Safe Childbirth Blessing for promoting a safe and healthy delivery.
Once the pregnancy has stabilized around the 5th month, it is customary for pregnant people to visit a Shinto shrine on a Day of the Dog and pray for safe childbirth. The Day of the Dog is selected because the dog symbolizes the birth of many children and a safe delivery.
Around this time pregnant women begin to wear a maternity band (Iwata-obi). They will bring their maternity band to the shrine and will thank Kami-sama for blessing them with a child, and pray for the health and well-being of both mother and child throughout childbirth and recovery.
It is said that the history of the maternity band dates back to the time of the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters), which was transcribed in 712 CE. The maternity band is considered to be a wish for protection against disaster and impurity.
The maternity band not only protects the mother’s body from the cold and from the impact but has also been recognized by medical science as a way to secure the safe positioning of the baby in utero, as well as a way to prevent the formation of stretch marks.
Includes: One “Anzan” (Pregnancy and Childbirth) Omamori and a Naorai Package
An optional Meimei (命名) service is also available for an additional $50 donation, in which the Shinto priest selects a Japanese name for the baby and handwrites it in traditional ink on a Meimei-yōshi (命名用紙), a special naming paper.
