[Avodah] Pregnant women's sakana brought on by sense of smell

[Chana Luntz]

> Any medical types on the list? Is there any syndrome known to 
> modern medicine that sounds like the Mishna on Yoma 82a about 
> a pregnant woman who may eat on Yom Kippur to satisfy a 
> desire brought on by an aroma of food, because she would 
> otherwise be in a sakana if the desire is not satisfied.

I am by no means a medical type, but I have certainly been told that
fasting in late pregnancy can bring on labor (supposedly the delivery
rate at frum hospitals goes up around Yom Kippur).

And certainly when I was 34 weeks with Yonit, and they needed to do a
very minor medical procedure, which normally would only have involved,
at most, the practice nurse at my local doctor's surgery, they insisted
on hospitalising me for two days, on the grounds that "anything can set
off labor at this stage" and they therefore wanted me in for observation
"just in case".   34 weeks, of course today with modern neo-natal units,
is not very risky, but I imagine at the time of chazal it was, as the
lungs are generally not fully formed, and a baby born at that time would
generally need some form of breathing assistance initially.

I assume that the Mishna must be talking about middle to late rather
than early pregnancy, given that a pregnancy is not regarded as
established until three months (at least for nida purposes).

> Kol Tuv
> 
> Chaim Manaster

Regards

Chana