Question:
I am wondering if a miscarriage that the doctor said the fetus grew 8 weeks (counting from the period) until the heart stopped and a D&C was done 10 weeks would it disqualify the next baby a boy from pidyon haben? thanks for this amazing service!
Answer:
The general rule is that if the fetus lived past 40 days and began to develop the form of a body the next child would be exempt from Pidyon. However there is often much doubt about the status of a fetus at this stage. It is often not clear if it actually developed for 40 days, and often even more unclear if there was any begining of a body. Hence, the general procedure is to perform a Pidyon Haben without a bracha, however you should discuss the details with the kohen before the pidyon is performed, as at times a bracha is in fact made, based on the above considerations.
Sources:
See Otzar Pidyon Haben Vol. 1 pg. 92 – 100 for extensive discussion and sources on this topic. He quotes there from Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach that one may rely on an ultrasound to determine the development of the fetus in this regard.
