Rehat/Traditions during Pregnancy and Birth.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh, Gurmukh Pyaareo

I took Amrit about 2 yrs ago and had no background in Sikhism. I am a white American, and had no religious background. I am currently 7 months pregnant and realize more and more that I am totally clueless when it comes to knowing what to do or not to do with my baby in regards to Sikh traditions and rehat.

Are there any certain extra paath I should be reciting daily?

Is there any additional traditions/rehat I should be keeping while pregnant?

Is there anything specifically I should or should not do during the birth process or in our time in the hospital?

When it comes to naming the baby what is the proper rehat maryada that is used in abroad countries? (We have to pick a name the day the baby is born, so we don't have the option of waiting and doing anything traditional in Gurdwara.)

When should we give the baby Amrit? Should it be done on the day of birth or can it be done afterwards in home or Gurdwara?

Should we take the baby to Gurdwara first before going home?

Should we set up any paath in Gurdwara? (Sukhmani Sahib or Akhand Paath?)

Also, what about for myself after giving birth... Do I need to retake Amrit? Are there any certain things I need to follow in respects to the healing process? And what about the inability to bath immediately?

Please let me know anything at all you can think of that is related to this topic also that I may have missed. This is our first child and the first child in my husband's family so we are not exactly sure what we are supposed to do.

Thank you,
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Dear HarKaur jee,

Waheguru Jee Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Jee Kee Fateh

I am sure there are others in this forum who are more qualified to answer your questions, allow me to just share what is best practise to my knowledge:


Are there any certain extra paath I should be reciting daily?

- You can never do enough paaths of Sukhmani Sahib - the results are amazing in terms of the "atma" that you will give birth to.

Is there any additional traditions/rehat I should be keeping while pregnant?

- None that I am aware of.

Is there anything specifically I should or should not do during the birth process or in our time in the hospital?

- No

When it comes to naming the baby what is the proper rehat maryada that is used in abroad countries? (We have to pick a name the day the baby is born, so we don't have the option of waiting and doing anything traditional in Gurdwara.)

- The first letter of the baby's name must be the first letter of the hukamnama that is taken from Sri Guru Granth Sahib. In your case, you may resolve prior to the delivery to take the first letter from the hukamnama from Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) for that date.

When should we give the baby Amrit? Should it be done on the day of birth or can it be done afterwards in home or Gurdwara?

- Before and after the baby is born the more Gurbani he/she hears the more benefits that accrue. Post birth it is common for an elder to do paaths of Jupjee Sahib in the room where the baby is (if that is possible) while a small bowl of water is kept close by. Few drops from this water bowl can be taken to the baby after the paath is over (but here practises vary). The only Amrit is the one that is given by the Pannj Pyarea when the individual is mature enough to handle the responsibilities.

- Should we take the baby to Gurdwara first before going home?

Personal choice but Gurdwara visit is always preferable.

- Should we set up any paath in Gurdwara? (Sukhmani Sahib or Akhand Paath?)

Sukhmani Sahib should be recited at home where the baby is. Akhand / Sehaj Path for thanking Vahiguru for the gift of the baby can be performed either at home or at the gurdwara at your convenience

Also, what about for myself after giving birth... Do I need to retake Amrit? Are there any certain things I need to follow in respects to the healing process? And what about the inability to bath immediately?

- Retake Amrit - Most peoples advise is yes; but there is an equally strong opinion against it.

Please let me know anything at all you can think of that is related to this topic also that I may have missed. This is our first child and the first child in my husband's family so we are not exactly sure what we are supposed to do.

Pray as much as you can and welcome the baby in good health in due course.

Thank you,
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

A story:

It happened that Arjun's (from Mahabharat) wife(subhadra) was pregnant. Peace times were going on and the situation with Kauravas had not yet escalated into a war. Arjuna as we all know was a great warrior and his Guru Dronacharya had taught him many vidyas which nobody else knew. One of those was how to cut through the Chakravyuh of the enemy. Chakravyuh was a deadly formation of enemy armies and the attacker was almost always sure to get trapped and killed. But Arjun knew how to cut through it successfully. So one day he started explaining the technique to his wife. Abhimanyu, his would be son, was still inside Subhadra's womb. The child could listen everything very carefully and his nascent mind received strong impressions of the how the technique went. He had recited the technique of getting inside the chkravyuh when Subhadra fell asleep. The other half, of how to come out alive was yet remining. But Arjun stopped his narration and let the lady sleep.

Fast forward. The Mahabharata war is raging at its peak. Arjuna was fighting and one far end that day. Kauravas got the news of where Arjuna was. They formed Chakravyuh at the main area of fight in order to kill as many pandavas as they could in absence of Arjun. Abhimanyu, now a young man, declared that he had heard the technique to impregnate the formation in his mother's womb. He decided to take his chances, knowing fully well that he might get killed on his way out.

