Did angels help the first woman give birth for the first time? Yes -- according to The Life of Adam and Eve, a religious text that's part of the Jewish and Christian apocrypha (sacred writing that isn't included in official texts but is still considered to have merit). The text says that, after the first man (Adam) prayed for his wife (Eve), a group of angels arrived to help Eve give birth to the first human being to enter Earth through childbirth: their son Cain.

The highest-ranking angel of all -- Archangel Michael -- was among the angels, and so were two angels from the virtues choir, who specialize in encouragement.

A Wife's Childbirth Pains and a Husband's Prayers

Eve was suffering “awful pains” during childbirth and asked Adam to pray for her, so “Adam prayed to the Lord for Eve” (chapter 20, verse 3).

After Adam and Eve chose to sin, all of God's original design for human beings became infected by sin and changed dramatically. Childbirth was originally meant to be free of pain, but God made it severely painful as part of Eve's punishment for introducing sin into the world. Genesis 3:16 of the Bible quotes God as telling Eve: "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children." That curse continued for all mothers throughout history in a sinful world.

Angels Respond to the Prayers for Help

Angels show up in response to Adam's prayers to help Eve through the birth process.

Chapter 21, verses 1-3 say: “And behold, 12 angels and two excellencies [another word for virtues] came and stood to the right and to the left of Eve.

And Michael stood to the right and touched her from her face to the breast and said to her, ‘Blessed are you, Eve, because of Adam. Since his prayers and utterances are many, I am sent to you that you might receive our help. Now rise and make ready to give birth.’ And she bore a son, and he was lustrous.”