Purpose – This paper aims to overview current research on birth rites in Western societies and identify and discuss empirical, theoretical and methodological gaps in the research field. Design/methodology/approach – In the paper, we first give an overview of the main themes in previous research and then we discuss ways we find fruitful to improve research on birth rituals empirically, theoretically and methodologically. The literature review was conducted by combining a scoping review with the snowballing method to summarize the existing knowledge in the research field of birth rites in Western societies. Findings – Five themes are identified in previous research on birth rites (1) Birth rites within religious institutions, (2) Religious birth rites beyond religious institutions, (3) Women’s birth rites and baby girls’ naming rites, (4) Constructing identity in private pre-birth and birth rites and (5) Doing family in life-cycle rites. The review reveals that sociological research has been quantitative and primarily focused on baptism by same-religion and heterosexual core families in the Protestant churches. Originality/value – Little is known about the diverse families’ social and religious/worldview dynamics and how social stratifications affect ritualization. Moreover, qualitative studies and research on ritualization in minority religions and private birth rites are lacking. Studies on social relations in private birth rites are significantly absent. Furthermore, we observe that critical feminist approaches and a non-binary understanding of (non)religion are infrequently employed in studies on family rites and we advocate for these perspectives in research on birth rites. The application of feminist theories challenges entrenched notions of birth rites. It problematizes them by contributing to an understanding of how birth rites may reinforce and challenge norms, faiths and values and affect societal power relations. Private birth rites are often categorized as nonreligious in research.