Ohalos 7:3-4

Ohalos 7:3

If a corpse is in a house that has many doorways, they are all rendered unclean; if one of them was open, then only that one is rendered unclean and the rest remain clean. If a person resolved to carry the body out through a particular door or through a window of four handbreadths (about 12”x12”), then all the other doors are protected from impurity. Beis Shammai say that this decision must have been made before the deceased person died, while Beis Hillel say that it may have been made even after he died. If a door was sealed and one decided to open it, Beis Shammai say it protects other doorways once he has opened it four handbreadths (about 12”); Beis Hillel say it protects as soon as he’s started unsealing it. They both agree that when making an opening for the first time, it doesn’t protect until he has opened four handbreadths.

Ohalos 7:4

Let’s say that a woman was having difficulty giving birth so they brought her from one house to another. In such a case, the first house is doubtfully unclean and the second house is definitely unclean. Rabbi Yehuda said that this is only when she was carried out under her arms but if she was able to walk, the first house remains clean. This is because once the womb opens, it would not have been possible for her to walk. Miscarriages don’t open the womb unless the head is rounded like a spindle weight.