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I don't know much about pregnancy rituals in other cultures but I am Wiccan and I can try to explain how it works in my religion. All life is sacred and a pregnant woman is honored above all others in Wicca for she personifies the Mother aspect of the Goddess. As we worship her in her threefold aspect as Maiden, Mother and Crone. Each time in a woman's life is special and has a ritual. I will not go into any details about the maiden and crone rituals as they do not apply in this particular instance. I will of course focus on the Mother aspect and rituals. As with different cultures you get different rituals in Wicca you get different rituals with different traditions. I will explain one of our rituals of the Silvery Star Tradition. I will be as specific as I can without divulging too many of our secrets. We gather our materials which usually include candles, incense, herbs and our holy water (This is simply water with sea salt that has been left in the light of the full moon all night and blessed by a Priestess, this is a very powerful thing in my religion as the moon is sacred to many Wiccans). The first thing we do is bless the area with holy water and then we cast our circle, the mother to be is placed in the center of the circle. Vesta (The roman Goddess of hearth and home) is invoked at this ritual. The mother is smudged and blessed at this time. Sage is traditional for smudging but it is not to be used in a ritual where a woman is pregnant. It is very bad for the health of the baby so an alternative such as sweetgrass will be used. After the circle is cast and all our candles are lit the Goddess invoked and the mother to be smudged and blessed the HPS (High priestess) will ask for the blessings of Vesta on the mother and babe. The HP (High priest) will then ask the mother if she is ready for the birth of the child and if she has any fears or concerns about the upcoming birth. If she has some and lets face it we all do when pregnant no matter how many babies we have had. The HPS will ask that the Goddess calm the mother to be's fears. The HP will then say a prayer for the birth to be quick and smooth as possible. The HPS and HP will give the customary offerings to the Goddess a prayer is customary at this time. In our tradition the offering consists of a bit of oats, milk and honey. This is taken outside and poured onto the ground after the circle is taken down. After the offering is given the whole coven will feast with the mother to be.

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