Childbirth, an unbelievable thrill for the first time parent, an exciting reawakening of forgotten feelings for an experienced mother. What other experience in life stirs such a deep sense of joy and gratification blended with concern and anxiety in its anticipation? The observant Jewish mother and father experience these feelings in an especially profound way. They are eager to fulfill the Biblical commandment to be fruitful and multiply, and concerned to start the life of a child in an auspicious manner leading to a lifetime of Torah observance and mitzvos. Amid all the excitement they are surprised by the innumerable questions arising for the first time in their lives. Some of these relate directly to the birth of their child: Can I drive to the hospital just before the end of Shabbos if the baby will be born after Shabbos? Is induction of labor sanctioned by halachah? Can we name our son before his bris, if the bris will be delayed for a long time? The obstetrician suggests performing amniocentesis to check for birth defects, does halachah sanction this? Other questions arise incidentally. May a non-Jew take me to the hospital elevator on Rosh Hashanah in order to hear shofar? Can I Make kiddush even if I can only drink a small quantity of wine or grape juice? Can I daven while I have a catheter attached? Rabbi Yisroel Dov Webster's "Yad LeYoledes: The Halachos of Pregnancy and Childbirth" is the ultimate guide to all these issues. A landmark accomplishment, it was compiled in the course of nearly twenty years of public and private teaching of these and other areas of Jewish law. Reading it is like having an expert rabbi at our side, day and night. In lucid and readable terms it outlines the halachic teachings related to every aspect of pregnancy and childbirth. Where there are different opinions among the great Poskim, these are mentioned as are the varying customs of different Jewish communities. Copious footnotes give the sources for every halachic ruling, and explanations as to how conclusions were reached. "The Halachos of Pregnancy and Childbirth" is not just a book for the layman and woman, but also for the rabbi and the scholar. The erudition of its distinguished author is evident throughout the hundreds of detailed explanatory notes. The in-depth presentations of major halachic questions in the kovetz habiurim at the end of the book are halachic masterpieces, and have earned the enthusiastic approbations of great Poskim in the U.S. and in Eretz Yisroel. Seldom has a new work dealt so comprehensively with such a complex topic.
by Rabbi Yisrael Dov Webster