| Question:
Is it sinful to have marital relations during the pregnancy of the
wife? |
Answer:
Many
have thought that
Pope
Pius XI’s encyclical Casti Connubii teaches
that one may lawfully have marital relations during the wife’s
pregnancy, but Casti Connubii is
highly ambiguous and it is very hard to understand whether it teaches
that one may lawfully have marital relations after the woman have
become pregnant. Casti Connubii teaches
that spouses can perform the marital act during those times when “new
life cannot be brought forth”,
and this is interpreted by some to give permission for spouses to
perform the marital act during a woman’s pregnancy, but the Pope
then goes on to state that this action is only lawful “so
long as they are subordinated to the primary end [that is,
Procreation of children]”
and so, this last sentence seem to teach that one may not perform the
marital act during the pregnancy of the woman, since the primary end
and motive of procreation is already fulfilled.
There is no
official and dogmatic Papal Church teaching, as far as we know, that
directly teaches that marital relations during a pregnancy is a sin,
but that does not mean that it is not a sin, and especially so since
the Popes, Fathers, Saints, and Doctors of the Church throughout the
ages opposed marital relations without the intent to procreate. This
thus seems to be the Catholic Tradition from the beginning.
In contrast to
the lack of quotations from the Popes, Fathers and Saints of the
Church that allows spouses to perform the marital act during
pregnancy, there are, however, many quotations that address this
question directly from the Fathers and early writers of the Church
that rejects this act. The Holy Fathers and Church Tradition (in all
the quotes we’ve found on the subject) unanimously teach that
sexual activity during the infertile period of pregnancy as well as
menstruation must be avoided at all times since it is unnatural and
unreasonable to sow one’s seed when one “awaits the harvest.”
Athenagoras
the Athenian (c. 175 A.D.): “After throwing the seed into the
ground, the farmer awaits the harvest. He does not sow more seed on
top of it. Likewise, to us the procreation of children is the limit
of our indulgence in appetite.” (A Plea For the Christians,
Chapter XXXIII.--Chastity of the Christians with Respect to Marriage)
Nature itself
tells us through our inborn instinct that it is unreasonable and
unnatural to sow a seed in the same place where a seed is already
growing.
In reference to
the same issue, St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195 A.D.) writes: “To…a
spiritual man, after conception, his wife is as a sister and is
treated as if of the same father.” (The Stromata or
Miscellanies, Book VI, Chapter XII)
St. Clement also pointed out that in all the Jewish scriptures there
was not a single instance in which “one of the ancients approached
a pregnant woman” and taught that the avoidance of sexual relations
from the time one’s wife became pregnant to the time of the child’s
weaning was “a law of nature given by God.” (St. Clement of
Alexandria, The
Stromata
or Miscellanies,
Book III, Chapter XI, Section 71, 72)
St. Augustine, in
his book On The Good of Marriage
(A.D. 401), likewise agreed with the Church’s
tradition that performing the marital act during pregnancy is
unreasonable and unnatural since “necessary
sexual intercourse for begetting [of children] is free from blame,
and itself is alone
worthy of marriage. But that which goes beyond this
necessity [of begetting children] no
longer follows reason but lust…”
(Section 11)
He
also taught that marital relations during pregnancy “are the sins
of the married persons themselves, not the fault of marriage.”
St.
Augustine, On
the Good of Marriage,
Section 5, A.D. 401: “There
also are men incontinent to such a degree that they do not spare
their wives even when pregnant.
Therefore, whatever immodest, shameful, and sordid acts the married
commit with each other are the sins of the married persons
themselves, not the fault of marriage.”
In his book
Against
Julian,
St. Augustine shows us that conjugal chastity: “combats
[carnal concupiscence] in even more valiant fashion in regard to the
act of conjugal union, lest there be indulgence beyond what suffices
for generating offspring.
Such
chastity abstains during menstruation and pregnancy, nor has it union
with one no longer able to conceive on account of age.
