It is permissible for a pregnant woman not to fast if she fears some harm which she thinks will most likely affect her and/or her baby.

The correct scholarly view is that if a woman miscarries a foetus that was fully formed, then she should stop praying and fasting because this is postpartum bleeding. If the foetus was not fully formed, then her blood is irregular bleeding and she should not stop praying and fasting.

Eleven tips on how to get your children accustomed to fasting: 1. Telling them of the virtues of fasting. 2. Prior experience of getting used to fasting, such as fasting a few days in the month of Sha`ban. 3. Fasting part of the day and increasing the time gradually. 4. Delaying Suhur (pre-dawn meal) until the last part of the night. 5. Encouraging them to fast by giving them rewards each day or each week. 6. Praising them in front of the family. 7. Instilling a spirit of competition for the one who has more than one child. 8. Distracting the one who gets hungry by letting him sleep or play permissible games. 9. It is preferable for the father to take his son — especially after `Asr — to attend the prayer and lessons, and to stay in the mosque to read the Quran and remember Allah. 10. Arranging visits during the day and night to families whose young children are also fasting, so as to encourage them to carry on fasting. 11. Rewarding them with permissible trips after iftar, or making the kinds of food, sweets, fruits and juices that they want.