How sound are the reports that the du‘aa’ of the pregnant woman is accepted?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And
your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.’ Indeed, those who
disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible”

[Ghaafir
40:60].

According to the
hadith narrated by an-Nu‘maan ibn Basheer (may Allah be pleased with him),
“Supplication is worship.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (1479); classed as saheeh
by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

So it is
befitting for the believer to offer a great deal of supplication at all
times, and to seek out the times when supplication is answered, for then it
is more likely to be answered. See the answer to question no. 22438.

After
researching the matter, we could not find any evidence to suggest that the
supplication of the pregnant woman is answered; rather she is like any other
woman, unless what the questioner meant by pregnant woman was referring to
the time of labour and delivery, for that is included in the general meaning
of the evidence which indicates that supplication at times of hardship and
difficulty is answered, as in the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted,
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Is
He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and
removes evil”

[an-Naml
27:62].

Undoubtedly the
woman in labour is in one of the hardest and most difficult of situations,
so it is more likely that she will receive a response. For more information
on the circumstances in which supplication is answered, please see the
answer to question no. 22438.

Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning the situations in
which supplication is answered:

… Another such
situation is that of distress. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
answers the one who is in distress if he calls upon Him, for it is known
that the one who is in distress calls upon Allah with sincerity and
humility, and believing that Allah is able to relieve this distress, and
that is why the supplication of the one who is in distress is answered, even
if he is a disbeliever, as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of
the meaning):

“And
when they board a ship, they supplicate Allah, sincere to Him in religion…”

[al-‘Ankaboot
29:65].

End quote from
Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb.

And Allah knows
best.