And the desire for union does not prevail, but ceases when there is
no prospect of generation.” (St. Augustine, Against
Julian,
Book III, Chapter 21:43) Thus
the conception of children is “the one alone worthy fruit… of the
sexual intercourse.” (St. Augustine, On
the Good of Marriage,
Section 1) No other aspect of the marital act can be described as
“worthy.” Therefore, when a husband engages in marital relations
during those times when his wife is pregnant, nursing, or
menstruating, the husband or the wife or both are seen as seeking the
unworthy fruit of sexual pleasure.
Two activities
recommended by some NFP teachers are having sex during
menstruation and during pregnancy, both of which the earliest extant
Church Canons, the Apostolic Constitutions (c. 375 A.D.),
specifically reject: “When the natural purgations do appear in the
wives, let not their husbands approach them, out of regard to the
children to be begotten; for the law has forbidden it, for it says:
"Thou shalt not come near thy wife when she is in her
separation." [Lev. xviii. 19; Ezek. xviii. 6.] Nor,
indeed, let them frequent their wives’ company when they are with
child. For they do this not for the begetting of children, but for
the sake of pleasure. Now a lover of God ought not to be a lover of
pleasure.” (The Sacred Writings of Apostolic
Teaching and Constitutions, Book V, Chap. XXVIII)
St.
Caesarius of Arles (c. 468-542)
tells us that marital relations during a woman’s menstruation can
result in that “the children who are then conceived… be born as
lepers, or epileptics, or perhaps even demoniacs”, thus showing us
that it is a great necessity to abstain from marital relations during
these times in order to not injure our children. He also adds that
married people who perform the marital act during a woman’s
pregnancy are worse than beasts.
St.
Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 44:7: “Above all, no one should
know his wife when Sunday or other feasts come around. Similar
precautions should be taken as often as women menstruate, for the
Prophet says: ‘Do not come near to a menstruous woman.’ [Ezech.
18:6] If a man is aware that his wife is in this condition but
refuses to control himself on a Sunday or feast, the
children who are then conceived will be born as lepers, or
epileptics, or perhaps even demoniacs [that is, he means that it is
common that this happens for such unrestrained and lustful spouses].
Lepers are commonly born, not of wise men who observe chastity on
feasts and other days, but especially of farmers who do not know how
to control themselves. Truly, brethren, if animals without intellect
do not touch each other except at a fixed and proper time, how much
more should men who have been created according to God’s image
observe this? What is worse, there are some dissolute or
drunken men who sometimes do not even spare their wives when they are
pregnant. Therefore, if they do not amend their lives, we are
to consider them worse than animals. Such men the Apostle addresses
when he says: ‘Every one of you learn how to possess his vessel in
holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who
have no hope.’ [1 Thess. 4:4-5]”
St. Ambrose (c.
340-397) could rightly declare that it is shameful to continue to
have sexual relations after pregnancy, and that those people who do
this act “contaminate the former [the child] and exasperate [anger]
the latter [God]”: “Youths generally assert the desire of having
children and think to excuse the heat of their age by the desire for
generation. How much more shameful for the old to do what is shameful
for the young to confess. For even the young who temper their
hearts to prudence by divine fear, generally renounce the works of
youth when progeny [offspring] have been received. And is this
remarkable for man, if beasts mutely speak a zeal for generating, not
a desire for copulating? Indeed, once they know the womb is
filled, and the seed received by the generative soil, they no longer
indulge in intercourse or the wantonness of love, but they take up
parental care. Yet men spare neither the embryo nor God.
They contaminate the former and exasperate the latter.
