Has anyone else heard of being "Churched" after the birth of a baby.?

Yes I do know about this and my mother doing it after the birth of my sister now 48 years old.

Being married to a Roman Catholic I was told to be churched after the birth of my first daughter in 1961. I was so appalled at the talk of the "sin" I had participated in (what about the father then?) and the incredible medieval language of the ceremony I refused to do it after the births of my next 2 daughters.
I don't think they still do it and certainly hope not - it put me off religion for life. I always thought it was just a Catholic thing but perhaps not.

I can remember my Mum telling me about being churched, and I don't think it's limited to Catholics as her own mother was churched following my Mum's birth in 1920, and she was a staunch Protestant. Yes, it does seem an archaic principle but perhaps it was designed to give new mums a rest, as they wouldn't be expected to take part in any social occasions at this time, and presumably were also not allowed to engage in sex. Many religious rules and regulations were originally based on valid reasons, but I don't know much at all about the churching rule. As with everything, I wish I had asked more about it while the people concerned were still here to answer my questions!

This was mentioned on another thread & I definitely recall it when I was a child (early 1950s CofE).
My mother thought it very old-fashioned, because it reeked of the whole "unclean" business as you have mentioned.
Later, as a midwife & health visitor, I came across similar practices in other cultures that seemed more to stress the rest period and getting help from family. They mostly seemed more positive, although some had echoes of "keep her away from normal people" that my mother & you so disliked.
Some older women have said to me they thought it might be about keeping the husband from "bothering" the woman whilst she recovered ( a notion that does not speak well of the menfolk!)

Since then I have come across a few religious women who follow the practice of churching, but emphasising the "thanks for giving birth safely" rather than the "unclean-ness".

I can see the point of discouraging visitors as today everyone wants to see a new baby in the first few days !!...and maybe husbands !!!!

After I had my 3rd baby (we had moved to Scotland by then) ..I wrote to a dear friend back in Wigan telling her that I was feeling a bit low ..but the Dr thought it might be the mini-pill he had prescribed when baby was 6 weeks old.
This friend bumped into my Mum in town ..took her for a coffee and showed her the letter, photos etc.

That night my Mum phoned and the one sided conversation went
" Your husband must be an ANIMAL, an ANIMAL....that's all I can say to expect you to ''you know'' so soon after having a baby"...and she put the phone down..me holding the receiver thinking ....'What the hell was that all about ??''...but far too scared to phone back to find out !!!

It was weeks later when my friend wrote and told me she had seen my Mum !!!
and the penny dropped !!!

I could write a book about my Mother ..is it any wonder I didn't have much love for her !!!??

Yes, when I had my first baby my gran said you have to be 'churched', before the christening, and any vicar worth his salt would refuse to christen baby. Luckily the vicar was not living in the dark ages! Gran said, it would'nt havehappened in her day, she went on to be a very loving great gran!

This thread just re-establishes my feelings about organised religion, especially the Roman Catholic faith, which I feel is mainly founded on fear.

I have beliefs regarding a supreme being, it's the middle management on Earth that I have most problem with!

This "orignal sin" business in the Christening ceremony, ffs how can a little baby need to be "cleansed" of sin??!!!!

Sorry if I have offended anyone, I respect those who have faith, but hope (and pray, in my own way,) that they can come to some sort of rationale that fits with the doctrine of their church, as well as life as it is lived today.

I remember my mother being 'churched' after the birth of my sister in 1950. It was a short prayer after the christening involving my mother and the priest and my father explained that it was to thank God for a safe delivery and a healthy baby. I did not discover the alternatively reason for a longtime and assumed for even longer that that meaning for the churching had long disappeared. I certainly do not remember my mother being subject to any superstitions or exclusions before the churching.

I had my children in 1971 and 1973 and nobody, at church or within the family, even mentioned churching to me - and I was a regular churchgoer.

I was brought up a Roman catholic and still am, sort of, and I keep hearing about this fear we are meant to feel but it has completely passed me by and not only me but most of my catholic friends. I am not clear even what it is we are meant to be afraid of. Looking back to my parents and grandparents I can never remember them showing any fear of the wrath of God, even less of the wrath of the parish priest. The nuns at my secondary school were a pretty scary bunch, but not for religious reasons.

