Re: Childbirth

From: bethexton_at_...
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2004 18:03:51 -0000

On the one hand, I would say no, the fertility of the land is lowered, but people and beasts are not so directly affected (hence Eritha, etc).

Mind you, one factor to consider is that humans have awful birthing compared to most animals. I'm positive that there is a myth to explain this (and yes, this means that back in the green age babies just about popped out, and were probably not so helpless). It could be a curse, somewhat like what the trolls suffer from. Or it could be something more involved....humans traded easy birthing for the humanity rune or something? Maybe because grandfather mortal was the first to die, death always lurks around birthing?

About the concepion rates, from what I've absorbed from the history my wife studied, most women didn't menstrate very often. First of all poor nutrition would stop it a fair bit of the time. Secondly, lactating tends to supress fertility (far from a perfect contraceptive, but combined with nutitional deficiencies pretty effective), and in most societies kids were breast fed far longer than now....often at least a couple of years. After all, there was no baby food, and more critically the water wasn't all that safe for them. So after each baby there would be a prolonged period of lowered fertility.

In other words, fertility is not a constant....over large populations of course the fertility rate will tend to average out, but I think you are better off modelling so many births per year per 100 women of childbearing age type approach, rather than trying to start with fertility rate of one woman. Even better, figure the numbers you want, then calculate everything backwards from there.

REgards;

Bryan

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