I thought I will write about pregnancy, a topic I thought can be useful for all women. I was going to write about postpartum too but this became quite long, so will do that in another blogpost another time in shaa Allaah. In shaa Allaah this can be of any help to anyone and if you are pregnant, always make sure to talk to your midwife before trying anything new.

Al-Ahqaf 46:15وَوَصَّيۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيۡهِ إِحۡسَٰنًاۖ حَمَلَتۡهُ أُمُّهُۥ كُرۡهࣰا وَوَضَعَتۡهُ كُرۡهࣰاۖ وَحَمۡلُهُۥ وَفِصَٰلُهُۥ ثَلَٰثُونَ شَهۡرًاۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ وَبَلَغَ أَرۡبَعِينَ سَنَةࣰ قَالَ رَبِّ أَوۡزِعۡنِيٓ أَنۡ أَشۡكُرَ نِعۡمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِيٓ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَيَّ وَأَنۡ أَعۡمَلَ صَٰلِحࣰا تَرۡضَىٰهُ وَأَصۡلِحۡ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِيٓۖ إِنِّي تُبۡتُ إِلَيۡكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ

English – Sahih International

And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, “My Lord, enable me[1] to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims.”

I read the tafsir on this ayah and it is a beautiful ayah. It talks about treating our parents well especially our mother who was pregnant with us, causing many difficulties upon her. Also, giving birth was difficult with the labour pains and delivery etc. I read the tafsir of this ayah and it says it also shows us that the minimum period of pregnancy is 6 months as Allaah says gestation and weaning is 30 months. Breastfeeding is for 2 years/24 months for those who wish to complete the full 2 years and and then there remain 6 months of the 30 months mentioned, which can be the minimum period of pregnancy.

SubhanAllaah mothers have such a high status in Islam. As we raise our own children and face difficulties and hardships raising them, let us not forget our parents who are also growing older in age. We would expect our own children to care about us and be there for us and we should try to do the same for our parents.

As we know pregnancy is typically 9 months but varies for women consisting of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester. Personally for me I found the 1st trimester the hardest due to the constant feeling of nausea and the vomiting. With my second pregnancy I struggled to keep food and water down and really lacked energy. I think I may have had Hyperemesis Gravidarum. When I went to the GP they did prescribe me anti sickness tablets but I didn’t take them because I thought I will try something else first due to the small risks associated with it. I was getting excess stomach acid. When I would eat acidic foods I would vomit it out e.g. oranges and when I would get very hungry I felt acid would build up and I would feel sick.

During my 2nd pregnancy I messaged a support worker from Pregnancy Sickness Support and she told me about Omeprazole, which can be used during pregnancy and can be very effective at calming down the stomach acid. Also, she mentioned that the pregnacare contains iron which we know can exacerbate nausea, so she told me to leave that out if I wanted to, which I did for the first trimester but did take folic acid tablets and other vitamin. With my first I did not experience as much vomiting as I did with my second pregnancy.

The 2nd trimester is usually the easiest for many as you’re usually over your constantly feeling sick phase and not so big as you will be in your third trimester.

I would say the 3rd trimester for me personally is the second hardest due to the growing bump and added weight you have to carry. Also, you might experience backaches, constipation, fatigue, braxton hicks etc. Braxton hicks are fake contractions, which help prepare your body for birth. I have read about eating medjool dates during the final few weeks of your pregnancy. There have been studies shown that women who consumed dates in the final weeks have a shorter latent phase of labour/early labour (were you are dilating to 4cm). Many also drink raspberry leaf tea in the final weeks due to the potential benefits, such as shorter first and second stages of labour. Nevertheless, it is very beneficial to use a pregnancy ball for pains and there are exercises you can do with the ball that can help prepare you for labour in shaa Allaah. If you have trouble sleeping at night due to your growing bump a pregnancy pillow might help you, I borrowed one for my first pregnancy.

Every pregnancy is different. I remember with my first I had really bad low abdominal pain and I went to the hospital and they said it’s pelvic girdle pain in the last trimester. From what I remember, I would get bad pains especially night time in bed and getting out of bed was extremely painful for me or even moving in bed. They referred me as well to physiotherapy during my first pregnancy. Moreover, during my first pregnancy I bought a pregnancy support belt, which I would use if I wanted to do some activity requiring me to be on my feet for some time e.g. going on a walk or cooking as I would get pelvic pains sometimes. الحمدلله it used to reduce the pain and I felt better while using it. You can’t wear the belt for long periods of time, so I didn’t wear it longer than 2 hours usually. You should ensure to not make it too tight but more loose to not restrict blood flow. Anyyone pregnant wanting to use it should ask their doctor or midwife as everyone’s condition is different and it may not be suited for some women during pregnancy e.g. if they have a low lying placenta.

Pregnancy is a very hard and vulnerable time for women. During that time you should make time for rest when you can and take things easy. Try not to have lots of fear on birth, labour etc. I have a blogpost regarding labour and delivery if you want to read: https://theummwhowrites.co.uk/2026/04/15/labour-and-delivery-from-an-islamic-perspective-%f0%9f%aa%bb/

Have trust in Allaah, Allaah is with you!

May Allaah aid all our pregnant sisters and ease their pregnancy Aameen💐

PS this blogpost took me well over a week to write due to being busy and tired as a mum.

(credits to my sister for this photo Allahumma barik)