Reproduction and Childcare

Reproduction is agametic, and while it is spontaneous, it can only occur if the person is in their third life stage, feels safe for an extended period, and if there is any desire to reproduce. Pregnancy most often occurs to a member of a lulɑnɑ, but is not exclusive. It lasts around 6 ɑnɾɪ, after which a litter of 1-13 young are born. Typically litters have 2-6 young, with 3 being the most common. Larger (7+) litters are very uncommon. Litters of one are very uncommon (1 in 6-8 thousand) and are most often accompanied by at least one stillborn.

Children are not considered people until they are born, and stillborn children are not counted in the total litter size. Unborn and stillborn children are considered extensions of the parent.

Unborn children are seen as having the potential to be a person, and stillborn children are seen as never being a separate person from the parent. As such, they are considered in a similar manner to an amputated limb - a removed body part of the parent which cannot be reattached. Considered an unfulfilled potential, the person that they would have been was not ready to exist yet, and the body must be 'returned to the ashes' (buried, cremated, and similar. Dependent on the ʍɔkɛɾɪ) so to allow that potential to reoccur.

Spontaneous abortions and fully stillborn pregnancies are uncommon, but typically occur as a stress response. Unless the pregnancy is in the last ɑnɾɪ, the litter will be reabsorbed in response to a major stressor. If the stressor occurs within the last ɑnɾɪ, birth will still occur on schedule but all young will be stillborn.

Stillborn children are reasonably common, however. Having at least one child in a litter being stillborn occurs in around 1 in 10012 litters. They are most likely to occur in larger litters.

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Other members of the lulɑnɑ, as well as family and friends, are expected to assist for the entirety of the pregnancy, and for the childhood (at least) of the young born.

Seemingly despite this, the pregnant person typically isolates themselves for the last couple of phases of pregnancy in a secure nest, which can sometimes be some distance from their usual home. This isolation continues through the birthing process and frequently several days or even weeks past birth.

But this is mostly only possible due to the support given before and during the pregnancy, to maintain good health and fat reserves. A common sign of a future pregnancy is increased appetite and weight, and a well-supported pregnant person will have increasing fat reserves even during the pregnancy itself.

The young are born fairly helpless, with closed eyes and folded ears. However, they are born fully furred, with thick down on the wings if present. Their limbs are well developed, and can grip strongly onto the parent’s fur within hours of birth. The young are fed milk exclusively for at least the first 36 ɑnɾɪ, before being weaned over the next 30 or so. While it is most common for the parent (zulɑ) to be the primary carer (θɑlɑ) for the litter, a bond-mate or any other person in their third life stage can take that role. Members of the same litter can have different θɑlɑ. The θɑlɑ will spontaneously be able to produce milk within a few hours of becoming θɑlɑ for a child, if they are not the parent, so long as the child(ren) still require(s) milk in their diet.

The type of the children can mostly be distinguished from birth, barring those who change type through the appropriate rituals and ceremonies, which can be done at any time during one’s life, as many times as needed, once they discover they are not the type that they are supposed to be. Such individuals occur approximately once in every seventy individuals, and are regarded highly, considering the required high self-awareness to discover oneself, and the determination to go through all the transitional rituals and the pain that they entail, if they so choose to (most do, but not all, and some are not able to due to lack of someone who knows how to do the rituals for them).