FASTING DURING PREGNANCY OR LACTATION
Fasting during pregnancy or lactation is an issue that all Muslim women will have to face during their life, if God wills children for them. Now sisters, I am not a woman, I know that this is a very complicated issue; so, with my wife?s approval, I will share what my Lord taught me through her, and may God open your eyes.
Many years back I decided that I was going to be Muslim and begin to obey God?s commandments. My wife was reading the Quran at the time but she was not at that stage yet. I told her that I was firm in the direction I had taken. And, I told her that if she decided for a different direction, we will not be together for long; but, by the mercy of God, she decided to follow my steps.
Then, our first Ramadan came. Our faith was very weak, and the only Muslims we knew were those in the internet picture/videos. I was having much trouble with the issue of not drinking water, because of my kidney history and the job I had. My wife had just weaned our first child and had no excuse at the time. We began abstaining only from food, and we broke the fast in the middle of Ramadan; because, at that time I was reading the translation and commentary of the shaitan Edip yunk-sell. And I got confused on the number of days, and what to abstain from.
Our second Ramadan came, and now our idea of fasting was clear, but we had a bigger issue, my wife was pregnant. She asked me about it, and I told her that the only exception was for those who are sick or traveling. And, that if she did not fast during pregnancy she would have to fast during lactation. Then, she had two issues to worry about. She sough advice in the internet, and all the rebellious were talking against it. The only women she found talking in favor of fasting were those living in the Middle East. I told her to learn from them, and not to listen to the rebellious of the west, because their ideas did not make sense. And, that if women were not to fast while pregnant, or breastfeeding; and, if God wills many children for them, then, when would they fast? She was very confused at the time, and the shaitans around us only worsened the situation by scaring her about the baby not forming well, or the baby being born a feeble kid and dying at young age. I told her not to listen to them, and to remember all that our Lord had taught us when getting us away from doctors and medicine with our first child. Also, that she was not stopping eating, but only switching to eating during the night, so she was getting the same caloric intake. Also, that the babies do not get from the food a woman eats daily, but from the reserves of the bones, and that was why many women loose their teeth. I could not convince her, and there is no coercion in matters of faith. However, three days into Ramadam God gave her the strength, and she did fasted. She lost a lot of weight, and the doctor assigned by the insurance was very angry because she was not taking any medicine or vitamins, and then they began threatening, but we were already use to fight with them. Now, just to clarify that I do not contradict myself, here, if you do not get a doctor for prenatal care, no hospital takes you for delivering the baby, and if no hospital takes you, you are in trouble getting the birth certificate. When the baby was born, we got a bigger, heavier baby, than the first God gave us, glory be to God the one who form us in the womb. And, my wife learned something else; she learned not to ask for big babies, for many women would wish for death when delivering a big baby, and many of them will get their wish.
With our third baby we got a bigger lesson. We used to think that as long as she were breastfeeding she could not get pregnant, because she breastfed our first child for more than two years, and God ordains two years of lactation, but God does what He wills. When Ramadan came, she was not hungry at all, and ate very little or nothing during Ramadan. The idea that she was pregnant never crossed our minds, for the end of the lactation period recommended by God was still a few months away. We thought she had a stomach illness. She thought she would be better after Ramadan, but Ramadan passed, and the illness did not go away. A few weeks after Ramadan, she got the idea that she could be pregnant, but she thought it impossible, for she was still breastfeeding. However, she went to get a pregnancy test, and yes, she was pregnant. Again, by the Mercy of the Most merciful, she delivered a big healthy baby. And this time, when the delivery day came, she refused even the words from the doctors, for she learned the hard/painful way not to listen to those Shaitans, and that the best path is to have patience. And she was rewarded.
With this last baby, we also got another big lesson. The reason was a dangerous bacterium that was found months back, that doctors do not know where it comes from, except that it is very dangerous for babies if they get infected during delivery. When delivery day came, the doctor told us that the bacteria could be lethal if still present, because if it was there it would transfers to the baby during delivery. We demanded evidence, but the doctor said that it was impossible to know if it was still there, because test results would take days. And, they threatened us that if we refused the medicine they would not release the baby from the hospital, and that they would retain him for weeks of observation. Of course none of those tending us were happy, for they are very arrogant people, and they hate anyone who tells them that he/she knows what is best. Nonetheless, we prayed God for forgiveness and protection against that evil medicine poison, and chose to accept it rather than leaving the baby to them. They had to put two doses, so as they said, for the medicine to fully protect the baby. But, the baby came out even before the first dose was finish. Then, because a misunderstanding, and because that was the will of God, the hospital people did not even wash the baby. A few days later the baby developed an illness in one eye, and rash appeared on the face and expanded to the body. Satan whispered us that it could be the bacteria, but the baby had no fever, so we sought refuge in God. My wife gave a full body shower to the baby after the umbilical cord dropped. We tried to be patient, and days later the rash began to disappear. Only God knows what it was. The eye got better weeks after that. Then, I remembered that in the Torah there was something about birth, so I looked for it; and, according to God?s book, the baby has to be cleaned in the seventh day. Anyway, we did not do anything but put our trust in God, and asked Him for strength so that we could accept His will. Now the baby is beautiful and healthy, Glory be to God the best of teachers.
Believing sisters, pray God for strength. If your faith is strong, even if you have no food at all, The Merciful will give you healthy babies that will grow to be strong children. And, if God wills, you will not loose a single tooth.
May God increase our knowledge and give us wisdom.