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TonksDressCropped

Nymphadora Tonks during her pregnancy, wearing what appears to be a maternity dress

Remus Lupin: "Tonks is going to have a baby."
Hermione Granger: "Oh, how wonderful!"
Ron Weasley: "Excellent!"
Harry Potter: "Congratulations."
— Lupin announces Tonks' pregnancy[src]

Pregnancy, also known as gravidity or gestation is the condition of having one or more unborn offspring developing inside the uterus. A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. It usually lasts around 40 weeks from the last menstrual period and ends in childbirth. This is just over nine lunar months, where each month is about 29½ days.

Overview[]

Measured from fertilisation it is about 38 weeks. An embryo is the developing offspring during the first eight weeks following fertilisation, after which, the term fetus is used until birth. Pregnancy is typically divided into three trimesters. The first trimester is from week one through 12 and includes conception, which is when the sperm fertilises the egg. The second trimester is from week 13 through 28.

Around the middle of the second trimester, movement of the foetus may be felt. The third trimester is from 29 weeks through 40 weeks. Pregnancy is considered at full term when gestation has lasted 39 to 41 weeks. After 41 weeks, it is known as late term and after 42 weeks post term.[1]

History[]

Merope Gaunt[]

"New Year's Eve and bitter cold, snowing, you know. Nasty night. And this girl, not much older than I was myself at the time, came staggering up the front steps. Well, she wasn't the first. We took her in, and she had the baby within the hour. And she was dead in another hour."
— The night Merope died from heartbreak and long-term suffering[src]
Merope gaunt

Merope Gaunt became pregnant in 1926

In 1925, Merope Gaunt gave a Love Potion to Tom Riddle Snr, thereby forcing him to marry her.[2] A few months into the marriage, she became pregnant and stopped the doses of Love Potion, presumably because she believed that Tom had come to genuinely love her or would stay with her for the benefit of their child.[2] However, Tom came to his senses and left her, returning to his parents' manor in Little Hangleton.[2]

Destitute and alone in London, Merope sold Slytherin's locket, a valuable family heirloom, to Caractacus Burke at Borgin and Burkes for a paltry 10 Galleons shortly before Christmas in 1926.[3] On New Year's Eve, she found her way to Wool's Orphanage and had a baby boy less than an hour later, naming him Tom Marvolo Riddle after his father and maternal grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt.[3] An hour after the birth, she died of complications, refusing to use her wand when she could have saved her own life with magic.[3]

Tilly Monk[]

On 20 May, 1995, Tilly Monk gave birth prematurely to twin sons, Jack and Tom.[4] Delivered simultaneously as what their father Dave described as a "bundle," the boys received immediate medical care from "an amazing neonatal team," and were quickly taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).[4] Tilly did not learn the news of their birth until she "came around fully" several hours later (presumably from anaesthetic she was administered during a Caesarean section).[4]

Hospital staff gave the couple photos of both babies, which the new parents used to help choose names for the boys.[4] A few hours after waking up, Tilly was finally taken by Dave to see the twins in the NICU, where they were being kept in incubators, receiving vital fluids through intravenous lines and breathing with the help of mechanical ventilators.[4]

Tilly's husband later wrote an article about the twins' birth, which was published in the 12 August, 1995 edition of Metro.[4]

Lily Potter[]

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... "
— Prophecy of Harry Potter's birth[src]
Potter family 2 - Harry as baby

James and Lily Potter with their infant son Harry Potter

Lily Potter became pregnant in the autumn of 1979. Around the same time,[5] Sybill Trelawney made a prophecy in front of Albus Dumbledore, predicting that "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches" and would be born at the end of July to parents who had "thrice defied" him.

The first part of the prophecy was overheard by Severus Snape, a Death Eater who had once been Lily's friend, and still carried a torch for her.[6][7] He dutifully reported what he had heard to Lord Voldemort, but when Voldemort concluded that the son Lily was expecting was the subject of the prophecy, he was horrified.[6][7] Snape warned Albus Dumbledore and vowed to do "anything" to keep Lily and her family safe.[7]

The expectant Lily and her husband, James, went into hiding.[8] On 31 July, 1980, their son, Harry James Potter, was born.

