Motherhood, Marked: The Mother Blessing
Across Europe, women once marked the transition to motherhood through community gatherings, postpartum visits, shared meals, and symbolic gestures of care. These practices acknowledged that becoming a mother is more than a biological event; it is a profound social and personal transformation. Over time, much of this European ancestral knowledge was lost, leaving modern mothers without a clear way to mark this threshold.
In North America, a different tradition existed. Among the Navajo people, the transition into motherhood was honored through a ceremony called a Blessingway; a communal gathering focused on strength, continuity, and support for the mother. Inspired by this approach, and searching for alternatives to commercial baby showers, Western women later created what is now commonly called a “Mother Blessing.”
While the modern Mother Blessing takes inspiration from the idea of honoring the mother rather than gifting the baby, it has evolved into many forms; some spiritual, some symbolic, some purely celebratory.
The way I hold a Mother Blessing ceremony is a contemporary, secular interpretation. It does not attempt to recreate indigenous ceremonies, nor does it claim lost European rituals. Instead, it responds to a very real modern need: to acknowledge, celebrate, and witness the transition into motherhood
I co-organise each Mother Blessing together with the mother-to-be (or the sister, the best friend). I listen to her vision, her boundaries, and her needs, and we co-design a ceremony flow that feels authentic, supportive, and grounded. The focus is not belief, but presence, recognition, and connection.
Activities can include:
The Red Thread Ritual – symbolizing the connection between the women present and the maternal line that came before. The thread becomes a bracelet worn until birth, a visible sign of shared support.
Birth Affirmation Cards – guests share words of strength, reflecting back what they see in the mother and what she can carry into birth and motherhood. Each guest also designs a card with a personal message for the mother. These cards are created for the mother to read during labor and in the early days of motherhood, offering familiar voices she can return to when she needs reassurance and support.
Beads or Keepsake Creation – each guest contributes to a necklace or object (e.g a sun-catcher) the mother can hold during labor and beyond, reminding her she and her baby are not blessed and loved.
Optional elements such as belly painting, sound baths, or rebozo holding, depending on the group and the mother’s wishes.
Ceremonies are intimate and carefully paced: around 1.5 hours for small groups, and 2.5 to 3 hours for larger circles, always centered on the mother.
This Mother Blessing exists because, in modern life, there is almost no moment in which a woman is formally seen crossing into motherhood. This gathering creates that moment; not as a performance, not as something to believe in, but as a human act of acknowledgment, celebration, and care.
Because becoming a mother deserves to be marked.
