35 Encouraging Scriptures for Labor and Delivery
Giving birth is a sacred moment and also a very human moment. These powerful birth Scriptures you can recite, pray, and memorize over your birth process while you are in labor and delivery.
Prayer and Scripture doesn’t guarantee a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, or uncomplicated birth, but the reassurances of God’s love, help, and presence was incredibly helpful and hopeful to me during each of my three deliveries.
35 Bible Verses for Labor and Delivery
Use this list of verses to encourage your heart and focus your mind during labor and delivery whether you are having a natural birth (unmedicated birth), getting an epidural, or having a scheduled c-section these favorite Scriptures will guard your heart and mind as you go through the birthing process.
As you near your due date and the end of your pregnancy, read through this list of Bible verses and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to a verse or verses to speak, claim, and pray over your little one, yourself, and your family members.
25 Heart Strengthening and Anxiety Fighting Scriptures for Giving Birth
God’s Word is full of encouragement and hope to hold onto in hard times. Giving birth, postpartum or having pregnancy complications is definitely one of those seasons! Hold tight to these spiritual truths!
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. -Joshua 1:9
I love this call to strength and courage for labor and delivery! Along with the promise that God is WITH you in this sacred moment.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. -Psalm 23:4
No matter how dark things get, God’s presence brings comfort. While I only chose one verse here, all of Psalm 23 is a great passage to repeat over yourself during labor and delivery.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. -Psalm 46:1
God’s presence both empowers and holds us through labor and birth.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”…He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. -Psalm 91:1-2,3
This is part of a beautiful Psalm that has been close to me when I struggled with anxiety around my kids. We are safe and snuggled under the wings of our loving Father no matter what comes.
If God hadn’t been there for me I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” Your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, You called me down and cheered me up. -Psalm 94:17-19
The idea of God’s love holding me close gave me courage and peace during my labor with my third child, when I claimed this verse for myself.
Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. -Psalm 119:165
The promise of God’s peace and stability is so powerful, especially as a new mom who feels like much of life is changing.
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. -Proverbs 16:9
While it’s okay to plan, hold all your birth and parenting plans loosely. The Lord will guide and direct you–even if it’s somewhere unexpected.
You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you; because he trusts in you. -Isaiah 26: 3
Fixing our mind on the truth of Scripture and who God is will allow us to have peace and faith despite any outcome.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. -Isaiah 41:10
God is holding you by your hand–close and safe. He is willing and able to strengthen you and calm your fears.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. -Jeremiah 29:11
God’s plans may not always make sense to us, but we can rest knowing they are for our good, welfare, peace, and overall (spiritual, mental, and physica)l well-being.
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. -Zephaniah 3:17
What a beautiful word picture of our Father God, singing a sweet lullaby over our lives.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. -Matthew 6:33-34
There are so many things you could be anxious and stressed about during pregnancy and postpartum. Soak in this promise instead and turn your mind away from the paths of worry your mind could choose to go down.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7
Allow prayer to be your weapon against anxiety during this time when emotions are high. Ask friends and family to pray for peace to guard your heart and mind from fear and anxiety.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. -2 Corinthians 12:9
You may not feel strong enough for the birth process. I know I certainly didn’t. This verse reminds that God’s power is accessible to us via his grace and we don’t have to be “strong enough” because God is!
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength. -2 Timothy 4:17
I repeated this verse to myself over and over again during my last pregnancy and delivery. I imagined Jesus right in my room with me, at my side transfusing His strength into me.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. -James 1:2-3
Pregnancy and giving birth stretches your perseverance in extraordinary ways. Even though the trial and pain you go through isn’t amazing, the joy awaiting you is worth it.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. -1 Peter 5:7
I love how the Amplified version puts this verse: “Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” God will not be caught unaware about anything happening in your life, ever. He knows and He cares. You can surrender your worries to Him.
10 Verses About God’s Value of and Joy in Children
God’s kingdom places a high value on life in the womb and outside of the womb. God’s promises of joy and blessings as our families expand are evident in Scripture.
These verses are also appropriate to share at baby showers, in cards, and gifts for new parents. Remember one of the best gifts you can give a new mom is to commit to praying Scripture for her, her baby and her partner.
Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. -Psalm 8:2
God does kingdom work through the praise of even his littlest children.
Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heavens I will be exalted in all the earth. -Psalm 46:10
Even in the middle of labor, we can still ourselves in God’s presence and entrust ourselves to His care.
Behold, children are a heritage of the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. -Psalm 127:3
Children are a good gift from the Lord and soon your little life will be with you!
For you formed my inmost being; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in the secret place, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. -Psalm 139:13-16
God is intimately involved in the creation and growth of a child in the womb. He has great things in store for your child!
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart. -Jeremiah 1:5
God doesn’t wait until a child is born to place a calling on our lives!
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. -Luke 18:16
Children are high priority in God’s kingdom. We ought to treasure them as God treasures them.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. -Isaiah 54:13
God will grant peace to our children as they learn and grow in their faith.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. -James 1:17
Children are one of God’s good gifts to us!
Scriptures I Claimed for my Births
I honestly don’t remember what verse I specifically claimed during my first pregnancy with my daughter Layla, but looking back I think Proverbs 16:9 would best exemplify that experience.
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
Truly nothing went according to my birth plan, but God graciously directed each piece of our story and we were blessed to bring our sweet baby home safe and sound.
Pregnancy and birth for me involved a lot of waiting, was hard, and even scary at times. But God wrote each of my birth stories well. One verse I personally claimed during the birth of my second child (my first son) was 2 Timothy 4:17.
“But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength.”
It played over and over in my head during the labor, delivery, and recovery period–God was with us, strengthening and enabling us through the hard moments.
You can read more about Barrett’s birth story here.
For me, in my third pregnancy (second son), I claimed Psalm 94:17-19.
“If God hadn’t been there for me I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” Your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, You called me down and cheered me up.
That birth was probably the most complicated on the baby side of things, but God’s faithfulness was also super evident.
You can read more about Griffin’s birth story here.
I pray you can find one of this list of Scriptures and claim one as your own for your pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum period. Or you may claim multiple Scripture verses! No matter how hard or easy labor might be your sweet baby at the end is worth it all.