So as it happened, Kauravas were delighted when Abhimanyu son of great Arjun got trapped inside chakravyu. They encircled him and mercilessly butchered the young warrior. It was one of the greatest loss for Pandavas and they took revenge the next day, but thats another story.

Moral: The child inside the womb is very much alive and hears and feels many things from outside.

Recite gurbani, mool mantar, gurmantar. Listen to Guru ji's saakhis. Listen to fearless feats of Singhs of the past. This will help the child inside to gain from these impressions.

VahegurooJeeKaaKhalsaaVahegurooJeeKeeFatehe!!

This is from my own personal experience so hopefully you will find it helpful. I will answer your questions in the order asked..


Are there any certain extra paath I should be reciting daily?

As hsingh veer jee mentioned above you should try to do as many Sukhmani Saahib day paath as you can. You can also add more path to Sukhmani Saaahib and make sure you are reading it out loud instead of doing in Surthee. It is so that the baby in the womb can hear path too (eyesacademic veer jee already mentioned the story that comes to mind about the baby hearing and understanding everything in the womb.).

Is there any additional traditions/rehat I should be keeping while pregnant?

- Apart from doing more path there is nothing that comes to mind.

Is there anything specifically I should or should not do during the birth process or in our time in the hospital?

-You can ask the nurse to avoid using scissors or razors in any case of birth. Most nurses try to use razors for c-section or natural birth even when not needed, so tell them beforehand. Also after birth during stitches request the same thing. Also if you are in pain during contractions just jupp naam as much as you can and have your husband sunna you paath, like Sukhmani Saahib, Rakhya day Shabad, Chaupai Saahib..If you are Bibeki try taking your own food from home because it can be a long process.

When it comes to naming the baby what is the proper rehat maryada that is used in abroad countries? (We have to pick a name the day the baby is born, so we don't have the option of waiting and doing anything traditional in Gurdwara.)

- hsingh veer jee already covered it.

When should we give the baby Amrit? Should it be done on the day of birth or can it be done afterwards in home or Gurdwara?

Gurrutee should be given right after birth by any Gursikh, the process is mentioned by hsingh veer jee above. It should be the first thing that the baby consumes so you might have to request the nurses to not give any medication or drops before that. Amrit should be given as soon as there is an Amrit Sanchaar organized by Panj Pyaaray. The baby might not be able to keep full rehit, but as a mother you can help you child with keeping as much rehit as he/she can. As you will wake up during Amritvela and do ishnaan you should give ishnaan to your child as well. Read Nitnem to the baby, if you keep Bibek make sure your child keeps it too avoiding anything non-bibeki. The more path you read to your baby the more he/she will catch up too and might even have it remembered by the time he is 3-4. The more rehit you keep with your baby the more benefit it is for you. If you want you can make your child a Gurmukh in a matter of years if you keep him in Rehit from birth.

Should we take the baby to Gurdwara first before going home?

- It is best to do darshan right after birth but again it upto you on how you are feeling and what time baby is born. We couldn't do darshan straight since we had to leave hospital really late.

Should we set up any paath in Gurdwara? (Sukhmani Sahib or Akhand Paath?)

- Akhand Paath is best if you can stay for the whole or most of the paath. You and the baby will both benefit from that a lot!

Also, what about for myself after giving birth... Do I need to retake Amrit? Are there any certain things I need to follow in respects to the healing process? And what about the inability to bath immediately?

- It will depend on the Panj Pyaaray to decide. Just go in and explain your situation they will decide what is proper. Just keep doing paath for your own healing. Ask for help from a family member to give you ishnaan if you can't do it yourself (I know how hard it is..). Just sit on a stool and have someone pour water on you. It will be hard the first couple of days or weeks but doing Ishnaan is part of rehit before doing Nitnem. Just have faith and you will be fine. I personally know Singhs who have not given up cold water Ishnaan during Amritvela who have had worse injuries and were basically unable to walk. Just seek those for inspiration..


Hopefully this will help you out in some way.

Anokh Kaur

These are great questions, as I have not seen anyone make a post on this topic yet, and it is quite important.




Are there any certain extra paath I should be reciting daily?

Many bibian begin doing Sehaj Paaths for the baby. Definitely you should add an extra Sukhmani Sahib for the baby or more, as hsingh has mentioned.



Is there any additional traditions/rehat I should be keeping while pregnant?

Here in Toronto, our bibian are given an extra serving of degh for the baby during smagams. We also do our Nitnem out loud if we were not doing so before, so the baby can hear. Also, many gursikhs choose to give gurti to their newborn, or have another Gurmukh do so.



