Pregnancy as a proclamation of faith: Ultra‐Orthodox Jewish women navigating the uncertainty of pregnancy and prenatal diagnosis

Abstract

Research has suggested that religion and spirituality may inform individuals' interpretation of and responses to uncertainty during pregnancy including the possibility of genetic disorders. In this study, 25 qualitative interviews were undertaken with ultra-Orthodox [Haredi] Jewish women about their experiences with uncertainties related to pregnancy, prenatal care, and prenatal diagnosis. We found that women draw upon a particular set of faith-based concepts to cope with the uncertainties of pregnancy and to make decisions regarding prenatal testing. The women draw on the religious concepts of faith and certainty, which are based on trusting that God will not test them beyond what they can withstand. When prenatal screening indicates a possible fetal anomaly or when a disabled child is born, these women interpret the situation as a God-sent ordeal in which they are called upon to prove their trust and certainty in God's plan and to resist the uncertainties generated by the probability-based technologies. This research has implications for genetic service providers when discussing prenatal testing and fetal anomalies with Haredi women.

Obligatory Effort [Hishtadlut] as an Explanatory Model: A Critique of Reproductive Choice and Control

“…Our previous and current studies of Jewish Ultra-Orthodox [Haredi] women's reproductive lives and encounters with reproductive technologies (Ivry, Teman, and Frumkin 2011;Teman, Ivry, and Bernhardt 2011) resonate with important features of Gammeltoft's findings. They reveal a cosmology similarly oriented toward reproductive duties enacted by members of social groups who are not expected to make decisions on their own.…”

“…Elsewhere (Ivry, Teman, and Frumkin 2011;Teman, Ivry, and Bernhardt 2011), we have explored the ways Haredi women manage the uncertainty and fear they associate with prenatal testing, as well as questions of agency and of ''moral pioneering'' in that context. It was through those explorations of the complexities of the women's decisions regarding prenatal testing that we realized the paradoxical tension between choosing and relinquishing reproductive control within the women's narratives, and the emergent centrality of the organizing concept of ''obligatory effort'' in the women's navigations of their reproductive careers as a whole.…”

“…Yet even as continuing to be open toward conception throughout their fertile years conveyed a relinquishing of control to God, it could also be viewed as an active effort. Most of the women spoke of having children as their role and purpose [tafkid] in life, their ''mission''[shlichut] from God and their way of worshipping God and of expressing piousness (see Ivry, Teman, and Frumkin 2011;Teman, Ivry, and Bernhardt 2011). Continuing to become pregnant in order to fulfill this purpose following reproductive losses, such as miscarriage or stillbirth, or after challenges such as the birth of a baby with disabilities, was not just about relinquishing control, but about making efforts to carry out their divine purpose.…”

“…Choosing the best caregiver, facility and birth method were completely acceptable and expected efforts. It was not considered extraneous effort to demand ''tailored medicine'' (Teman, Ivry, and Bernhardt 2011) that accorded their way of life. Their criteria for good care included the expectation that the caregiver would not shame them for refusing birth control, not pressure them to undertake prenatal tests, and not take offense when they asked to consult a rabbi before following the doctor's orders.…”

“…It was not uncommon to hear women say that relinquishing individual choice made their lives ''easier'' because ''The rabbi says no and that's it (Esti, 35, mother of five, including two sets of twins).'' Instead of actively choosing, one was chosen for a particular role and purpose in life (Teman, Ivry, and Bernhardt 2011).…”