(Lev. 12:6:) “And when the days of her purification are fulfilled [for either a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering….]” Why does she bring an offering? Our masters have said, “She screams a hundred times when she sits on the birthing chair, as stated (Is. 41:24), ‘Behold you are like nothing, and your actions are less than zero.’ What is [the meaning of] ‘less than zero (me’effa)?’
There are one hundred screams (meah puot), ninety-nine for death and one for life. And when the pangs arrive for her, she vows that she will never favor her husband [with sexual intercourse] again. She therefore brings an offering, as stated (ibid.), ‘she shall bring a lamb in its first year.’”