"Before I formed you in the womb," He says, "I knew
you and sanctified you in your mother’s womb." [Jer. 1:5] To
control your impatience, note the hands of your Author forming a man
in the womb. He is at work, and you stain with lust the secret of the
sacred womb? Imitate the beast or fear God. Why do I speak of
beasts? The land itself often rests from the work of generating, and
if it is often filled with the seeds thrown by the impatient
eagerness of men, it repays the shamelessness of the farmer and
changes fertility to sterility. So even in the elements and the
beasts it is a shame to nature not to cease from generating.” (St.
Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, Exposition of the Gospel According
to St. Luke 1:43-45)
St.
Clement of Alexandria, The
Stromata
or Miscellanies,
Book III, Chapter XI, Section 71, 72, On Marriage and Procreation (c.
198-203 A.D.): “Right from the beginning the law, as we have
already said, lays down the command, “Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour’s wife,” [Ex. 20:17] long before the Lord’s closely
similar utterance in the New Testament, where the same idea is
expressed in his own mouth: “You have heard that the law commanded,
‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ But I say, ‘Thou shalt not
lust.’” [Matt. 5:27-28] That
the law intended husbands to cohabit with their wives with
self-control and only for the purpose of begetting children is
evident… For
this reason you could not point to any place in Scripture where one
of the ancients approached a pregnant woman;
later, after the child is born and weaned, you might find that
marriage relations of husbands and wives were resumed.
You will find that Moses’ father kept this principle in mind. After
Aaron’s birth three years passed before Moses was born. [Ex. 7:7]
Again, the tribe of Levi observed this law of nature given by God,
although they were fewer in number than any others which came into
the promised land. [Num. 3:39] For a tribe does not easily grow to
great numbers if their men have intercourse only within the legal
marriage relationship and then wait until the end not only of
pregnancy but also of breast-feeding.”
St.
Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata or Miscellanies,
Book II, Chapter XXIII, On Marriage and Procreation (c. 198-203
A.D.): “Far more excellent, in my opinion, than the seeds of wheat
and barley that are sown at appropriate seasons, is man that is sown,
for whom all things grow; and those seeds temperate husbandmen ever
sow. Every foul and polluting practice must therefore be purged
away from marriage; that the intercourse of the irrational
animals may not be cast in our teeth, as more accordant with nature
than human conjunction in procreation. Some of these, it must
be granted, desist at the time in which they are directed, leaving
creation to the working of Providence.”
Origen
(c. 184-254), Homilies
on Genesis,
Homily V, Section 4, On Lot And His Daughters: “Let the married
women examine themselves and seek if they approach their husbands for
this reason alone [for having children], that they might receive
children, and
after conception desist.
For
those [virtuous] women... when they have attained conception,
[rightly] do not later assent to copulation with a man.
But
some women, for we do not censure all equally, but there are some who
serve passion incessantly, like animals without any distinction, whom
I would not even compare to the dumb beasts. For even the beasts
themselves know, when they have conceived, not to further grant
opportunity to their males.
The divine Scriptures also censures such when it says: "Do not
become like the [sterile] horse and the mule who have no
understanding," [Ps. 31:9] and again, "They have become
stallions." [Jer. 5:8] But, O people of God, "who love
Christ in incorruption," [Eph. 6:24] understand the word of the
Apostle in which he says: "Whether you eat or drink or whatever
else you do, do all to the glory of God." [1 Cor. 10:31] For his
remark after eating and drinking, "whatever else you do,"
has designated with a modest word the immodest affairs of marriage,
showing that even these acts themselves are performed to the glory of
God if they are attended to with a view to posterity [offspring]
alone.”
“In
fact, a good Christian should not only observe chastity for a few
days before he communicates, [that is, before he receives the Holy
Eucharist] but he should never know his wife except from the desire
for children. A man takes a wife for the procreation of children, not
for the sake of lust. Even the marriage rite mentions this: ‘For
the procreation of children,’ it says. Notice that it does not say
for the sake of lust, but ‘for the procreation of children.’ I
would like to know, dearly beloved, what kind of a harvest a man
could gather if
he sowed his field in one year as often as he is overcome by
dissipation and abuses his wife without any desire for children.
