Mama Blessing

A Mama Blessing is a ceremony created for a pregnant woman by close family and friends. It is a time where the important women in the life of the pregnant mama come together to celebrate her. Love, support and encouragement is offered for the passage into motherhood. Women are amazing at finding ways to connect with each other and at the vulnerable time of transitioning to motherhood many of us struggle. 

This Mama Blessing guide is a way to help women kick start their passage into motherhood and feel supported by their community from the beginning.

Why a Mama Blessing?

A Mama Blessing is a beautiful way to shift our focus back to honouring the pregnant woman. As we share our collective wisdom in celebrating motherhood, women may draw on traditional rituals and create a ceremony that has a personal meaning to them. Creating these traditions is a gateway for us to be able to connect with our family and friends who will support us as we journey into motherhood. 

Having this encouragement and love can give us strength and courage to enter this journey with confidence. It gives the wise people in our lives who have gone before us an opportunity to share their knowledge and provide vital support for this journey. A Mama Blessing may occur with each pregnancy, as with every child added to a family the journey of motherhood deepens and support continues to be needed by the mother.

On our modern lives today we may not be physically close to our loved ones to gather together to for a Mama Blessing. This is a guide for you to create your own virtual Mama Blessing to connect and draw wisdom from the women in your life that mean the most to you.

Navajo People

Indigenous cultures around the world partake in ceremonies and rituals that celebrate pregnancy and the journey into motherhood. 

The Navajo (native American) tradition of honouring mothers in a Blessing Way ceremony is probably the most well known today.  In this highly scared ceremony, the focus is on supporting the pregnant mother and celebrating her strength as a woman as she transitions into motherhood.

The Blessing Way is not only for pregnancy and birth, it can also be used to celebrate women in other times of change or transition, such as menarche, menopause or engagement. The ceremony lasts for 2 nights and is a complex system of Navajo healing ceremonies which include singing and chants.  Smudging with white sage is used in a smoking ceremony to purity and cleanse the ceremonial space.  Each of the four directions (East, South, West, and North) and the four elements of nature (fire, air, water, and earth) are honoured.

As the Blessing Way is steeped with Navajo rituals and traditions. It is preferred by the Navajo people that the term Mother Blessing or Mama Blessing is used when referring to non Navajo ceremonies that honour women.

Indian People

In India, pregnant mothers are celebrated in Godh bharai celebrations.  This Hindi word translates to ‘filling up the lap’. The ceremony is an exuberant ritual during pregnancy to welcome the unborn baby to the family and bless the pregnant mother with the abundant joys of motherhood.

This celebration often occurs in the seventh month of pregnancy.  It is thought that both the mother and the baby are now in a stable and protected phase.  So the Godh bharai is performed during this time.  However, some families choose not to have a Godh bharai ceremony and perform a Puja (prayer) only after the baby is born. Godh bharai rituals may differ from one region to the other. The ceremony may include adorning the pregnant mother with jewellery, filling her lap with gifts, fruits and sweets and laying out a feast before her. It is also common for the ceremony to be filled with singing, dancing and lots of fun and laughter.

In most traditional homes, gifts such as bangles, clothes or cash are given only for the pregnant mother.  The gifts for the baby are given only after the birth.

Modern Times

In modern times, we have often moved towards focusing our celebrations on the baby, with rituals shifting away from the mother. Gender reveal parties and baby showers are rituals where people commonly come together to ‘shower’ gifts on the baby. Games are sometimes played, followed by indulging in sweet treats.

Another modern tradition is a Baby Moon. This is where a pregnant couple spent some last time away together before the baby comes.

These rituals often have great importance to families and can be included throughout pregnancy with a Mama Blessing.

The following guide is a to help you create your own Mama Blessing which may be in person, virtually or after your baby is born.

Mama Blessing Guide