Pregnancy



The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 were, after all, designed to be generation games. This article describes all there is to know about a pregnancy in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.

Conception
To get a Sim pregnant, the mother and father must "Try for Baby". When trying for a baby, there is a possibility that the Sim will not get pregnant, but if she does then the player might hear a lullaby song, signaling that conception has successfully happened. During conception, the number of babies born is chosen (single, twins, or occasionally triplets in The Sims 3). In The Sims 2, only Adults and Elder males can try for a baby. (Additionally, Young Adult males can father children with Adult females, but the "Try for Baby" interaction must be initiated by the Adult at her home.) If the Sim is infertile, the player can testingcheatsenabled and spawn the Tombstone of Life and Death to impregnate a Sim. In The Sims 3, Young Adult, Adult and Elder males can try for a baby, but only Young Adult and Adult females can get pregnant. The chance of having multiple births - twins or triplets - and of actual conception are lowered for Adult female Sims trying for a baby however, as opposed to Young Adult female Sims trying to conceive.

Meeting Aliens
When an Adult male stargazes with the expensive telescope at night, there is a small chance he might get abducted by aliens. If he does, a cutscene will show him being abducted by a UFO. After the first cutscene, everyone on the lot will come to worry about him at the telescope. They will all get the memory of him meeting aliens (which is good for the Sims with the Knowledge aspiration). His motives will be crazy while he is missing. After a few Sim hours, he will return in a cutscene and he will panic. He will soon learn that he is pregnant. (Female Sims and male Sims of different ages can be abducted, too, but only Adult males will return pregnant.)

Duration
All pregnancies last 3 days in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, though The Sims 2 has cheats which can be used to reduce the gestation period to a mere 2 hours in Sim time.

The motives of a pregnant Sim will drop at an increased rate, even if the Sim is not visibly pregnant. In The Sims 2, Sims who are able to meditate will still be able to do so while pregnant.

It is possible to calculate the time in which the Sim will expand each day and eventually give birth. From the hour in which a Sim becomes pregnant, she will expand 25 Sim hours later each day until she gives birth. So a female who becomes pregnant at one o'clock on Tuesday, will expand at two on Wednesday, three on Thursday, and give birth at four on Friday. The sex of the baby can also be determined. Neighborhoods try to maintain an equally balanced male and female population, so chances are if a girl was born in another household, the next child in the neighborhood will be male. Deaths elsewhere in the neighborhood or NPCs added to a household are not figured into this.

First Trimester
The first trimester lasts one day.

During this trimester the parent will suffer from morning sickness, in which they may run to the toilet periodically to throw up, with a thought bubble showing a pacifier and a question mark. In The Sims 2, Sims with high Body skill may have a better chance of not throwing up, though they will still be visibly queasy, and their Comfort meter may go into the red. Sims do not always throw up when pregnant, but they may wake up in the middle of the night to vomit. In The Sims 3, the bulge cannot be seen unless the player zooms in. During the first trimester, the pregnant Sim can't leap into other Sims' arms and other Sims can't leap into her/his arms.

Second Trimester
The second trimester lasts one day. At some point in the day, the pregnant Sim will attract the player's attention and change appearance. Their abdomen will enlarge and they will begin to wear maternity clothing. In The Sims 3, the bulge is nearly non-existent at first, but progressively grows larger. If the pregnant Sim has a job, they will be placed on maternity leave, and the carpool will not appear (however, if the pregnant Sim has access to a car, he or she can attend work by driving). In The Sims 2, the Sim will be paid for these leave days even if they fall on one of their days off. There will be new social interactions, "Rub Belly" and "Talk to Belly" ; "Feel Tummy", "Listen to Tummy", and "Talk to Tummy", and the pregnant Sim may "Ask to Feel Tummy". The pregnant Sim and father can announce the pregnancy to others.

From now until the baby is born, pregnant Sims can also expect to have cravings, in the form of more "Eat..." wants/wishes for specific foods.



