[phoenixqueen]

Ok, desperately looking for help...

My friend and I are working on a Post RotK story that is slightly AU (we're trying to keep it as close to canon as possible) and we were planning to have one of the little twists be that Arwen is pregnant...unfortunately, neither of us know anything about Elvish childbearing, and we are seeking any info that anyone can give us.

The only thing I do remember about this subject is that the elven child was born a year after the date of their conception...of course, I might be wrong about this.

Can anyone help????

[Leila]

You could try this page: http://www.ansereg.com/what_tolkien_officially_said_abo.htm

I think it might help you at least a little bit. It's interesting in the very least.....

[sindohte]

PQ,

When you say childbearing do you mean the length of time an Elf would carry a child to term or are you talking about the actual birth process? If you are talking about childbirth and need input, there is a huge group of lovely ladies who would be happy to share their experiences (Thankfully, I am not one as of yet). I always figured that Elvish birthing customs would be similar to our form of midwifery.

[Beruthiel]

Hi,

if you need info on midwifery practices, just ask. I am one of those earthy, granola crunching back-to-nature homebirthing freaks

Beruthiel

[BittenBuggy]

Its bloody miserable!


Nah, do you have a copy of LACE yet?

[Roisin]

There's a question in my mind whether Arwen's half/human half/half Elven babies would gestate for 9 months or a year. You could probaby choose either one without going too far wrong.

I would say that in addition to basic midwifery, Elvish midwives or healers would probably be able to do a cesarean birth if necessary, and possibly an emergency hysterectomy if the mother was bleeding unconrollably after birth.

Roisin

[Beruthiel]

Somehow I cannot reconcile the sterile and highly technological practice of dangerous and advanced abdominal surgery with Tolkien's vision of a pretechnological world.

[Yavanie]

I can't imagine a cesarean in Tolkien's world either.

Ditto, Beruthiel, had my last one at home. Hugely better experience than with either of the other two in hospitals.

Want details, just ask, for me giving birth is relatively easy (big hips, and a high pain tolerance). Anyway, it seems to be from what I hear from others experiences.

[phoenixqueen]

Ok, I guess I'd better clarify my question...

What my friend and I want to know are some of the little details, like would Arwen suffer from Morning Sickness, how vulnerable would she be to a miscarriage (and under what circumstances), that kind of stuff...

However, any info that anyone could give me on ANY part of the whole process would be welcome. (midwifery, etc.)

BittenBuggy, I do not have a copy of LACE yet, though I am looking to get it at sometime when the finances permit and after I have gotten through all the mounds of reading that I am required for my college classes (those kinda projects barely leave enough time for writing, let alone trying to struggle through Tolkien's incredibly detailed world).

[Viv]

[SilverMoonLady]

1. Go get a decent pregnancy book:) That's where you find out the why and how often of the little risks and discomforts of pregnancy. Things like: morning sickness can be nonexistent or an all-day thing, depending on who you are and who you're carrying:)

2. Gestation duration: due to her mixed heritage, you can probably get away with anything between the human and elvish standards.

3. Grace: none of us felt particularly graceful or comfortable during most of the pregnancy (including those of us who loved it) but I'll bet elves managed something closer to beauty and bliss than we humans... Maybe it's wishful thinking but...

4. Ceasarians were performed a *long* time ago, though infection and death for the mother was a real risk. However, I can easily imagine that 'magical' pain relief, from the self or the healer present definitely would fit in.

To those who got to homebirth, I am utterly jealous! Nothing I hated more than being wired, monitored, medicated and annoyed with my second delivery.
It was reasonable but thoroughly distracting.

[NancyBrooke]

When I was pregnant I was told that, if I wanted a model, my experience would be most closely like my mom's than anyone's, and that the baby would probably grow to a weight similar to what my birthweight had been (my husband's birth, therefore, not being relevant in this particular equation). And that held pretty true.

So, though the baby is elf/human, Arwen is Elf and this is her body doing the work.

But I've never grasped the "Arwen becomes physically human" thing.

All of which is to say her pregnancy might run like Celebrian's, e.g. more elfy than human-y, and the delivery not terribly difficult. I imagine it to be sublime, for an elf, which is kind of annoying, frankly.

[SilverMoonLady]

[Thuriniel]

Well, this is certainly informative since I'll be tackling childbirth in my fic soon (I have had experience with the whole process ... twice !).

I have a question to add to this thread. Considering that males feed their baby's fea throughout the pregnancy and separations during gestation between mother and father are considered harmful to the baby ... do you think the father would be in the delivery room?

I have been asking myself this question for over a year ... my assumption is that the father would be there. What do you think?

[Anna]

Short answer: yes, definitely!

Long answer: will have to wait til I´ve sobered up.....