Is there anything specifically I should or should not do during the birth process or in our time in the hospital?

Not sure there's anything extra you can do except for Simran.




When it comes to naming the baby what is the proper rehat maryada that is used in abroad countries? (We have to pick a name the day the baby is born, so we don't have the option of waiting and doing anything traditional in Gurdwara.)

I am not sure about this.




When should we give the baby Amrit? Should it be done on the day of birth or can it be done afterwards in home or Gurdwara?

Amrit should be given as soon as an Amrit Sanchar can be organized.




Should we take the baby to Gurdwara first before going home?

It is a good idea to take your child to do darshan at the first possible opportunity. In Toronto we are fortunate that most members of our sangat have Guru Sahib Jis Saroop at already at home, but I don't know what your situation is in terms of availabilty of larivaar Saroop.





Should we set up any paath in Gurdwara? (Sukhmani Sahib or Akhand Paath?)

Probably would be more effective to do paath on your own. Paaths set up in Gurdwaras these days have low laha.





Also, what about for myself after giving birth... Do I need to retake Amrit? Are there any certain things I need to follow in respects to the healing process? And what about the inability to bath immediately?

You would only need to retake amrit if you underwent a procedure in which kes was removed.
I have been told that pinjiri is very very good for the healing process and you should begin to eat it immediately after you give birth. Hopefully I will post the recipe here soon.




I also wanted to mention that the story shared by eyesacademic is a very good one to keep in mind as an expecting mother. It is definitely true that we can already begin to impart gyaan to our child while carrying them in our womb. With this in mind, I personally try to do more paath outloud. I also am thinking to start reading Gurmat books aloud each day already while pregnant, particularly because I have poor Punjabi and would like my child to be fluent and adept in Punjabi. The more effort we put into these things now, the more our 9-month seva will be made saphal by Guru Sahib and the more beneficial it will be to our child and to the Panth.

It isn't mandatory to name the child right at birth at least in Canada. You can opt to wait until Naam Sanskaar is done and then you would submit the name with the birth certificate for the government purposes.

Another option, if your local laws do not allow you to wait for naming the baby, is to name it after the Mother or Father and then do a name change once the Naam Sanskaar is done.

Preetam Singh

This is copied from the Damdami Taksal Rehit Maryada

1. Birth Ceremony / Janam Sansakar (First Ceremony)
When Vaaheguroo blesses a couple with a child, at this auspicious moment the first rite is to utter "Vaaheguroo" Gurmantar to the child. The midwife should be a Sikh, so that she can enact this rite.
As soon as is possible after the birth Amrit is to be prepared in the following way:
An Ardas (prayer of supplication) is performed before the start of the ceremony
An Amritdharee Singh should get a Sarab Loh bowl and half fill it with water.
Five patase should be added to the water
This mixture is to be continuously stirred with a Kirpan
During the stirring, the Singh is to recite Japjee Sahib from memory and is to sit in the ‘Bir-Asan’ position, a Warrior stance.
Once the Japjee Sahib recital is complete the Amrit is ready and an Ardas is to be performed and then the Amrit can be administered.
Your Spiritual Father is Sahib Sri Guru Gobind Singh Jee;
Your Spiritual Mother is Mata Sahib Kaur Jee;
Your Place of Birth is Takhat Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Sri Anandpur Sahib;
Your Maternal home (Nanakee) is Guru Ka Lahore;
Your Obedience is to the One Timeless Lord;
Your only Guru is Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee.
You are not to bow or obey any other as your Guru;
Your examination is only via the Shabad and Gurbani;
Five drops from the tip of the Kirpan are to be given to the child and the mother is to drink the rest of the Amrit. This is the first ceremony of initiation of a child into the Khalsa Panth (Sikh Nation).
The mother is then to breast-feed the child, from this the child should become virtuous, a warrior, saintly, charitable and a vibrant Gursikh. Enacting any other sort of birth rites/ceremony is not allowed in Gurmat; for example lucky charms or strings tied on the child’s wrist or around his/her neck. To break all superstitions a Sarab Loh Kara is to be placed on the child’s right-hand wrist. Drinking alcohol and eating meat whilst celebrating the birth of a child is a grave sin.
After the above ceremony, Karah Parshad is to be prepared and an Ardas recited in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee. The child’s name is based on the first letter of the Hukamnama taken from Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee.
If possible on the same day a Sehaj Paath should be started. The child and his/her mother should listen to the whole Paath. At the Bhog (completions of recital) Guru ka Langar is to be served to the Sadh Sangat (Holy Congregation).

This is copied from the Damdami Taksal Rehit Maryada