Mothers & Newborns
The Church’s tender prayers for mother and child in the days after birth.
On the day of the birth of a child, a short prayer is read at the hospital or at the home. This First Day Blessing consists of prayers for the recovery, protection and well-being of the mother and the new-born baby. It is a small, quiet beginning — the Church slipping in among the visitors and the flowers to whisper a welcome.
On the eighth day, the baby receives his or her name, just as our Lord received the name Jesus on the eighth day (Luke 2:21). This prayer is read in the narthex (entrance) of the Church, where the baby is brought by either the father or the grandmother, since the mother traditionally remains at home with the child for the forty days.
In accordance with the Old Testament tradition observed by the Virgin Mary herself (Luke 2:22–24), forty days after birth the mother comes together with her child to the Church for the very first time. The Forty Day Blessing, also known as the Churching of Mother and Child, consists of prayers for the physical and spiritual strengthening of both. The priest receives them at the door, carries the child forward into the nave, and — if the child has already been baptised — brings the infant before the icon of Christ and into the sanctuary.
In the past it was believed that mother and baby must not leave the house within the first forty days because it would bring bad luck. This is purely a superstition. The forty days should be used for physical rest, recuperation, and bonding with your child — a gift of quiet that the Church gladly protects.
To arrange any of these blessings, please contact the parish as soon as possible after the birth of your child, so that Father may come to you at home or receive you at the Church door with joy.