Third Trimester
The third trimester lasts one day.

The parent will get the attention of the player and the abdomen will enlarge again. They can no longer drive, take a taxi, use the swing, hot tub or use the electro dance sphere from Nightlife. They will suffer from mood swings, in which the outcome of Social Interaction between the pregnant Sim and another will change.

Birth
On the last day of the pregnancy the Sim will attract the viewer once again and go into 'labour'. This is an autonomous action and all Sims on the lot will be drawn to the Sim to 'panic'. In The Sims 3 the pregnant Sim can also be taken to the hospital. (There is no ambulance).

In The Sims 2, a screen will come up with the message "There's a new family member on the way..." or "There are TWO new family members on the way..." at which time the genetics and gender of the new baby (or babies) are being arranged. If the special camera is enabled a cinematic will commence showing the birth of the baby, or the Sim will just turn around on the spot and... bam! A new family member is born. If the Sim has a job, they will get additional leave in the form of three vacation days. These work like ordinary vacation days; if the Sim is scheduled to work, the carpool will come, and the Sim will get in unless the player cancels that action. These vacation days will not be lost if they are not used while the new family member is a baby. If another family member can stay home with the baby, the player may want to let the Sim go to work in order to save a leave day for later.

In The Sims 3 a little pop-up will say: "The baby is being born! Make sure your Sim is at the hospital or at home!" If the Sim goes to the hospital, the player won't be able to see anything, but can still hear the birth taking place. If the Sim stays at home, the Sim will turn on the spot, and there's a new little family member!

After the birth of each baby, the player will then be able to name them. In The Sims 3, if the birth goes well, the player might be allowed to chose the two starting traits for the baby.

Multiple Births
The Sims 3 allows for the birth of both twins and triplets while The Sims 2 only allows for twins, and with the aid of third-party hacks can produce triplets and quadruplets.

Twins
Twins are the only multiple birth that happens in The Sims 2 unless you download a hack that allows for triplets and quadruplets. Twins are generated the same way as single babies, so they will look about as much like each other as normal siblings do--from nearly identical to widely different. With, for example, a light-skinned mother and dark-skinned father, the twins can have different skin colors. However, some pre-made twins, such as the Pleasant twins, are identical; and it's possible to make identical Sims in CAS.

Every pregnancy has a low chance of producing natural twins. Most Sims have about a 10% chance of having twins, although if a parent is a twin themselves, the chances increase a bit. This is decided at the moment of conception, so, unlike gender and genetics, exiting and reloading the lot will not change the number of babies born.

Triplets/Quadruplets
In The Sims 2, under normal circumstances it is NOT possible to have triplets, quadruplets or more. However, players may download third-party hacks to ensure the birth of triplets or quadruplets. When forcing triplets or quadruplets the game informs players that the Sim in question has birthed two babies despite the actual number. Players are still able to name each child, though, as the option pops up twice.

Increasing Multiple Birth Odds

 * The cheat "forcetwins" which, when typed in while the pregnant parent is selected, will ensure twin birth. ( and later.)
 * A pregnant Sim can eat cheesecake, which gives a near-100% chance of twins.
 * The ultimate Lifetime Aspiration Reward for Family Sims is "Super Fertility", which greatly increases the chance of having twins for the rewarded Sim and their spouse. The benefit will decide the number of children born 25 hours after conception (at the time of the first belly expansion).
 * Some third-party hacks give the player the option to force Sims to have twins.
 * Sims can buy the reward "Fertility Treatment" for 10,000 lifetime reward points. Fertility Treatment makes it more likely that "Try For Baby" will work, and also increases chances of twins and triplets.
 * Watching the kids channel on TV or listening to the children's music station on the stereo can increase the chance of multiple children. Doing either slightly increases the chance for multiples. Doing both at the same time more than doubles the chances of having twins or triplets as either alone.
 * In The Sims 2, a pregnant Sim is more likely to have twins if she eats cookies in the first trimester, between the period of conception and when the pregnant belly becomes visible.


