said
I practice very devoted Christianity with absolute literal interpretation of the Bible, and never once have I viewed the Bible’s treatment of childbearing as evil. And the idea that childbirth somehow is painful because of Eve’s transgression is IMO incorrect. Many versions of the Bible read, “sorrow”, NOT pain. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Genesis 3:16 Eve was in sorrow because her idiocy got her and her husband kicked out of the garden of Eden. It was not that childbirth was suddenly meant to be agonizing, and this pain somehow became genetically transmissible. Just think about the other things we do during the day that occasionally hurt as a result of tissues stretching – exercise, defecation, and even sex. Yet we don’t regard these sensations as “pain” per se. So why all the fuss? I don’t get it.
I believe that if a supposedly religious leader is teaching this “childbirth is meant to hurt to punish women for Eve’s sin” crap, they are false teachers and should be regarded appropriately. Just because some mysogynist spouts crap from a pulpit somewhere doesn’t mean that God feels the same way toward women.
faerylandmom said
I have to say, that after reading all these comments, I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of defensiveness. What a testament to the civility of each of you.
I have nothing to add, other than that.
pinky said
Interesting thoughts. I think you may be correct in blaming women. There is a phenomenon sited in psychology called blaming the victim.
darlene said
I definitely agree with everyone who has argued that birth isn’t portrayed in the Judeo-Christian scriptures as evil or dirty. I wonder if birth – along with menstruation and yes, perhaps even ejaculation and sex – was not seen so much as being “unclean” (in the sense of being dirty) but more inherently “other”. I’m thinking of Rudolph Otto’s work, and the idea of sacred things being “wholly other”. Not clean, not dirty, but indefinable and just…something else, something different. Other. I can’t think of a time when I have ever felt more “other”, more liminal than I did while birthing. From a purely religious perspective, rite and ritual in the Western traditions require the supplicant to focus on the task at hand, but one who is in a state of “otherness” would be in an unfit state to do so.
But none of this should be read as in any way apologetic, because the paragraph above is written from a purely academic perspective. It doesn’t take into account the many ways in which women are, routinely and systemically, blamed for flaws in the birth process or experience.