(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אִשָּׁה֙ כִּ֣י תַזְרִ֔יעַ וְיָלְדָ֖ה זָכָ֑ר וְטָֽמְאָה֙ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֔ים כִּימֵ֛י נִדַּ֥ת דְּוֺתָ֖הּ תִּטְמָֽא׃ (ג) וּבַיּ֖וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֑י יִמּ֖וֹל בְּשַׂ֥ר עָרְלָתֽוֹ׃ (ד) וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים יוֹם֙ וּשְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֔ים תֵּשֵׁ֖ב בִּדְמֵ֣י טָהֳרָ֑ה בְּכָל־קֹ֣דֶשׁ לֹֽא־תִגָּ֗ע וְאֶל־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ֙ לֹ֣א תָבֹ֔א עַד־מְלֹ֖את יְמֵ֥י טָהֳרָֽהּ׃ (ה) וְאִם־נְקֵבָ֣ה תֵלֵ֔ד וְטָמְאָ֥ה שְׁבֻעַ֖יִם כְּנִדָּתָ֑הּ וְשִׁשִּׁ֥ים יוֹם֙ וְשֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֔ים תֵּשֵׁ֖ב עַל־דְּמֵ֥י טָהֳרָֽה׃ (ו) וּבִמְלֹ֣את ׀ יְמֵ֣י טָהֳרָ֗הּ לְבֵן֮ א֣וֹ לְבַת֒ תָּבִ֞יא כֶּ֤בֶשׂ בֶּן־שְׁנָתוֹ֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה וּבֶן־יוֹנָ֥ה אוֹ־תֹ֖ר לְחַטָּ֑את אֶל־פֶּ֥תַח אֹֽהֶל־מוֹעֵ֖ד אֶל־הַכֹּהֵֽן׃ (ז) וְהִקְרִיב֞וֹ לִפְנֵ֤י יְהוָה֙ וְכִפֶּ֣ר עָלֶ֔יהָ וְטָהֲרָ֖ה מִמְּקֹ֣ר דָּמֶ֑יהָ זֹ֤את תּוֹרַת֙ הַיֹּלֶ֔דֶת לַזָּכָ֖ר א֥וֹ לַנְּקֵבָֽה׃ (ח) וְאִם־לֹ֨א תִמְצָ֣א יָדָהּ֮ דֵּ֣י שֶׂה֒ וְלָקְחָ֣ה שְׁתֵּֽי־תֹרִ֗ים א֤וֹ שְׁנֵי֙ בְּנֵ֣י יוֹנָ֔ה אֶחָ֥ד לְעֹלָ֖ה וְאֶחָ֣ד לְחַטָּ֑את וְכִפֶּ֥ר עָלֶ֛יהָ הַכֹּהֵ֖ן וְטָהֵֽרָה׃ (פ)
(1) Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Speak to the Israelite people thus: When a woman at childbirth bears a male, she shall be unclean seven days; she shall be unclean as at the time of her menstrual infirmity.— (3) On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.— (4) She shall remain in a state of blood purification for thirty-three days: she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until her period of purification is completed. (5) If she bears a female, she shall be unclean two weeks as during her menstruation, and she shall remain in a state of blood purification for sixty-six days. (6) On the completion of her period of purification, for either son or daughter, she shall bring to the priest, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. (7) He shall offer it before Adonai and make expiation on her behalf; she shall then be clean from her flow of blood. Such are the rituals concerning her who bears a child, male or female. (8) If, however, her means do not suffice for a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. The priest shall make expiation on her behalf, and she shall be clean.
שאלו תלמידיו את רבי שמעון בן יוחי מפני מה אמרה תורה יולדת מביאה קרבן אמר להן בשעה שכורעת לילד קופצת ונשבעת שלא תזקק לבעלה לפיכך אמרה תורה תביא קרבן
The students of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai asked him: For what reason does the Torah say that a woman after childbirth brings an offering? He said to them: At the time that a woman crouches to give birth, her pain is so great that she impulsively takes an oath that she will not engage in intercourse with her husband ever again, so that she will never again experience this pain. Therefore, the Torah says that she must bring an offering for violating her oath and continuing to engage in intercourse with her husband.
