Patron Saint (and Prayer) for Expectant Mothers

We Catholics have prayers for every occasion and patron saints for every cause, even the odd ones. If you lose something, pray to St. Anthony de Padua. If you’re being bugged by wasps, you can ask the intercession of St. Friard. Probinsyanas can have St. Germaine Cousin as their intercessor.

Pregnancy is a serious matter. Many women experienced difficulties and some perish because of it. For this reason, it is very important that the pregnant woman and her husband seek the help of God. An added bonus for us, Catholics, is that we can seek the help of saints in heaven.

Let me reiterate that we don’t pray to saints as if they were gods. We pray to them for intercession because they are close to God. They are like friends who plea to God on our behalf.

Bonnie Way listed 7 patron saints for pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood. The most popular, of course, is the Virgin Mary. The next popular patron saint for pregnancy, based on Internet search, is St. Gerard Majella. His intercession is sought by pregnant women because of the miracle that occurred after he prayed for a woman in labor.

So, aside from the Virgin Mary, I will also ask the intercession of St. Gerard for healthy pregnancy and safe labor of Lei.

Here is the prayer to Saint Gerard that can be recited by expectant mothers:

O great Saint Gerard, beloved servant of Jesus Christ, perfect imitator of your meek and humble Savior, and devoted child of Mother of God, enkindle within my heart one spark of that heavenly fire of charity which glowed in your heart and made you an angel of love. O glorious Saint Gerard, because when falsely accused of crime, you did bear, like your Divine Master, without murmur or complaint, the calumnies of wicked men, you have been raised up by God as the patron and protector of expectant mothers. Preserve me from danger and from the excessive pains accompanying childbirth, and shield the child which I now carry, that it may see the light of day and receive the purifying and life-giving waters of baptism through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Husbands and loved ones of expectant mothers can use this prayer too. Just replace “me” with the name of the expectant mother and “I” with “she”.

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For more saints with odd patronages, please visit the Aggie Catholic blog.

Image of St. Gerard and the prayer came from Our Catholic Prayers.com

Working Mom or Stay-at-Home Mom?

Lei suddenly asked me this question: “Kaya ba natin kung ikaw lang ang magtatrabaho?” (Will we be OK if you’re the only one working?)

Her question raised more questions in my mind, like: can we survive if I’m the only one working for the family? Another question is who will take care of our child if Lei continue working?

Lei is currently working as a contractual employee in a government agency. Her salary helps us to make ends meet, especially since we are paying off debts and renting an apartment.

There are advantages for being a working mom. The primary advantage is the income that the working mom earns keeps the family afloat. Another advantage, especially for the career-driven woman, is that the working mom receives personal satisfaction from her professional achievements at work.

On the other hand, being a stay-at-home mom should not be looked down upon since it has its own advantages, number one of which is the focused care that the she brings to her children and the family. A growing child needs full attention, especially during the formative years. They may not be focused in their career but stay-at-home moms derive satisfaction from always being there for their children.

Should Lei stop working and be a stay-at-home mom? We don’t know the answer yet. Well, we have few more months to decide. As of now, Lei keeps her job.

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Image courtesy of jesadaphorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Day 15: Unexpected Happiness

It's more than two weeks since we discovered that Lei is already pregnant. I am very concerned with her health because of the continued bouts of vomiting. What's worst is that her vomiting usually occur after midnight, thus, preventing us from having good sleep. She can't eat well and she can't take her vitamins and other medications.

Because of this, we decided to go to another obstetrician / gynecologist (ob/gyne) for check-up. We were determined  that Lei take all the tests (ultrasound, papsmear, etv.) that the doctor will require.

It is on this day that Lei had her very first ultrasound. It is on this day that my child had his/her very first “selfie”. It is my first time to see him/her and I couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't explain it but I felt so happy seeing an ultrasound view of our child. It caught me by surprise.

6 weeks old embryo (Source: About.com).

Our new ob/gyne reported that our child is already 6 weeks old, about 7 mm in size, and already has heartbeat.

We are excited to actually see our child but we have to Be more patient because Lei continue feeling nausea and vomiting. And more changes to her body will come that will be another struggle.

May our Lord help us.