 * Disproved/Doubtful Twin Theories
 * Despite claims to the contrary, examination of the game's code reveals that eating spaghetti while pregnant does not increase the Sim's chance of having twins in The Sims 2.
 * There have been multiple births cases if the female Sim was pregnant when she was dating or engaged, she had twins. However, this was in Riverview, where a pre-made Sim family has 2 twin daughters, so Riverview could have potential for having an increased chance of multiple births.

The Sims
There is no pregnancy in The Sims, but if a family is evicted while there is a baby in the house, the baby will be lost.

The Sims 2
Miscarriage per se does not occur in The Sims 2, but if a pregnant Sim dies, the baby will be lost, as in the case of Olivia Monty's unborn baby. Family members will not get a memory of losing the baby.

If a pregnant Sim becomes an elder, the baby will be lost. Normally, a Sim who is close enough to elder-hood for that to happen cannot become pregnant. However, negative effects of drinking the Elixir of Life can age a pregnant Sim to the point where it becomes possible, or even move the Sim into the Elder life stage.

In addition, there are hacks which can be used to end a pregnancy.

There is also a chance that twins will carry down in the family tree such as the case of Antonio Monty with his children as Antonio may himself, be a twin.

The InTeenimater
With the InTeenimater, a mod for The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, the player can make a miscarriage when a Sim is pregnant. She will have a miscarriage in her memories. The PlumbBob will glow red, and the Sim will start grasping for her stomach. A thought bubble with a pacifier and a question mark will come up. The Sim will then be in her normal clothes, and start crying.

The InSimenator
With the InSimenator, a player can buy the Reproductive Adjuster, which looks like a microwave oven. If the player selects a pregnant Sim and clicks on the Reproductive Adjuster, one of the options will be "Abort Pregnancy". Aborting a pregnancy sometimes makes the mother depressed.

Increasing Specific Gender Odds
There is currently no known way to influence the gender of an unborn child in The Sims 2. No Maxis cheat or fan-made hack exists, though there have been many rumors including a fake "boolprop force[gender] 100" cheat.

In The Sims 3, there are ways to increase the chance to have male or female babies. The more apples the mother eats during the pregnancy, the more likely she is to have a boy (3 apples = 99% chance of a boy). However, the more watermelons she consumes, the more likely the child is a girl (3 watermelons = 99% chance of a girl).

Patch 1.3 of The Sims 3 keeps the apples for boys, watermelons for girls system, however eating these in prepared foods will not affect the gender. For example, watermelon pancakes will not undermine all of the player's efforts to have a boy.

Other

 * Mothers get a few days off work (maternity leave).
 * Parents get a few days off when they adopt a baby too.
 * Pregnant Sims experience nausea and backaches, shown as negative moodlets.
 * Fulfilling a pregnant Sim's wishes improves the chances of a "happy" pregnancy, which will give the child better traits or even allow the player to select the traits. If a pregnant Sim and the father read pregnancy books the chances of a "happy" pregnancy improve, in addition to the improvement given by any wants the Sim may have to do so.
 * A Sim in the medical career can "Determine the Gender of Baby" of the pregnant Sim and can "Give Medical Advice". Clicking on the hospital allows the interaction "Get Medical Advice". They will enter the hospital and then come out after a while. This option is not available with Sims that are not pregnant.
 * If the father is on a different lot, or even at work (he will leave early), he will go to the hospital to be with the mother.
 * If both the mother and the father have the Fertility Treatment Lifetime reward, there is a high chance the Sim will get twins or triplets.
 * In the Ambitions UK hands on event it is said Sims can WooHoo in a Time Machine, and that if a Sim gets pregnant as a result, the baby may be born older (or younger) than the couple.

Player Tips

 * Speed up pregnancy with the Tombstone of Life and Death and it will take about three Sim hours for the baby to be born.