Reproductive Experiences

A happy family of three smiling at the camera, with a child in the center between two adults.
In contemporary homes, starting a family is often a deliberate choice. The experience of pregnancy, the drama of giving birth, and the miracle of adoption are occasions for joy and wonder. These are also experiences that can be fraught with pain and struggle, reflecting the full spectrum of life and death. We offer prayers for those who are trying to conceive, prayers for pregnancy and childbirth, rituals for parents preparing to adopt, mourning ceremonies for miscarriages, blessings for those struggling with infertility, rituals to prepare for or acknowledge an abortion, and much more.

Latest Rituals

Prayer for those who want to become parents

young couple lying in the grass

A prayer for all of us who seek care and provide services at Planned Parenthood

Sunlight filters through a foggy forest with bare trees and a ground covered in red and orange leaves.

A blessing of strength and resilience for a premature baby

father son and newborn baby

A challah-baking ritual to encourage joy and laughter for a group of women healing from miscarriage

hands holding round platter with challah

A poem mourning the loss of one’s uterus and exalting the skill of the surgeon

woman with outstretched arms on a pier at sunrise

Watch this video to learn more about birkat hagomel, a blessing to be recited after safely making it through childbirth

gomel blessing

Prayer for parents-to-be and health care providers (i.e., midwives or ObGyn) at the beginning of labor

pregnant woman holding belly

A prayer for strength and good counsel during a difficult moment in pregnancy

pregnant woman in red dress holding leaves

Bringing a sense of kedushah to the abortion operating table

holding hands hospital bed

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

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