Ramadan Laws

II. Pregnant and nursing women

1- Is fasting obligatory for a pregnant woman in the first few months of pregnancy?

A: Pregnancy alone does not relieve someone of the obligation of fasting. But, if she has a reasonable fear that fasting would be harmful for herself or the baby, then it is not obligatory for her to fast.

2- A pregnant woman does not know whether fasting will harm the baby or not. Does she have to fast?

A: If she has reasonable grounds to fear that fasting would harm her baby, then it is obligatory for her to break fast, otherwise she must fast.

3- A pregnant woman fasted while she was breast-feeding her baby. When she delivered, the baby was found dead. From the beginning, she thought that her fasting might be harmful, yet she fasted. a) Was her fasting valid? b) Is she liable to pay blood money? c) What is the ruling in her case, if she did not think that fasting would be harmful, but later found it to be otherwise?

A: If she fasted even after she had reasonable fears that fasting would be harmful to her or her baby, or she discovered later that fasting was harmful to herself or her baby, then her fast is invalid, and she has to perform its qada. However, the liability of paying the blood money depends upon proving that it is her fasting that caused the death of the fetus.

4- Upon delivery, God Almighty blessed me with a son who is being breast-fed. The blessed month of Ramadan is approaching and, at present, I am capable of fasting. However, if I fast, my milk will dry up as I have a weak constitution and my baby wants milk every ten minutes. What should I do?

A: If there is fear of harm to your baby due to a decrease in the quantity of milk or the drying up of the milk caused by fasting, it is permissible for you to break the fast. And for every day you missed the fast, you have to give one mudd {750 grams) of food to the poor, in addition to performing the qada of the missed fasts, later.

Adopted from the book : "Questions & Answers About Fast Accroding to Ayatollah Khamenei's Fatwa"