I personally like the birth animation just the way it is, however I think it would be absolutely hilarious for a midwife NPC to drop out of the sky to assist the mother. XD I would love to see that. A birth certificate would be really cute too, though I'm not sure what I'd do with it.

It would be nice if there were options, since some players like birth at home and others want it to happen in a hospital. Maybe a popup as the time is approaching asking what you'd prefer; if you select "Go To Hospital" then she (or he) would be brought there and then come back home a while later with the baby. Or you could choose "Stay Home" and it would proceed as it does now.

Maybe the chance of pregnancy per wohoo could work with non-player controlled sims somehow, though that would be annoying to people who want to control everything, or if those sims are yours too even if you are playing someone else atm. Those things will be probably somewhat abstracted when out of player's field of vision anyways.

Lol, They'd blur it out if they show an actual "sims birth" you think much?
I'm sure they'll use the primal scream for the pains.
One or two things I'd hate. The water breaking just ew be sick if they had pets in the house. Ew
Number 2 I wouldn't like blood in this.
Just a nice clean birth...... With no blood and no mess just the baby pops out in the doctors or husbands arms like the pregnant sim could be behind curtains in the hospital so nothing would show not even her feet but you can see the husband or doctor standing there and waiting for a "hut hut PUSH! WAH! Congrats it's a (put gender here)"

in real life is a very small chance of pregnancy to protected 'woohoo'... about what? 0.1%?
well, there could be an interaction 'sabotage woohoo' that cheated wifes could use, and the next woohoo that her husband makes will result in a baby >.>

Nice idea, but that's another game entirely :P
EA likes it's low rating since a large portion of Sims players are teenagers

Interesting thread. Honestly, I don't near super-reallness when it comes to birth (and frankly, the caterwauling that takes place during Sims 2 birth drives me up the wall at times). I remain intrigued by something I read awhile back about programming in place in the Sims 2 for an ambulance/hospital birth animation.

Really, all I'd need for a good Sims birth would be an initial wail, followed by the husband/loved one/relative grasping her hand, followed by ambulance sirens, followed by the Sim wheeled into the hospital grasping to the armrest. Cue fuzzy music and ambiance, and show the baby being placed in the mother's loving arms. *The End*

I wonder how/if the Sims 3 will handle the male pregnancies re: alien abduction?

I think they will probably just do what they've been doing for alien birth in the Sims 2. Probably just a different clip of it happening.

Honestly, I think people are expecting a little too much for the Sims 3. I would be fine with just a little clip of a baby popping out of a plumbob. I would like some extra features, like an ambulance coming. I don't think it's going to happen though. I would also like the ability for teens to get pregnant.

not true, love
not true at all.

You know what, I don't really mind much about pregnancy, but if EAXis decides to add some few elements in it, I think the rating might go up to M. Just my thoughts, though.

You know making pregnancy and labor more real would be a cool idea personally... but maybe we should just stick to the sims 2 style ideas.. I mean I have no problem as long as my babies are adorable

I like it the way it is

Having given birth, I seriously don't think you guys want to see the process, even in simulation. I love my kids to distraction, but I don't want to go through it again, and I was awake through the whole thing, down to my last stitch for the caesarean section I wound up getting.

The Catholic all-girl's school I attended showed its students (myself included) extremely graphic videos of vaginal and caesarean delivery - I was in high school when I had to watch that eye-opener - and most of us in that class kind of put off having kids until our parents and spouses nagged us to get pregnant. Many of us had kids only in our late 20s to early 30s, and many of my classmates still haven't got the guts to have babies. All that blood, gore and screaming put the video in the slasher/horror movie genre. I had my kids earlier, at 23, because my birth control failed.

I think the hospital birth behind the screen thing may be the best way to go - and not just because there are teenagers buying the game (as my twin daughters will be in a couple of years), but because giving birth is not always a beautiful process - I think it is mainly the drugs that make it seem so, IMHO.

I think those of us who want to have a baby in the hospital should have the option to do so by calling for an ambulance when a Sim goes into labor and then returning the next day with the baby.

I know some people don't like hospitals from personal experience but I would love to see a later hospital ep where we can have our Sims become doctors and then help with actual illnesses and medical emergencies.

I can just see the husband waving his wife off in a taxi, off to deliver her baby and then going back to watch TV.

Haha abitha! That would be pretty funny! XD

yeah i am definately NOT for more realistic births.. i absolutely ADORE the way it is now [fuzzy music, mommy fanning herself, and the mini plumbob!] and i have absolutely no desire whatsoever to witness a more realistic simbirth. eww. i think the ambulance/hospital birth option would be nice, as long as my simmies can have kiddos at home too. and i think that as far as pregnancy goes, i would like for a LONGER pregnancy or a more detailed [not just, day two and you have a bump, day three and you waddle with your monster bump, then poof, birth] and birth certificates would be a cute idea [as well as marriage certificates, but that's saved for another time] and you could be able to hang em on the wall in the baby's room!

I love the midwife idea. lol

I think they should design it with a choice, but instead of having something popup, it should be like sending a teen to college. You'll have a notice when the baby is due and you have a time period to send the mother to a hospital. When it is due time, it's too late to call the taxi and the midwife comes down from the heavens and does her thing.

If you decide to send your sim to the hospital, it'd be cool to have a nice, but small and simple sequence of maybe seeing the mom-to-be on the table thing (with the camera being zoomed to the top-portion of her, of course), squeezing the fathers hand, screaming at him and the father fainting out of pain. I'd also like to see mention of the doctor delivering and the sim being one of your medicine career sims.

abitha - I like that idea. Hours later, an ambulance returns to deliver their newborn baby. I think it'll help make the game run faster. But, I don't think there will be a movie for the sim giving birth--not like in TS2.

I really don't think the ambulance thing will work with people who like to play medieval or sci-fi neighbourhoods.

Medieval 'hoods should give birth there and then. Sci fi 'hoods? That's a little more complicated.

Now, that I think about it, since it's an open neighborhood, wouldn't you be able to see the hospital and then be able to decorate it with a cheat? Even then, it should be similar to the CAS and therefore, changeable via mod. Then that just leaves the case of the outfit of the doctor and the ambulance, both which I'm sure you will able to change with a mod.

I doubt there'll be risky woohoo. Most people seem to like being able to decide if and when their sims have kids. Personally, I'd like to have different levels of fertility for different sims.

They already seem to have that in TS2. I'm one of those who had to try five times until I finally got the gosh-darn lullaby! And other times I've had these super-fertile sims who seem to get pregnant always on the first go.

Realistic childbirth sound kind of gross...and it might put some people off having kids

I really want a hospital though...maybe they could break arms or go there when their sick or as a way to try to prevent death (like a more realistic gambling with the reaper.) It's just really a pain to try to take photos in the sims 2 for scenes in doctor's offices and stuff...

I think its 3%, well accoridng to "FRIENDS"

and o ya, whats a midwife? lol