Oct 10, 2010

Interesting Psak: Birthing on 10/10/10

Rav Borshtein, the head of Machon Puah, has been asked a number of times leading up to today - 10/10/10 - if it is halachically acceptable to induce labor in order to give birth on this day.

Personally, I don't see any significance to the date and see no reason why anybody would care that their kid should be born specifically on this day just because of how someone chooses to abbreviate the date, but people do silly things, and it seems plenty of people do care about these things.

Rav Borshtein's answer is that one cannot induce labor to give birth on 10/10/10 for three reasons:
  1. the English date has no significance
  2. inducing labor is dangerous and can cause the need for an emergency c-section
  3. the real birthday has a siyata d'shmaya attached to it, and changing the birthday would force the baby to be born with no siyata d'shmaya. Even though birthing today is not really dangerous and the percentages of deaths is very small, it is still putting the mother and baby into an element of danger.
At the end of the day, Rav Borshtein says, inducing labor should only be done for medical reasons.

Mazel tov and b'shaa tova
at

5 comments:

  1. Pesky SettlerOctober 10, 2010 5:37 PM

    Now that I think about it, my scheduled c-section (breech baby) was delayed a day. And my induction baby was born in the early morning the day after the induction started.

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  2. Jennifer in MamaLandOctober 11, 2010 1:33 AM

    Also according to something I heard on Torah Tidbits Audio (Phil Chernofsky) (I think), the first mitzvah to bnei Yisrael of keeping a calendar MAY preclude our using any other system of numbering to track the date - such that it MAY actually be an aveirah to use the "goyishe" numbers for dates. I usually try to write "Jan" or "January" instead of "01," for instance.

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  3. AnonymousOctober 11, 2010 3:28 AM

    Is it true that in Israel it is routine to induce mothers in labour? If so I think it's an abhorrent practice. (probably for the sake of convenience?)

    I do agree with the learned Rabbi that the moment of birth is destined 'min hashomayim' and that medical intervention (induction) should only take place where medically appropriate, ie where there's no other option.

    Ladies,you will NEVER REGRET a 'sheilat chacham' if in doubt! (I should know.)

    May we hear of many MAZALTOVS!!! Bracha

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  4. Pesky SettlerOctober 11, 2010 12:42 PM

    I have no idea about 'routine inductions'. All I know was I was 42 weeks, high blood pressure, protein in urine and baby was having his heart rate go WAAAAAAAAY down during contractions.

    My induction was totally warranted.

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  5. Rafi G.October 11, 2010 12:43 PM

    we had an induction that led to an emergency c-section. sometimes it is necessary. when necessary it should be done, no question.

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