If those who are unwilling to control
themselves
plowed and sowed repeatedly their land which
was already sown,
let us see in what kind of fruit they would rejoice. As you well
know, no land can produce proper fruit if it is sown frequently in
one year. Why,
then, does a man do with his body what he does not want done with his
field?”
(St. Caesarius of Arles, Sermon
44:3)
God desires all
couples to have some abstinence from the marital act sometimes during
the year, as St. Paul tells us, so that their prayer life and
spiritual growth can happen without them at every time being weighed
down by the mass of carnal thoughts and temptations.
St.
Finnian of Clonard (470-549), The
Penitential of Finnian,
#46: “We advise and exhort that there be continence in marriage,
since marriage without continence is not lawful, but sin, and
[marriage] is permitted by the authority of God not for lust but for
the sake of children, as it is written, ‘And the two shall be in
one flesh,’ that is, in unity of the flesh for the generation of
children, not for the lustful concupiscence of the flesh. Married
people, then, must mutually abstain during three forty-day periods in
each single year, by consent for a time, that they may be able to
have time for prayer for the salvation of their souls; and
after the wife has conceived he shall not have intercourse with her
until she has borne her child,
and they shall come together again for this purpose, as saith the
Apostle.
But if they shall fulfill this instruction, then they are worthy of
the body of Christ… and there they shall receive the thirty-fold
fruit which as the Savior relates in the Gospel, he has also plucked
for married people.” (Medieval
Handbooks of Penance
by John T. McNeil and Helen Gamer. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1938)
Thus,
the teaching of the Church Fathers is very clear that all sexual
relations during pregnancy are to be avoided. “The procreation of
children is the remit and ordinance of those who are joined together
in marriage; and their objective is that their children be good....
See
how Moses in his great wisdom symbolically rejected sowing one’s
seed fruitlessly, saying "You shall not eat the leopard or the
hyena"
[Deut. 14:7]. He did not want human beings to share their character
or to experience lust of the same magnitude as theirs, for it is said
that these animals suffer from a mad frenzy to have sexual
intercourse.... It is lawful for you to take sensual pleasures only
from your wife in order to beget legitimate offspring, for only these
pleasures are lawful according to the Word.... For
this reason, Moses himself prohibited his people from sleeping even
with their own wives in cases where they were subject to menstrual
flows....
For pleasure alone, when experienced in marital intercourse, is
unlawful, unjust and foreign to reason. Again,
Moses ordered men not to sleep with pregnant women until they gave
birth...”
(St Clement of Alexandria, The
Paedagogus,
c.
198 A.D.)
It is bad
to touch a woman during pregnancy since it gives the child in the
womb “many sinful impulses” according to Anne Catherine Emmerich
In the revelation
of Anne Catherine Emmerich, entitled the “Life of the Blessed
Virgin Mary”, we read the following interesting points about
marital relations during pregnancy:
“It
was explained to me here that the Blessed Virgin was begotten by her
parents in holy obedience and complete purity of heart, and that
thereafter they lived together in continence in the greatest
devoutness and fear of God. I was at the same time clearly
instructed how immeasurably the holiness of children was encouraged
by the purity, chastity, and continence of their parents and by their
resistance to all unclean temptations; and how continence after
conception preserves the fruit of the womb from many sinful impulses.
In general, I was given an overflowing abundance of
knowledge about the roots of deformity and sin.” (Anne
Catherine Emmerich, Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
II. The Immaculate Conception)
Despite this,
many lustful people will not agree with what Anne
Catherine Emmerich had to say here, and some may even be
offended by it. The reason for this is because these people and
others want to deceive themselves into thinking that there is nothing
wrong about lust or concupiscence. Yes, they even claim this even
though they know and are fully aware of that lust leads countless of
souls to Hell and eternal damnation. However, whether
or not they want to agree with it or not, it’s just a
fact that the sexual lusts and temptations that urges people to
commit sins of the flesh is an evil product of the fall, and of
original sin. In other
words, humans were not originally intended to experience
concupiscence and temptations of the flesh according to God’s
perfect plan for humanity, but it ended up in that way because of
Adam and Eve’s transgression. If a person is honest with himself he
will understand that this is true. However, most people want to
deceive themselves and therefore choose to overlook this fact.
