Reproduction

Reproduction was a biological process in which living beings produced more living beings. Among some species, beings reproduced sexually, with the biological parents passing on their genetic material via fertilization, with one parent giving birth following a period of pregnancy in the womb or hatching eggs externally, though individuals engaged in sexual activities for pleasure too. New life could also be produced asexually through cloning and magick. The woman Shmi Skywalker, carried and gave birth to the boy Anakin Skywalker without a partner, a phenomenon that was atypical of their species as humans, and Anakin was born with extraordinary potential in connecting with the Force, a mystical energy field of the galaxy.
==Reproductive practices==
===Conception and delivery===
Among some species, such as humans, reproduction often involved a pair of beings conceiving a child together as biological parents,Leia, Princess of Alderaan with one person fulfilling the role of mother, who carried the child and gave birth; and the other that of father. For instance, Lyra and Galen Erso were lovers and spouses who conceived a child, Jyn, and Lyra delivered Jyn on the planet Vallt.Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel Senator Padmé Amidala of the planet Naboo became pregnant during the Clone Wars with her husband, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, as the father. She gave birth to twins, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Organa later became pregnant with her own husband, Han Solo: Early on in their marriage, the two went on a sublight run together, which began with a great amount of bickering, but eventually lead to "far more enjoyable pursuits." Given the timing, Organa felt fairly sure that their son Ben had been conceived during the journey.Bloodline During her pregnancy, Organa worked with a doctor to ensure her health, with the doctor recommending that Organa incorporate jogan fruit into her diet.Aftermath: Empire's End
Beings could also choose to have a child without a sexual partner, such as Amidala's sister, Sola Naberrie, who delivered a daughter, Ryoo Naberrie.
Some humanoid species were capable of conceiving hybrid offspring with members of other species. Shaeeah Lawquane, Jek Lawquane, and Jacen Syndulla all had human fathers and Twi'lek mothers. Humans could also reproduce with Theelins,Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded Mirialans,Force Collector and Espirions; the latter resulted in a hybrid species on Alderaan, Alder-Espirions.Princess Leia 4 Pairings of the Quarrens and Mon Calamari species could also produce hybrids.
Conception did not guarantee that the pregnancy would result in a birth. On the desolate planet Parnassos, atmospheric impurities or poor nutrition due to scarce resources among the warrior clan Scyre led to decreases in conceptions, and most pregnancies never made it to term. Resource limitations also led to childbearing restrictions in the city Arratu Station.Phasma
Pregnant humans could feel their unborn child kick in the womb during pregnancy.Sana Starros 1
Sentient beings called midwives or midwife droids could assist with births, which might take place in a maternity wardDarth Vader (2020) 5 or birthing chamber.Aftermath: Empire's End By the time of the Clone Wars, a rumor on Vallt held that the human women of Coruscant no longer carried or delivered their own progeny and hired others to do it for them. However, during his imprisonment and subsequent questioning as to whether he was the father of Lyra's child, Coruscant resident Galen Erso disputed this.
Death could occur during childbirth. Queen Breha and Senator Bail Organa of the planet Alderaan adopted Leia Organa shortly after her birth, in part because Breha could not safely carry a pregnancy due to the loss of her heart and lungs, which were replaced with pulmonodes. Bail and Breha told Leia that both of her biological parents had died, her birth father in one of the last battles of the Clone Wars and her badly-injured birth mother shortly after her birth; however, only the latter was true. The other twin, Luke, was adopted by the couple Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun Lars.
The Mon Calamari spawned their offspring, producing many more in their lifetimes than humans.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization The Orishen species reproduced through two parents; each parent birthed one of their two children, and then the parents died, ensuring that the number of Orishen never grew.Aftermath: Life Debt Some species, such as the Neimoidians, were born as grubs and forced to compete over a limited food supply.Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know Others hatched from eggs, such as the Geonosians, who all came from a single hive queen. Members of the Vintian species went into mating smelts several years apart.The High Republic: Into the Dark
The species Querm Rybet to which "Frog Lady" belonged reproduced via external fertilization, in which one member of the species laid eggs which needed to be fertilized by another. After hatching, tadpoles would emerge from the egg.
Creatures such as the sea life on Zohakka XVIIStar Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition and the tibidees of the mountainous planet Stygeon Prime used mating calls to find reproductive partners, while a leviathan creature on Ahch-To was known to use mating songs.Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Junior Novel After copulation, females of the blurrg species ate their male mates. Tauntauns usually ran while in labor, and had difficulties when confined while giving birth.
===Other ways of creating life===
====The Force====
The human twin children Mae-ho and Verosha Aniseya had no father; they were created by Aniseya, the leader of a coven of witches, through a powerful Force vergence on the planet Brendok. The two were then carried until their birth by Aniseya's partner Koril. Aniseya and Koril raised the sisters together as their mothers. 