Nymphadora Tonks[]

"Tonks is going to have a baby."
— Lupin announces that Tonks is pregnant[src]
Deathly Hallows Tonks Lupin

A pregnant Nymphadora Tonks with her husband, Remus Lupin

On 4 August, 1997, Remus Lupin found Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger hiding out at Grimmauld Place and offered to join them on the mission that Albus Dumbledore had given to Harry. Asked about what his new wife, Nymphadora Tonks, felt about the prospect of her husband going away, Lupin replied that she would be safe staying at the home of her parents.

Lupin then revealed that Tonks was pregnant, receiving a hearty round of congratulations from the three friends, and reiterated his offer to join them on their quest. Harry got angry and accused Lupin of failing to "stick with his own kid." Lupin confessed that he felt he had made a "grave mistake" in marrying Tonks, fearing that, in doing so, he had turned her into an outcast. He worried that his child would either inherit his lycanthropy or be ashamed of having a werewolf father. A heated argument between Harry and Lupin ensued, and Lupin stormed out.[9]

In March 1998, Ron told Harry and Hermione that he had heard from his brother Bill (presumably during his stay at Shell Cottage in autumn 1997) that Lupin was living with Tonks again, and that Tonks had gotten "pretty big."[10]

In April 1998, Lupin came to Shell Cottage — where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were staying — to announce the birth of a baby boy, whom he and Tonks had named Ted in honour of Tonks' recently-deceased father.[11] He also asked Harry to be his son's godfather, to which Harry accepted.

Ginny Weasley[]

Potter family1

Harry and Ginny Potter with their three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna

Ginny Potter became pregnant with her and Harry Potter's first child, James Sirius, after the Second Wizarding War and sometime in or around 2004. Ginny gave birth to the couple's second son, Albus Severus, about two years after his brother in 2006. Albus was the only one of Harry's children that had inherited his bright green, almond shaped eyes. Ginny gave birth to her and Harry's last child and only daughter, Lily Luna in or around 2008. Lily was noted to have her mother's red hair and bright brown eyes.

All three of the Potter children were named in honour of family and close friends, many of whom are deceased. James Sirius is named after his deceased paternal grandfather and his father's deceased godfather. Albus Severus is named after two deceased former Headmasters of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lily Luna is named after her deceased paternal grandmother and their parents good friend Luna Lovegood.

Ron and Hermione were asked to be James Sirius's godparents[12] and Neville Longbottom was named Albus Severus's godfather. It is unknown who Lily Luna's godparents were.

Hermione Granger[]

Hermione Granger became pregnant with her and Ron Weasley's first child and only daughter, Rose Granger-Weasley, after the Second Wizarding War and sometime in or around 2005. Rose inherited her father's red hair. Hermione gave birth to the couple's second child and only son, Hugo Granger-Weasley, sometime in or around 2007. Hugo inherited his mother's brown bushy hair.

Muggle pregnancy[]

In vitro fertilisation is a Muggle assisted reproductive technology used to help patients struggling with infertility achieve pregnancy.[13] The Guardian reported in 1996 that doctors who practised it had recommended against relying on frozen eggs.[14]

Wizarding pregnancy[]

Healers recommended that pregnant witches refrain from travelling by Portkey.[15] Electric Shock Shake had a warning on the box advising that the product should not be used by pregnant witches.[16]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 10 (The House of Gaunt)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 13 (The Secret Riddle)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Harry Potter Limited Edition - A Guide to the Graphic Arts Department: Posters, Prints, and Publications from the Harry Potter Films (see this image)
  5. The timeframe of the prophecy can be determined as late 1979 from J. K. Rowling's statement during her 2007 Carnegie Hall appearance that the Potters went into hiding when Lily was pregnant, and the scene in Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33 where Snape goes to ask Dumbledore to protect Lily, which must have taken place in autumn given the description of the setting ("...the sound of the wind in the branches" and "Though leaves and branches still flew through the night air around them...").
  6. 6.0 6.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 25 (The Seer Overheard)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33 (The Prince's Tale)
  8. 19 October 2007 J.K. Rowling appearance at Carnegie Hall
  9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 11 (The Bribe)
  10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 22 (The Deathly Hallows)
  11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 25 (Shell Cottage)
  12. Video clip of J.K. Rowling from her new documentary: J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
  13. In vitro fertilisation on Wikipedia
  14. Harry Potter Limited Edition - A Guide to the Graphic Arts Department: Posters, Prints, and Publications from the Harry Potter Films (see this image)
  15. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Portkeys" at Wizarding World
  16. Harry Potter Film Wizardry, p. 136 booklet (see this image)
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