Obviously, the biological realities of giving birth are universal, but the laws of Judaism are significant enough to require a guide specifically about Jewish childbirth. “A Labor of Love” — a new English-language book by veteran Israeli childbirth educator Rachel Broncher — is one such guide.
The easily comprehensible and comprehensive book describes in detail the delivery process, breastfeeding, breathing exercises (suitable not only during pregnancy, but also over the hectic months — and decades — after childbirth) and everything in between. And it is prefaced with endorsements by prominent Chassidic and Lithuanian-style rabbis, from the Bostoner Rebbe to the head of Jerusalem’s Yeshiva Torah Or, Rabbi Chaim Scheinberg, as well as with a recommendation from an observant female Jerusalemite obstetrician.
The foreword is by Rabbi Abraham Twerski, an eminent haredi American psychiatrist and founder of a drug rehabilitation center in Pennsylvania aimed at the Jewish community.
Twerski praises Broncher for “understanding and incorporating spirituality in childbirth. … [The author] helps a woman realize that in delivering her child she is a partner with the Almighty.”
In this frame of mind, some think Orthodox women are much less likely to agree to an abortion (unless the fetus is doomed to suffer and die soon after birth from a genetic disease like Tay-Sachs) and certainly very unlikely to want an abortion as a matter of convenience. They are also less likely to curse their husbands in the delivery room for impregnating them, or even groan in agony during labor — as they are inculcated to regard children as a gift worth striving for and the major purpose of their being.
Reciting Psalms and consulting with rabbis are an integral part of pregnancy and delivery in the observant Jewish community, and these — along with numerous biblical quotations — are often mentioned in the book.
Nevertheless, her book avoids being excessively preachy and supplies much information that would be helpful not only to religious young women, who get little or no sex education and anatomy lessons as teenagers, but also to the secular community.
The issue of whether to agree to epidural anesthesia is prominently raised in the book. Broncher clearly discourages these spinal infusions, which nearly eliminate the pain but still allow the woman to control her pelvic and abdominal muscles and actively participate in delivery. While listing the known benefits, she also lists disadvantages (not all of them totally proven scientifically). Observant women will be influenced when they read here that there are many rabbis and rabbinical arbiters who “believe that there are significant problems associated with epidurals.”
Rabbi Scheinberg, who gave his testimonial at the beginning of the book, “actively discourages women from interfering with the process of natural childbirth. He tells the women (or their husbands) who ask [a halachic query] that unless it is medically unavoidable, they should not use an epidural or induce labor.” He and other prominent haredi rabbis, the author says, believe that although dangers in its use have “diminished in recent years, the total safety of the procedure is still unproven.”
Yet more than two-thirds of Israeli women choose to have an epidural for childbirth today, including many religious Jews. Broncher may persuade the men but not all the women. And after all, few Orthodox rabbis have actually given birth themselves.
“Labor of Love” includes an egalitarian chapter called “To The Husband,” which notes that “very likely you will be by her side during labor”; this was not true for many years, when haredi and even Modern Orthodox husbands spent their babies’ deliveries in the next room reciting psalms. Today, many of the men are in the delivery room, albeit careful not to witness any of the vaginal blood that bars handholding.
Broncher explains to husbands about the stresses of pregnancy, and urges them to take some of this upon themselves. She also explains how to know when to take their wives to the hospital, and gives tips on pain relief and giving emotional support.
If the author’s principles speak to your heart and mind and you’re about to become a mother (or father), this book is for you.
“A Labor of Love: Complete Guide to Childbirth for the Mind, Body, and Soul of the Jewish Woman” by Rachel Broncher (375 pages, Targum Press, $29).