Eating and spirituality when you’re growing a baby

Last updated on: December 12, 2012 at 8:40 pm by Sarah Whedon

Eating and spirituality when you’re growing a baby 2012-12-12T20:40:47-05:00 Sarah Whedon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Food, nutrition, and nourishment can raise a bewildering array of questions during the childbearing year. Can I eat a healthy vegetarian diet while I am pregnant? What foods should I eat and what should I avoid? How much weight should I gain? Should I be concerned about gestational diabetes? Will I breastfeed or bottle-feed my baby?

On top of all that, Pagans who celebrate their physical bodies and their connection to the natural world may also have ritual and theological questions about food. Selina Rifkin, who writes about paganism, food, and spirituality at Cauldron to Kitchen told me that Pagans should care about what we eat because, “As an earth-based religious practice, being embodied is a celebration. But when we are not healthy, it is harder to feel celebratory.”

If treating eating as part of your spiritual life is new to you, getting started might be overwhelming. Selina has a few simple suggestions:

Pay attention to what you eat and when. Are you eating out of habit? Emotion? Eat because you are hungry and honor your food. Learn how to cook if you don’t know. That is a skill all adult humans need. You don’t have to be a gourmet, but you should be able to make yourself real food from scratch, that you enjoy eating. Find out where your food comes from. Talk to the person who produces it if possible. Make the connection between what you eat and how you feel. Be in your body when you eat. Treat your food as sacred. Our ancestors recognized that food becomes part of us. It is who we are, part of our identities.

If you want to go deeper into the topic with Selina, starting next week she will be teaching an open enrollment course at Cherry Hill Seminary on Sacred Nourishment.

We’ll also be exploring some topics specific to childbearing and food in the coming weeks here at Pagan Families. What topics would you like to see addressed?

Sarah Whedon teaches in the Department of Theology and Religious History at Cherry Hill Seminary and is the founding editor of Pagan Families: Resources for Pagan Pregnancy and Birth. Sarah’s teaching, research, and advocacy work center around topics of spirituality, feminism, and reproduction. She makes her home in San Francisco with her partner and their children.

Previous Post

February 7, 2012

Ten Moons: The Inner Journey of Pregnancy, Preparation for Natural Birth

Next Post

February 16, 2012 Eating and spirituality Part 2: From the fields to our bellies

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Adoption birth Birth Guardians birth stories breastfeeding Contraception divorce Flash Points From the Editor's Desk grandparenting home infertility marriage menstruation Miscarriage Pagan Families Parenting poetry postpartum pregnancy review ritual sex education Uncategorized Wednesday Wisdom

Select a Month September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Even the wind and the waves obey him!"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Roman governor John the Baptist The Pharisees Jesus' disciples