The Onset of the Status of Yoledet

A woman becomes a yoledet (a woman who is giving birth) when her cervix is dilated during the final stages of labor. She is not halachically required to undergo an internal examination to determine the degree of dilation. From the point that she can no longer walk unaided, we assume that her uterus has opened enough to render her a yoledet.

Uterine bleeding during labor renders a woman a yoledet. Rabbinic authorities differ about the halachic significance of the water breaking, and of the release of the mucus plug.

A yoledet is subject to all the laws which apply to a niddah, including the restrictions on contact with her husband (harchakot).

If a woman's cervix is dilated by a few centimeters early in labor (or earlier in her pregnancy), but she has not had any bleeding, she does not yet become either a niddah or a yoledet.

Information for your Health Care Provider

Click on the link(s) below for related articles from Jewish Women's Health, Nishmat's website for medical professionals. You may find it helpful to share this information with your physician by printing or emailing relevant articles, or by accessing the site during your appointment.   Childbirth in Jewish Law