Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh my lovely readers,

It’s been a couple of days since I have written a lengthy post and just been answering some of the daily prompts here and there. I decided a while back to write about labour and delivery from an islamic perspective in shaa Allaah. My kids were ill on and off for a while but الحمدلله my kids are not ill anymore. Hope you are doing well in your health and imaan. In shaa Allaah this post can be of some help to anyone.

Maryam 19:23

فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلۡمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذۡعِ ٱلنَّخۡلَةِ قَالَتۡ يَٰلَيۡتَنِي مِتُّ قَبۡلَ هَٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسۡيࣰا مَّنسِيࣰّا

English – Sahih International

And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, “Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten.”

SubhanAllaah here Maryam (may Allaah be pleased with her) is going through labour pains and says such a big statement highlighting how much pain she went through and the need for help. She was also at the time accused of being a fornicator when she got pregnant without a man touching her, but Allaah aided her.

One of the hardest (if not the hardest) physical pains a woman goes through in life are labour pains. May Allaah aid all our sisters going through labour Aameen🩷 My advice would be is to be ready for a lot of physical pain but at the same time do not worry as Allaah is with you.

Have tawakkul (trust in Allaah) and know that He is the best Disposer of affairs. Make lots of dua and say أَسْتَغْفِرُ الله /astaghfirrullah (I seek forgiveness from Allaah) a lot.

Aal-e-Imran 3:173

ٱلَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ قَدۡ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمۡ فَٱخۡشَوۡهُمۡ فَزَادَهُمۡ إِيمَٰنࣰا وَقَالُواْ حَسۡبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعۡمَ ٱلۡوَكِيلُ

English – Sahih International

Those to whom people [i.e., hypocrites] said, “Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.” But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, “Sufficient for us is Allāh, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.”

When you feel scared or anxious say:

حَسۡبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعۡمَ ٱلۡوَكِيلُ (Sufficient for us is Allaah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs).

Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) destroyed idols that were worshipped in his community. He was thrown into the fire for this. He (peace be upon him) said حَسۡبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعۡمَ ٱلۡوَكِيلُ. As a result, the fire only burned his ropes and he was safe and unharmed. Allaah saved him.

I would also advise to take antenatal classes before baby comes, there’s usually online ones too. They help teach taking care of a baby and some even teach useful techniques like breathing techniques, which can be helpful during labour in shaa Allaah. I remember during my time I took gas and air but that barely helped me; I also applied the breathing techniques I had learnt and they helped الحمدلله. You can do your own research on breathing techniques but one technique during the first stage of labour is ‘up breathing’ and it’s super simple just breathe in for 4 and breathe out for 8. The breathing will help you to feel more calm as you go through your contractions and remind yourself you are closer to seeing your baby in shaa Allaah. There is ‘down breathing’ for when it’s push time, you inhale then exhale reminding yourself as you exhale you are trying to push to get the baby out in shaa Allaah. When we breathe deeply we help ourselves becomes calm, as a result we labour in shaa Allaah.

From some of my old notes from when I first took antenatal classes online what I wrote down is that the nervous system is responsible for labour. Hence if you’re calm, your body will labour and if you’re stressed your body won’t labour. Try to hear of positive birth stories and not bad ones. The first birth hormone your body will produce is prostaglandin, which is produced when we are calm. For married women, intimacy is known to bring on labour. Also, there is something called perineal massage, which reduces the risk of tearing in shaa Allaah. You can research it and ask your husband to do it if you want. Oxytocin is a hormone that makes contractions happen and it is produced when we are calm. Stress can make the labour process very long, so try not to stress! I know it’s much easier said than done. Adrenaline is produced when we are stressed, frightened etc. Adrenaline stops the production of oxytocin and prostaglandin.

For any pregnant sister reading this know that Allaah is with you, so try not to worry too much. Soon you will be meeting your baby in shaa Allaah.

May Allaah ease our sisters during their times of pregnancy, labour and delivery Aameen🪻