Women are valued for their ability to bear children in many cultures. The birth process, though supposedly the most painful experience of a woman's life, is seen as a necessary evil to achieve the end goal of children and motherhood.

And yet, in the face of a typically masculinized Christianity that nevertheless professes that women are equally created in the image of God, shouldn't childbirth--a uniquely feminine experience--itself shape Christian women's souls and teach them about the heart of the God they love and follow?

Drawing on her own experience of giving birth and...