Ritual & Liturgy:
Conception/Pregnancy

Simhat Yoledet
By Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam
A ritual to be performed in a women's group focusing on the new mother. From RitualWell.org.

A Prayer to be Said Upon Entering the Ninth Month of Pregnancy
By Dr. Giuseppe Coen, Trans. By Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
From an Italian collection of 18th century prayers for married women written by Dr. Giuseppe Coen and presented to his bride as a wedding gift. From RitualWell.org.

Life in the Womb
A fanciful account, based on the Zohar, a mystical text, describing a baby's life in the womb, during which time, a candle burns over the baby's head enabling her to see from one end of the universe to the other and the angels teach her all of Torah. From RitualWell.org.

M'ugelet
By Rabbi Jane Litman
It is customary for pregnant women and women seeking to become pregnant to offer prayers to Rachel, Judaism's mater dolorosa. Specifically, women visit Rachel's tomb in Bethlehem, wrap a red cord around the tomb and then cut it into smaller pieces which they tie around their own wrists. This ritual for a pregnant woman is based on this custom. From RitualWell.org.

Prayer to be Said When She Nurses for the First Time
By Dr. Giuseppe Coen, Trans. By Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
From an Italian collection of 18th century prayers for married women written by Dr. Giuseppe Coen and presented to his bride as a wedding gift. From RitualWell.org.

Temenos
By Tikva Frymer-Kensky
Modern prayer by scholar Tikva Frymer-Kensky likening the womb's circles to other circles within Judaism. From RitualWell.org.

A Ritual for Deciding to Have Children
Affirmation of wedding blessings when a couple decides to have children. From RitualWell.org.

Celebrating Pregnancy
By Michelle Klein
Describes the customs of Sephardic Jews who celebrated a woman's first pregnancy by cutting the swaddling clothes at a festive gathering of women. From RitualWell.org.

Ritual for Conception
The author suggests adding an unlit candle to the Shabbat candlelabrum each week until the baby is born. From RitualWell.org.

Sacred Screaming
By Lori Hope Lefkovitz
The author describes the absence of ritual at the birth of her daughters and suggests new rituals for conception, pregnancy and childbirth. From RitualWell.org.