In summary, the
definition or meaning of the revelation of Anne Catherine Emmerich is
that lust is evil and that a couple’s marital relations during
pregnancy will effect the child in a negative way, inflicting many
sinful impulses upon the child. Anne Catherine Emmerich is clear that
“continence after conception preserves the fruit of the womb
from many sinful impulses.”
The sensuality and sinful impulses that will be aroused by
many spouses’ sexual relations during pregnancy is thus a great
evil that will affect both husband and wife, and their future child,
in a negative way. Parents are inextricably bound together to their
children after the conception of the child according to the book of
Tobit in the Holy Bible, and any act the parent will do, whether good
or evil, will effect their child for better or for worse. Why is it
that some children are tempted more to commit sin than others? It is
in almost every case, because of the parents’ lustfulness or sins.
Because of this, parents should to do all in their power to abstain
from marital relations during all pregnancies.
The biblical Book
of Tobit also teaches that the virtue and abstinence of the parents
will effect whether their children will be born whole or with defects
of different kinds. Thus, we read that “the third night [of
praying and observing chastity before having sexual relations] thou
shalt obtain a blessing that sound children may be born of you.”
The blessing on the third night of “sound children” obviously
means that those couples who do not perform the marital act for the
sake of lust or too often, and who are virtuous and wait for three
days in accordance with the promise of Holy Scripture, will receive a
child without birth deformities or defects. This may be hard for many
to believe, but this is really and truly what Holy Scripture is
promising and saying.
Tobias
6:18, 20-22 “[St. Raphael said to Tobias:] But thou when thou shalt
take her, go into the chamber, and for three days keep thyself
continent from her, and give thyself to nothing else but to prayers
with her. … But the second night thou shalt be admitted into the
society of the holy Patriarchs. And the third night thou shalt
obtain a blessing that sound children may be born of you. And
when the third night is past, [of praying and observing chastity]
thou shalt take the virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather
for love of children than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham thou
mayst obtain a blessing in children.”
It is sad to see
that none today seem to care anything about these promises or
virtuous deeds that promise these remarkable and wondrous graces that
Our Lord said he would bless a virtuous couple with. One could think
that even a worldly or ungodly couple would appreciate the grace of
not receiving a child that is deformed and that they, if they
believed in God or were aware of these promises, would act in
accordance to the words of the Holy Scripture; but now neither
“Catholics” or so-called Christians nor any people of the world
care anything about these words of our Lord that promises the
inestimable grace of receiving “a blessing that sound children may
be born of you.”
St.