(א) והקריבו לפני ה' וכפר עליה וטהרה ממקור דמיה
ורבותינו אמרו (נדה לא) בשעה שכורעת לילד קופצת ונשבעת לא אזקק עוד לבעלי ועיקר הכונה בזה כי בעבור שהיא נשבעת מתוך הצער ואין השבועה ראויה להתקיים מפני היותה משועבדת לבעלה רצתה התורה לכפר לה מעלות רוחה ומחשבות השם יתברך עמוקות ורחמיו מרובים שהוא רוצה להצדיק בריותיו
Our Sages taught (Nidda 31b) that when a woman crouches to give birth, she determinedly swears: “I shall no longer have relations with my husband.” What this means, in essence, is that because her pain drives her to utter this oath, and her oath is not possible to honor anyway, since she is obligated to her husband, therefore the Torah seeks to offer her atonement for that passing mood. The thoughts of the blessed God are deep, and His mercy is abundant, in seeking to exonerate His creatures.
Rabbanit Sharon Rimon
Quite simply, we do not think about childbirth in terms of “sin”; rather, we perceive it as a positive process. Is it not possible, then, that the sin offering brought by the women after childbirth is not the result of sin, but rather for some other reason?
Rabbi Shai Held, The Heart of Torah Vol 2, p. 39
Why, then, must the new mother bring a sin offering? The simple answer is that she does not. The prevalent rendering of hattat as "sin offering" is mistaken. Bible scholar Jacob Milgrom has convincingly shown that a hattat is not a sin offering at all. The Hebrew verb in question is not hata (sinned), but hita, "which carries no other meaning than 'to cleanse, expurgate, decontaminate." A korban hattat, then, is "an offering of purgation," or as Everett Fox suggests, a "decontamination offering."
Traditional Jewish commentaries were well aware that what is at stake here is not sin. As the medieval Tosafists note, "According to the literal meaning (peshat) of the text, [the mother's] sacrifice is not brought on account of sin" (Da'at Zekeinim to Lev. 12:8). Moreover, as we have seen, there is no suggestion whatsoever that the woman's impure status results from a sin she has committed-after all, in the Torah fertility is seen as a great blessing and a fulfillment of God's creational designs (Gen. 1:28 and 9:7).
Rabbi Lauren Eichler Birkun, Commentary on Tazria
[Due to] the vulnerable state of world affairs, a colleague described the frightening experience of bringing a child into this world: “While I feel great joy in creating a new life,” he remarked,”I also know that I have created a new potential for death.” Every human being will die. Each birth brings another fragile, mortal being into the universe. In our precarious world, this reality quickly comes into sharp focus.
Herein lies one explanation for the double period of impurity following the birth of a female child. The baby girl embodies the potential to one day bear another new life. Each life that is brought into the world will also bring another death. Therefore, the Torah marks the birth of a girl, a future holy vessel for the creation of life, as fraught with twice the amount “death symbolism.”
Rabbi Shai Held, The Heart of Torah Vol 2, p. 40
Deep disquiet about the risk of childbirth to the mother's life is pervasive in Jewish sources. One seemingly odd law holds that the mitzvah of procreation (pru u-revu) is incumbent upon men but not women. Since procreation is impossible without women's active participation, this is puzzling, to say the least (one does not need an advanced degree in biology to understand this). Explaining this rabbinic ruling, R. Meir Simha of Dvinsk (1843-1926) suggests that the reason women are exempt from the mandate to procreate is that the Torah does not want to demand of them that they place their own lives in danger by bearing children (Meshekh Hokhmah to Gen. 9:7). It is possible to dismiss this as apologetics, but I am not so sure. More likely it reflects a deep-seated sense of respect for the reality that women can - all too often did, and to some extent still do - die in bringing forth life.
CDC Press Release from Sept, 2019
Pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births (the pregnancy-related mortality ratio or PRMR) for black and American Indian/Alaskan Native (CDC's terms) women older than 30 was four to five times as high as it was for white women. Even in states with the lowest PRMRs and among women with higher levels of education, significant differences persist. These findings suggest that the disparity observed in pregnancy-related death for black and AI/AN women is a complex national problem.
Unicef Maternal Mortality Report from Sept, 2019
From 2000 to 2017, the global maternal mortality ratio declined by 38 per cent – from 342 deaths to 211 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to UN inter-agency estimates...
The number of women and girls who died each year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth declined from 451,000 in 2000 to 295,000 in 2017. These improvements are particularly remarkable in light of rapid population growth in many of the countries where maternal deaths are highest. Still, over 800 women are dying each day from complications in pregnancy and childbirth. And for every woman who dies, approximately 20 others suffer serious injuries, infections or disabilities.