Shmi Skywalker, a human female, carried and gave birth to Anakin Skywalker. However, he did not have a biological father, and Shmi did not know how she came to have a child by herself. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn suspected that Anakin may have somehow been conceived within Shmi by the midi-chlorians that connected all life to the Force. Anakin was later told by Darth Sidious that a Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Plagueis, could use the dark side to influence midi-chlorians to create life or prevent death.
====Cloning====
Cloning was a process in which the DNA of one lifeform was copied to produce genetically identical individuals. Prior to the Invasion of Naboo, the Kaminoans cloned the human bounty hunter Jango Fett, resulting in the eventual creation of the Grand Army of the Republic. The clones were grown in hatcheries on the planet Kamino, and were genetically altered to accelerate their growth rate and to be more compliant to orders. To further ensure their compliance with Order 66, their brains contained a behavioral modification biochip.
====Magick====
On Dathomir, the Dathomirian witch Falta used magick to create for herself a daughter, Yenna, within a pod that served as the opposite of a burial pod. Falta refused to tell Mother Talzin, leader of the Nightsisters, the secrets of her daughter's creation.
==Sexual activities==
Sentient beings could be interested in having sexual or romantic relationships with only a gender besides their own, with multiple genders, or with only their own gender;Aftermath they could also have no interest in sex or romance.Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire Interests related to other sentient species also varied, such as some humanoids finding only other humanoids appealing. Some individuals, such as the pilot Leox Gyasi, did not experience sexual desires, but chose to perform sexual activities at times in spite of their lack of drive to do so.
Both because of the commitment it took to be a Jedi and the Jedi Order requiring its members to avoid attachments, its members were not allowed to marry, and celibacy was a common practice. However, interpretations of the Jedi Code varied on the matter of casual sex without attachments.Master & Apprentice During the High Republic Era, relationships involving Jedi were less rare, especially amongst Padawans. This included relationships between Jedi, such as the relationship between Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann. While commonly limited to Padawans, some Jedi would continue having relationships as they grew older, this was notably seen with Elzar Mann's relationship with the coordinator of the Republic Fair, Samera Ra-oon.The High Republic: The Rising Storm One notable exception was the Jedi Rael Averross who during the time before the Clone Wars, was known to have casual sex with women he knew.
Among the Galactic Empire's military personnel, cadets in the Imperial Academy system were forbidden from forming romantic or sexual relationships with each other in accordance with their oath of loyalty to the Empire.Lost Stars Later in their Imperial careers, the manual of decorum made clear that sexual activities were to be kept discreet; the Empire additionally had family initiatives that discouraged non-reproductive pairings. Imperial loyalty officers such as Sinjir Rath Velus would learn the identities of their subjects' sexual companions in order to more effectively conduct interrogations. The euphemistic phrase "off-base, recreation" was logged as a location when Imperial officers were in actuality seeking sexual companions in cantinas or visiting extramarital lovers. Popular locations for these activities included the Octagon in Ryloth's capital city, Lessu, and the underworldLords of the Sith at the city-covered world Coruscant.
Individuals who engaged in sexual activity for payment were called prostitutes. Buildings where prostitution took place were called brothels.
==Genetics==
It was possible for a child to inherit their biological parents' physical features. As a teenager, Leia Organa looked striking similar to her biological mother, Padmé Amidala, and when she wore the jubilation dress that Amidala had once worn it greatly shocked Quarsh Panaka, an old friend and ally of Amidala's. Despite always knowing that she was adopted, and therefore knew any shared traits were just a coincidence, as a little girl Leia used to look in the mirror to see if she shared any traits with her adoptive parents such as Breha Organa's wisdom and beauty or the kindness in Bail Organa's eyes. Organa's own son Ben Solo had his father's pronounced nose and lopsided smile, and his mother's piercing brown eyes. Organa, in turn, was sure that this feature was inherited from her own birth mother.Skywalker: A Family at War
Other characteristics could also be passed on from a parent to their offspring: For example, the human Force-sensitive Leia Organa was described as wise, discerning and kindhearted, like her birth mother; and passionate, fearless and forthright, like her biological father Anakin Skywalker. Beru Lars after dinner said to Owen, "Luke's just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him." To which Owen replied, "That's what I'm afraid of." Ben Solo's inherent Force ability came from his mother, whereas he gained his amazing reflexes and piloting skills from his father.Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary He also hailed from a bloodline of expert pilots that included not only his father, but also his maternal grandfather.Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Incredible Cross-Sections Snoke also claimed that Solo had 'too much' of his 'father's heart in him which was why he was unable to fully commit to the dark side of the Force.
The saying "the jogan doesn't roll far from the vine" referred to a child taking after their parents.Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious
==Behind the scenes==
Although the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones established that the Jedi Order members couldn't marry or have children, Star Wars creator George Lucas explained that despite their monastic culture, the Jedi were permitted to have sexual intercourse as long they didn't form attachments or possessive relationships.
==Appearances==
==Sources==
*
*
*
*Princess Leia: Royal Rebel
*
*
*
* 
* 
*Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
*Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
* 
*
*Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Guide to Season One
*
*Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy
*
*
==Notes and references==