Rabbi Naftoli Estulin’s first child was delivered by Cesarean section. When his wife became pregnant again shortly afterwards, she was inclined to try bearing the child naturally, but several doctors advised another Cesarean.

In the middle of the pregnancy, Rabbi Estulin was in New York and met with the Rebbe at yechidus. He asked the Rebbe whether they should try for a natural birth or have another Cesarean.

The Rebbe answered that doctors held different views regarding this question; some recommended natural birth, while others thought the risk was too great. Mrs. Estulin, the Rebbe advised, should follow whichever course her doctor thought appropriate. “But whatever he decides,” the Rebbe counseled, “he should postpone the delivery for as long as possible.”

Mrs. Estulin’s doctor favored performing a Cesarean, and proposed a date. Mindful of the Rebbe’s answer, the Estulins asked him to wait a month. The doctor argued that doing so would be dangerous for the mother, but when the Estulins pressed him to listen to the Rebbe, the physician eventually agreed to postpone the operation for two weeks.

After the delivery, the doctor said it was a miracle that they had listened to the Rebbe. The pregnancy had begun a month later than the doctor and the Estulins had calculated. As it was, the child was born prematurely. Had the operation taken place on the day the doctor had suggested, the child might not have survived.