When I had my first in 1979 someone mentioned that I should have been 'churched' after the birth. I asked my Mum what they had meant, she told me, and we both had a good laugh about it.

When we arranged his christening (I wasn't an atheist back then) the vicar never even asked if I'd been 'churched'. He just said he loved doing christenings, and he didn't care whether the parents were churchgoers or not. We weren't.

People try to cover up the old reasons for churchings in "welcome the baby" in this country because church-goers here would rightly be appalled if they knew its origins. What grumpy says at the beginning of the thread is what it was really about — the uncleanliness of reproduction. It is still like this in Africa and South America. The Catholic church still has hang ups about sex (think of the damage that is being done in less developed countries by all the claptrap regarding contraception that it indoctrinates uneducated people with) and it's no good pretending that's all in the past. It isn't. It's disgraceful.

I think this is why, Baggy, that the C of E have removed this ceremony from their prayer book (I think I am right??? anyone??) It all goes back to the Book of Leviticus that lists the hygiene laws for Jewish shepherds, thousands of years ago. They had an idea that bodily discharges could pass on diseases so all bodily discharges stood accused. It does make fascinating reading.

Totally agree with phoenix and Baggy.

Banning contraception is just a method of control - keep the population poor and ground down with multiple births and they'll be less likely to question the authority of the church.

You're right Baggy, it is disgraceful.

Jess M nnot sure about that will ask my friend who is about to start as a student lady vicar (an ordinand) she's very Vicar of dibley not sure she would put up with the sinfulness bit.

Baggy Don't let's forget St Paul of Misogyny and his heavenly hierarchy where virgins trump wives.

Heh! absent. Except that I rarely swear, I'd say two rude words to St. Bloody Paul. (Lest anyone has forgotten, bloody doesn't count, especially if you're married to a Welshman. He never says bloody — unless something is, of course — but that's beside the point ).

So I haven't said the rude words, only thought them. Stupid man.

I too have no religious belief, maintaining of course a respect for those who do.
But being a curious & bookish child, brought up (on my mum's side) by devout people, I did spend a good bit of my childhood reading the Prayer Book, the Bible, other religious works, and asking lots of people about what I read.
I had a very religious colleague, a lovely woman, but rather unquestioning about her faith. She cheerfully admitted defeat in any discussion with me, saying most Christians didn't know St. Paul inside out & upside down (so to speak) as I did.
I pointed out to her that whilst I would almost certainly have come to a Humanist position anyway, Saul of Tarsus sped me on my way!

My un-religious mum used to send us to Sunday school where we did scripture exams. (her rationale was that we should understand christianity as part of culture - and also probably she got a bit of peace and quiet)
Consequently i am far more au fait on the Bible than many religious people, including DH who was brought up a catholic.
Mum was right that if you are to understand western history, art and literature it helps to have a grounding in the bible.
I am with Phoenix and Baggy on the hierarchy of the catholic church. In my value system they are a bad lot. To put it politely. Yes I know there are lots of lovely priests who do good things, I am sure, but as an organisation I cannot say a single good word about it.

Brought up as a Catholic (still am, sort of) I always thought 'churching' was a CofE thing. Certainly when I had my kids in the 1970s no such thing was ever mentioned, and I don't know anyone, RC or otherwise, who was ever expected to undergo such a thing.

jess, I did scripture exams at Sunday school. I was really good at them. I used to come out top.

Pity I didn't work so hard at ordinary school!

I was 19 when my first baby was born in 1974. My mother-in-law made a great fuss about me being churched. Me (being young and easily persuaded) agreed. I remember standing in front of the vicar, with baby, and feeling decidedly uncomfortable about the whole thing. I didn't understand it then and still don't.

I hope young Mums don't feel that sort of pressure today xx

Looking back, one thing I find most odd about it, is that it was all carried out in an otherwise empty church...just me, the baby and the vicar!

Positively kinky gotthetshirt
I hope you felt suitably purified.
Actually wasn't part of the tradition giving thanks for survival? Giving birth used to be a dangerous undertaking. Did you have to give thanks or was it just a cleansing ritual?

I'm sure it was both. Isn't it funny how things can disappear from your memory for years and years, then all of a sudden they resurface. This brings up memories of a very overpowering mother in law! Why didn't I just say "no, it's not for me" (she's long gone now!....and her son is now my ex husband.)