[Trigger warning: This post discusses maternal health complications.]
“FORASMUCH as it hath pleased Almighty God of his goodness to give you safe deliverance, and hath preserved you in the great danger of child-birth: You shall therefore give hearty thanks unto God…”
“O ALMIGHTY God, we give thee humble thanks for that thou hast vouchsafed to deliver this woman thy servant from the great pain and peril of child-birth…”
These lines come from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662, from a rite for The Thanksgiving of Woman after Child-Birth Commonly Called The Churching of Woman. But don’t be fooled by the relatively antiquated language - despite many medical advances in the past few hundred years, childbearing still involves “great danger”, “pain”, and “peril” for many new moms. Pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum, though by some measures safer than in centuries past, can still all be complicated by numerous physical and mental (and, I believe, spiritual) difficulties.
This is particularly true, among “developed countries”, in my native United States, where maternal mortality has been rising for most of my lifetime. Additionally, maternal health is a racial justice issue, because according to the CDC, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women are about three times likelier to die of pregnancy-related causes than White women. Furthermore, in addition to the too-high maternal death figures, there are legions of new mothers who experience complications in pregnancy and postpartum (note that there are many other possible complications beyond those included in this graph).
I share this sobering information because in the church, the messaging around new motherhood is often blithe (some might even say trite): a couple of weeks of meals delivered by the women of the church, a few jokes about infants’ sleep and parents’ lack-of-sleep, and a multitude of comments about the blessing and joy of motherhood, then it’s back to business as usual.
I believe that we in white evangelicalism have forgotten, or failed to understand, the significance of the passage into motherhood. And I believe that we’ve particularly neglected the darkness, heaviness, and pain that can be a part of that journey. That’s why this project is so important to me, because we desperately need to grow in our support of new mothers - spiritually, in addition to physically and mentally. And to do that, we need a fleshed-out theological understanding of new motherhood.
Today’s post is personal for me. I am still processing my pregnancy and postpartum experience in therapy, so I’m not going to share full details here and now, but my story includes postpartum infection, lactation issues, and mental health challenges. My healing process has motivated me to this project, and I hope that it benefits others as well. For all who have experienced complications in childbearing, may God bring us healing.
By the way, because we’re talking about the complications, grief, and pain of childbearing: Even while I’m endeavoring to write about new motherhood, I want to write with gentleness toward those who have experienced infertility or loss. If I write something harmful to you or a loved one, on this or any other subject, I would be honored if you’d let me know and I will do my best to make it right. Thanks for reading.
Next up: More on the significance of new motherhood.