Bridget was also revealed the truth of the spiritual danger of having
marital relations during pregnancy in a spiritual revelation. In it
she saw a man that was tormented in purgatory. St. Bridget was
allowed to communicate with this tormented soul. She asked the man
about the specific reasons why he escaped Eternal Hell. He answered
saying: “The third [reason I escaped being eternally condemned to
burn in Hell] is that I obeyed my teacher who advised me to abstain
from my wife’s bed when I understood that she was pregnant.” (The
Revelations of St. Bridget,
Book 9 or Appendix)
In
truth, Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich’s Revelations of what Our
Lord preached during his earthly life also shows us that
He
“rigorously commanded perfect continence after the period of
conception.” “Jesus
once more spoke to them of the duties of the married state. . . . He
inculcated the observance of modesty and purity, bade them in all
their actions to aim at purity of intention, exhorted them to prayer
and renunciation, and
rigorously commanded perfect continence after the period of
conception (Volume
Three, pp. 515–516).” “Jesus
then explained to them that they who enjoy [themselves] on earth have
to render an account hereafter, and that this life is one of penance
(Volume Three, p. 540).” (The
Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations of Anne Catherine
Emmerich)
In
addition to the above facts, it is also evident that many spouses may
be more inclined to commit some form or another of sexual sin during
this time period and that they might put too much heart or affection
in the sexual act at this time due to the fact that conception cannot
occur again, and so they might indulge a little too often or
unreasonably and love the act a little too much, and more than what
is suitable. “For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
(Luke 12:34) “Men
shall be… lovers of pleasure more than of God.” (2
Timothy 3:1-5)
Thus, it is
totally clear that those who are having marital relations during
pregnancy, and who do not practice virtue, are endangering their own
and their child’s spiritual welfare. During pregnancy, the primary
purpose of procreation that the Church teaches that spouses always
must perform the marital act for is not possible to be fulfilled and
thus, it is a defective action to have marital relations during this
time. We see this distinction being made in the Church’s teachings
in these words: “Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined
primarily by nature for the begetting of children” (Pope Pius XI
Casti Connubii, #54).
Marital relations
during pregnancy can also sometimes be dangerous to the child and
lead to a premature birth or a stillborn child. Many times there also
exist a high risk for preterm labor or a medical condition, such as
infection, or any other valid reason that makes it absolutely
necessary to abstain from the marital act. If the doctor has said
that it can cause further complications to the pregnancy – or if
there is any risk to engage in marital intercourse during this time
period – it is a mortal sin to deliberately engage in marital
intercourse at this time. And the husband has no right to ask for the
debt during this period. No masturbation, oral sex or other sinful
acts are allowed as a substitute during this time period either.
The
fact of the matter is that you endanger your child’s well-being by
having sex during pregnancy, and that is a fact of science. Dr.
Desouza comments concerning this issue and makes clear the many
dangers with having sex during the pregnancy of the woman:
“Just remember, sex may trigger labour. You wouldn’t want a
miscarriage or a premature delivery, would you? Avoid sex if you are
pregnant [and] 1. have had episodes of previous miscarriages 2. have
experienced difficulty conceiving 3. have had episodes of lower
pelvic/back pain and spotting/bleeding during your first trimester 4.
you are told by your obstetrician that you are at high risk of
premature labour. There are many reasons that put you on a high
risk of premature labour. Carrying more than 1 baby (e.g.
twins, triplets), previous infections (especially HPV infections),
smoking during pregnancy and having had previous premature births are
some of the reasons to name a few.”
It is no
coincidence that there are complications to pregnancy by having sex
during pregnancy, for God speaks to us commonly through signs and
effects in this world, and one of His greatest ways to get heard in
this world is to inflict some suffering on us, as He does when He
allows illnesses, plagues, or wars to harm us, similar to how a
parent chastises his disobedient son.
Doctors usually
recommend some abstinence after labor, usually four to six weeks
before resuming intercourse. This allows time for the woman to heal
after birth. Total abstinence, if needed, is required during this
time period according to the doctor’s recommendation.
The Old Testament
also confirms that Our Lord wants spouses to practice chastity for a
while after the birth of the child.
Leviticus
12:1-5 “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to the
children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: If a woman having
received seed shall bear a man child, she shall be unclean seven
days, according to the days of the separation of her flowers. And on
the eighth day the infant shall be circumcised: But she shall remain
three and thirty days in the blood of her purification. She shall
touch no holy thing, neither shall she enter into the sanctuary,
until the days of her purification be fulfilled. But if she shall
bear a maid child, she shall be unclean two weeks, according to the
custom of her monthly courses, and she shall remain in the blood of
her purification sixty-six days.’”
Since the Old
Testament teaches that a person who becomes defiled cannot touch
other people during the time that they are unclean, this shows us
that God wants the spouses to abstain from the marital act for a
while after they have received the child.
