Shulchan Arukh Yoreh De'ah · Siman 194

English

A woman giving birth: even if she has not seen blood, is ritually impure as though she were a menstruating woman; whether she delivered a live child, or whether she delivered a stillborn child and even if she miscarried. And how many are the days of her ritual impurity? Now, in this time, all of the childbearers are considered as those delivering in a flow and require to count seven clean days; it follows to say that one who delivers a male sits seven for the birth and seven clean (day)s for the blood-flow, and one who delivers a female sits two weeks for the birth and seven clean (day)s for the blood flow. The days of birth, which are 7 for a male and 14 for a female, if she did not see (any blood) on them, they count for the accounting of her blood-flow; and if seven clean days are completed within the 14 for a female child, such a woman is forbidden until the night of the 15th (day); and if she had immersed prior to that, the immersion does not count for her. Rema: And after 7 for a male and 14 for a female, she is permitted to her husband immediately, on account of the fact that she had counted seven clean (day)s and she did not further see (blood-flow). Nevertheless, there are places where the custom is that they do not immerse within 40 (days) for a male and 80 for a female (Beit Yosef citing the Mahari"k, who brought the tanya, and in the Agudah ch. A"P (Arvei Pesachim?) and in the Mahari"l), and one ought not be lenient in a place where they were accustomed to be stringent (Riv"sh); but in a place where there were no set custom, one ought not be strict at all - just as soon as she has not seen blood after the seven for a male and fourteen for a female, and has counted seven clean days, she is permitted to her husband (T"H - Torat haAdam? - section 255). But if she has once again seen, even a drop of blood the size of a mustard seed, she is ritually impure - even though according to biblical ruling it is pure blood - the custom has already spread throughout all of Israel that we do not engage in sexual relations over pure blood (Beit Yosef, and Agur, and Tur, and decisors citing the geonim), and its ruling is like the other cases of blood in every way.

English

One who miscarries within (the first) forty (days of pregnancy) - she should have no concerns for (status of delivering) a birth but does have concerns as regards menstruation, even if she has not seen (blood). Rema: Since there opening of the "grave" without blood is by definition impossible, and we derive from this that immediately after she has counted seven clean (day)s, she is permitted, and she need have no concern for delivering (d"'a).

English

One who miscarries (a fetus with an appearance) like some sort of animal, beast or bird; like fishes or grasshoppers or creeping or crawling things, and any appearance of delivered child, whether amniotic sac or placenta or a piece that when they tore it there was a bone inside - now that we are not expert in (varied embryonic) forms, she should be concerned that it was a (potentially viable) delivered child; and if seven clean days were completed within fourteen days, if she had immersed prior to the night of the fifteenth, the immersion did not count for her.

English

She delivered a quick child and afterwards she delivered a placenta, she need not be concerned regarding an additional delivered child, but rather accounts it to the child that she had already delivered - until 23 days (have passed). But if she miscarried a fetus first, she does not consider to be related to it any placenta that she may deliver after, and she must be concerned for that placenta to give her the days of ritual impurity for (delivering) a female.

English

If the placenta came out first, we do not account it for the child which she will deliver afterwards, even if it is viable, and we are concerned for the placenta that it gives her days of ritual impurity for (delivery) a female.

English

If a bit of the placenta came out on the first day, and did not finish coming out until the second day, she is concerned as of the first day but does not begin counting other than from the second day.

English

One who miscarries (a fetus with the) appearance of an animal, a beast or a bird, and it had the placenta attached to it, need not be concerned for any further childbirth; and if it is not attached to it, must be concerned for a further birth; and even though the child appeared to be male, we are concerned to give her days of ritual impurity of a female on account of the placenta.

English

If one should deliver a child with no visible sex organs, or a hermaphrodite, we give her the days of ritual impurity of a female child.

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If she felt that she was miscarrying and she did not know what, even if she was not considered likely pregnant - this is (nonetheless) the ritual impurity of birth, and she must be concerned as though it had been female.

English

If the child were dismembered within her and came out a limb at a time, whether it came out in order of the limbs (such as that the foot came first, then the thigh, then the hip) or whether it came out of order, she is not considered ritually birth-impure until most of it has come out; and if the entire head came out as a unit, this is considered as "most of it"; and if had not been dismembered, and came out naturally, once its forehead has emerged it is considered as born even though it may be dismembered thereafter. And the final matter is not that is actually emerged (from her body), but that even if it emerged from the birth canal.

English

Once the fetus put forth its hand and drew it back, the mother becomes ritually birth-impure.

English

If the mother was in difficult childbirth and she heard the cry of the baby, it is considered as a born child, because it would be impossible if the baby had not brought its head outside of the birth canal.

English

If a woman gives birth to twins and one of the babies delays after its fellow is born, such as when one was born before the sun set and the other after the sun set, once the first has emerged - she (the mother) is ritually impure and counts impurity-days from when the last one emerged; and if the first is recognized to be male and the second is recognized to be female, or that it is not recognizable whether the second is male or female, she counts starting from when the second emerged the ritual-impurity days for a female.

English

A Caesarean birth - if no blood emerges, even through her uterine wall, its mother is pure from birth-impurity and from menstruation-impurity and from blood flow-impurity.