Fasting While Pregnant and the Weaknesses that Can Result

Translations of fatawa from Naseem al-Sham

Question:

A woman is in the ninth month of her pregnancy and when she fasts, she feels slightly nauseous before ifṭār. Is she allowed not to fast?

Answer (Imam Muḥammad Shuqayr):

Let her consult a just physician. If he tells her not to fast then she is allowed not to fast and she can make the fasts up later. Similarly, if she knows from within herself that she cannot bear the fast because of the state that she is in, she is allowed not to fast and she can make up the fasts later.

Question:

My wife is in the ninth month of her pregnancy and we are in Germany. The fast is long, up to seventeen hours. Should she fast or not fast?

Answer (Imam Muḥammad Tawfīq Ramaḍān):

Giving a fatwā as to whether one should fast or not goes back to the opinion of a trustworthy physician. Thus, one should consult a Muslim physician who is trusted with his religion in order for him to clarify the extent to which she is able to fast, or the extent to which she or the baby could be harmed. In the case of her being harmed, she makes up the fast later and does not have to pay a fidyah. In the case of the baby's being harmed but not her, she makes up the fast later and pays the fidyah.

More Fatawa on Ramadan and Fasting