One must really
marvel over how the members of the Christian Church, (who should be
more virtuous than the people of the Jewish Old Testament religion)
have fallen into this degraded and filthy custom of having marital
relations during a woman’s pregnancy or menstrual period. The Old
Law was only a shell and a sign of the future things in the New Law,
and even the Old Law forbade marital relations on many more occasions
than the New Law does. The reason of why the Old Law forbade things
that now are not sinful is because in the New Law, Our Lord wants us
to do many good things, not because we are forced to do it, but only
because we know that they are good in themselves, which is a more
virtuous and meritorious act. Christian spouses should obviously act
and live more virtuously and holy than those people in the Old Law
did, since all Christians have received more graces and knowledge of
Our Lord than those in the Old Law, and it is really a blemish on the
Christian community that this is not happening. The amount of graces
that are lost because of these filthy and unnecessary acts of lustful
spouses is, sad to say, immeasurable and inestimable. “Men shall
be… lovers of pleasure more than of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
It must also be
made perfectly clear that natural infertility during pregnancy on the
part of the woman is not a reward for the spouses to
have “great sex” because they were “good” in fulfilling the
marital duty (the procreation and education of children), as so many
people today nowadays actually (and falsely) seem to believe.
It is reasonable
to conclude that if women were not infertile during pregnancy, many
bad husbands would be endangering the life of their wives by exposing
them to too many childbirths at too short time intervals.
Consequently, if women were not infertile during pregnancy, many more
mortal sins would be committed by married and unmarried men since
they then would be inclined to seek relief of their fleshly lusts in
other ways or by other women, so as not to endanger the life of their
own wife or mistresses.
Indeed, to St.
Jerome and the rest of the Saints and Fathers of the Church, the
indulgences granted to the marital act was not something good or
praiseworthy because it only acts as a relief valve to avoid a
greater evil: “Thus
it must be bad to touch a woman. [1 Cor. 7:1] If indulgences is
nonetheless granted to the marital act, this is only to avoid
something worse. [1 Cor. 7:6] But what value can be recognized in a
good that is allowed only with a view of preventing something worse?”
(St. Jerome)
St.
Clement of Alexandria (c. 198 A.D.): “Marriage in itself merits
esteem and the highest approval, for the Lord wished men to "be
fruitful and multiply." [Gen. 1:28] He did not tell them,
however, to act like libertines, nor did He intend them to surrender
themselves to pleasure as though born only to indulge in sexual
relations. Let the Educator (Christ) put us to shame with the word of
Ezekiel: "Put away your fornications." [Eze. 43:9] Why,
even unreasoning beasts know enough not to mate at certain times. To
indulge in intercourse without intending children is to outrage
nature, whom we should take as our instructor.”
(The
Paedagogus
or The
Instructor,
Book II, Chapter X.--On the Procreation and Education of Children)
Thus, in
conclusion, we see that spouses should avoid all sexual acts during
pregnancy since:
1. The passions
of the mother and father are passed on to the embryo.
2. These
passions disrupt in utero the child’s spiritual or physical
development, or affect it in negative ways.
3. These passions are
sinful according to the Fathers and Saints, and should be avoided.
4.
Intercourse during pregnancy is, consequently, a form of sinful
passion.
5. Therefore, one should refrain from intercourse during
pregnancy for the sake of the child’s spiritual and physical
development.
This shows us that because of the points 1-5,
marital intercourse should be limited as much as possible, as not
only sex during pregnancy effects one’s child detrimentally, but
also one’s own lustfulness after the birth. This is, in fact, what
is taught by the Fathers and the Saints, as well as many historical
church authorities.
For those who want to read and learn a lot more on sexual ethics, I can recommend the following interesting and informative article that is absolutely packed with quotes from the popes, saints and fathers of the Church:
Sexual Pleasure, the Various Sexual Acts, and Procreation
