Prayer for Childbirth
Safe Motherhood Prayer Guide
If you do not work as a childbirth professional you may not be sure what needs prayer. This guide was created to help you become familiar with some of the factors that affect childbirth.
Every country, every community is different. The way social and environmental factors affect women in one country may be different than another. Women from one part of a country may deal with different issues than women in another part of the same country. The prayer needs on this list are global in scale, and at the same time specific to local areas.
Please refer to the fact and resource pages for more information about specific topics. Using this list, your group should be able to obtain information about the needs in your area before your prayer event. Use these lists as a guide only, adding and deleting as necessary.
Medical Issues
Personal and professional lives of doctors, midwives and nurses
Access to skilled birth attendants - whether limited by law or geography
Good leadership for birth centers and hospitals
Access to safe birth options
Appropriate use of technology for childbirth
Families to understand their options for childbirth
Appropriate access to surgery for childbirth
Decrease in mortality rate for moms and babies
Prevention of the common and easily treatable causes of maternal and infant death
Decrease in the premature and low birthweight rates
Infertility and miscarriage
Political and Legal Issues
Access to midwifery care in all communities
Access to safe homebirth in all communities
Access to birth according to the CIMS (Coalition for Improving Maternity Services) guidelines
Improvement of bad infrastructure: poor sanitation, no access to healthcare
Stronger laws to protect women from violence
Prenatal care for all women
Health Factors
Prevention of maternal malnutrition
Prevention of maternal obesity
Support for mothers addicted to drugs or cigarettes
Support for abuse survivors
Help for expectant mothers suffering from AIDS
Help for the babies of drug abusing or AIDS suffering mothers
Prevention of Malaria
Prevention of miscarriage and infertility
Social Factors
Reduction of inappropriate teen pregnancy rates
Support for the families of pregnant teens
Support for single mothers
Strength for fathers to be with the mother
Removal of unhealthy pregnancy superstitions and customs
Ending of forced, coerced, bullied or required abortions, adoptions or surrenders
Adequate training for childbirth assistants
Access to a variety of childbirth professionals
Strengthen families
Support for families who have lost a child (born or unborn)
Environmental Factors
Adequate sources of food
Clean water
Safe places to give birth
Protection for women in natural disaster areas
Trained midwives for rural women
Post-partum Factors
Assistance for new mothers
Health and safety of unwanted babies
Comfort for mothers in crisis
Mother and baby bonding
Safe access to adoption
End to baby trafficking
Increased support for breastfeeding mothers
Mothers to receive accurate information about breastfeeding
Support for mothers suffering from post-partum depression
End to Malaria, Diarrhea, SIDS and other problems that kill infants
What would you like next?Learn comfort techniques for labor. Find out how what you eat can impact how you give birth. Learn ways to stay comfortable during pregnancy. Read sample birth plans. Get emotionally prepared to give birth. |
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