Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Mikveh after stillbirth

12 March, 2023
Question:

I see a lot of sources about miscarriage and am having a hard time finding halachic guidance after the birth of a full term, stillborn baby, where the child’s sex was known and the birth itself was on time, natural (vaginal), etc. Can you please elaborate on when a woman should go to the mikveh, and any other relevant details, in such a case. Thank you in advance.


Answer:

We are so very sorry to hear of your situation.

The taharah process in this situation is the same as for any woman after childbirth. Once the bleeding subsides she should perform a hefsek taharah and count seven clean days. She should omit the moch dachuk, and she may reduce the number of bedikot to one each on days 1, 7, and one of the intermediate clean days. If the baby was a girl, mikveh immersion may not take place until 14 days have passed since delivery. If it was a boy, immersion may take place after 12 days. In practice most women experience postpartum bleeding for 4-6 weeks, so this is usually a moot distinction.

Please see our article on Pregnancy Loss & Neonatal Loss for more discussion.

We wish you a refuat hanefesh urefuat haguf.

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