od's covenant with Abraham was to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as plentiful as the sand. Each pregnancy is a partial fulfillment of that covenant. The language of covenant implies an active responsibility not only of God, but also of the pregnant family as well.*

Although Jewish law and rabbinic writings ritualize virtually everything in life, they circumvent pregnancy. Why? Perhaps because the text is old and written by men years ago who feared the God-like creative abilities of women. Perhaps because when the law was written, pregnancy was a scientific mystery.

Regardless of why, women today and throughout history have been seeking to ritualize their pregnancies through folk practices as logical as not preparing for the baby that may never come, and as seemingly illogical as sewing red thread into their garments.

Click on one of the menu items below to learn more about what a sample of 20 women and men from all over the United States are doing to make their pregnancies sacred...