A prayer for the child within me
A prayer composed for 1765 Regina
A prayer for the child within me
Lord God, You are forming this child in secret,
and Your eyes already see what mine cannot.
Guard this little one's life, and steady my body and my heart through every day of waiting.
Give me patience in the sickness and the sleepless nights, and peace when I am afraid.
Bring us both safely to the day of birth, and this child to the waters of baptism.
Whatever comes, let this child be Yours, and let me be Yours with my child.
Holy Mary, who carried your Son, carry us.
St Anne, St Gerard, St Gianna, pray for us.
Amen.
What the Church sees in you now
Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee
The Church teaches that a child's life is owed absolute respect and protection from conception, and that from the very beginning the child has a person's rights (CCC 2270). She calls a child a gift, never a possession (CCC 2378). St John Paul II put the dignity of your work in one sentence: "The history of every human being passes through the threshold of a woman's motherhood" (Mulieris Dignitatem 19).
You are not only waiting. You are already a mother, and the child is already known by God.
The first months: hidden, like Nazareth
The first weeks are often hidden. You may not have told anyone. You may be too sick or tired to pray as you used to. Mary's motherhood began in a hidden way too, and her part in it began with a single sentence: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38, Douay). Make that your morning prayer.
When sickness or worry comes, let each wave be the signal for one Hail Mary. Its first words are the angel's and Elizabeth's (Luke 1:28, 42), and at its centre is the child: blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Prayer
The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
And pray the psalm that speaks of what is happening in you:
Prayer
Psalm 138 [139]: 13–16
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother's womb.
I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are thy works, and my soul knoweth right well.
My bone is not hidden from thee, which thou hast made in secret: and my substance in the lower parts of the earth.
Thy eyes did see my imperfect being, and in thy book all shall be written: days shall be formed, and no one in them.
The middle months: the Visitation
Two expectant mothers met in the hill country of Juda, and a child not yet born leaped for joy at the presence of Christ:
And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
When you feel your own child stir, let it be a bell: blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Pray for the child by name, if you have chosen one, and for the mothers you know who are waiting too.
These are good months to take St Anne as a companion. Scripture does not name Mary's mother; the name and the story of her long childlessness come from an early apocryphal writing, the Protoevangelium of James, which is not part of Scripture. But devotion to her is ancient — in the East it can be traced to the fourth century — she is honoured as patroness of women in labour (Catholic Encyclopedia), and the Church honours Sts Joachim and Anne together on 26 July.
Prayer
Prayer to St Anne
With deep and heartfelt veneration I prostrate myself before thee, O glorious St Anne.
Thou art that creation of privilege and predilection, who through thy extraordinary virtues and sanctity wast worthy to receive from God the supreme grace of giving life to the treasure-house of all graces, blessed among women, Mother of the Word Incarnate, the most holy Virgin Mary.
Deign, therefore, O most compassionate saint, for the sake of this lofty privilege, to receive me into the number of thy true followers, for such I protest I am and desire to remain so long as I may live.
Surround me with thy powerful patronage, and obtain for me from God the grace to imitate those virtues with which thou wast so abundantly adorned.
Grant that I may know and bitterly lament my sins. Obtain for me a most lively affection for Jesus and Mary, and fidelity and constancy in the practice of the duties of my state.
Preserve me from every danger in life, and assist me in the moment of my death, so that, safe in Paradise, I may unite with thee, most blessed Mother, in praising the Word of God made man in the bosom of thy most pure child, the Virgin Mary. Amen.
The last months: preparing for birth
A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
St Gerard Majella (1726–1755) was a tailor in southern Italy before he became a Redemptorist lay brother; St Pius X canonized him in 1904 (Catholic Encyclopedia). He is invoked by expectant mothers because of a miracle attributed to him after his death. According to tradition, he once dropped a handkerchief, and when a girl tried to return it he told her to keep it, because it would be useful to her someday; years later, dying in childbirth, she asked for it, and she and her child survived (as told by the Diocese of Austin's magazine, The Catholic Spirit). His feast is kept on 16 October.
St Gianna Beretta Molla (1922–1962) was a physician who gave special attention to mothers and babies, a wife, and a mother of three when, in 1961, early in another pregnancy, a fibroma was found in her uterus. According to the Vatican's biography, she pleaded with the surgeon to save the life of the child she was carrying, and later asked that, if a choice had to be made, the child be saved. Gianna Emanuela was born on 21 April 1962; her mother died a week later, on 28 April, repeating "Jesus, I love you." St John Paul II canonized her on 16 May 2004, saying that "this holy mother of a family remained heroically faithful to the commitment she made on the day of her marriage." Her story is a witness of heroic love, not a rule laid on every mother in danger. What the Church holds in every case is that direct abortion, ending a child's life whether as the goal or as the means, is never permitted (CCC 2271); how that applies in a hard medical situation is a question to bring to your doctor and to a priest who knows the Church's moral teaching.
Two practical graces to arrange now:
- Ask for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb. The U.S. bishops approved this rite in 2008 and it has been in use since 2012; a priest or deacon may give it within Mass or outside Mass (Diocese of Honolulu). Ask your parish.
- Plan the baptism. The Church urges parents to have their children baptized shortly after birth, so that they receive the grace of becoming children of God (CCC 1250). Call your parish before the birth, choose godparents, and choose a saint's name.
If the waiting turns hard
Pregnancy can bring fear, grief and darkness as well as joy. None of that means your faith has failed. Tell your doctor or midwife how you are really doing, and do not wait to ask for help:
- In an emergency, call 911.
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). Free, confidential, 24/7, in English and Spanish, for pregnant and new mothers.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, any time.
If your pregnancy ends in loss, you are not outside the Church's prayer. Tell your parish priest, and let the people who love you carry it with you.
Questions
Who is the patron saint of pregnancy?
Expectant mothers turn especially to St Gerard Majella (feast 16 October), whose patronage rests on a tradition about a mother saved in childbirth; to St Anne, the mother of Mary, honoured as patroness of women in labour; and to St Gianna Beretta Molla, a physician and mother canonized in 2004.
Can a priest bless my baby before birth?
Yes. In the United States the Church has a Blessing of a Child in the Womb, approved by the U.S. bishops and in use since 2012. A priest or deacon may give it within Mass or outside Mass. Ask your parish.
Is there a Catholic prayer for a safe delivery?
You may ask God plainly for a safe delivery, and the Church gives you companions in asking: the Hail Mary, the prayer to St Anne, and the intercession of St Gerard and St Gianna. Prayer is not a guarantee of an outcome; it places you and your child in God's hands, whatever comes.