Thank you for the interpretation of pregnancy in Scripture, “Was conception/pregnancy more difficult in Biblical/Old Testament times or simply more valued?“
I would think that conception to delivery of a baby is more difficult in the Old Testament. The reason being that today, we have more medical understanding of conception to delivery with tools to help with fertilization to the delivery of a baby.
We have pain killers or numbing agents that would decrease the woman’s pain in child’s birth. We have means to help breached babies or even the surgical procedure of C-Section for a difficult birth.
If one was to compare a natural birth or home delivery without modern medication or tools, I would guess the delivery today would be harder since women in the Old Testament worked side by side with their husband in the field. Today, we just sit in our office for the most part.
As to the value of conception, I would say that women in the Old Testament valued pregnancy much more. The birth of a son was the desire of every husband and wife to continue their legacy. God promised the Jewish people that he would bless their womb if they obey his commands.
The idea of aborting a baby was not in their culture, but today that is an accepted practice. The gender of a baby is not as important as to the health of the baby. For the Jewish people, the ability to conceive and to have a son would mean their legacy would live on. In the Jewish culture, the inability of a husband and wife not to be able to have a child would reflect disappointment and shame for her. Today, many couples don’t want a child so that they can live their own lifestyle. Having a child changes the family dynamics.
SUMMARY: A woman being infertile in the Old Testament had to live with it while a woman in the 21st century have a variety of means to become pregnant with modern technology. The Old Testament women cherished having children, especially sons, while our 21st century woman may not see the necessity of having any child at all.
-Kingston