"What would men be without women? Scarce, sir, mighty scarce."
Delivering a newborn into this brave new world.
For some animals, this overlaps with eggs.
Contrast Death Tropes.
See also Pregnancy Tropes and Babies, Babies Everywhere.
Tropes:
Subcategories:
- Away in a Manger: The birth mirrors the Nativity story.
- Babies Ever After: Having babies as the happily ever after for the characters.
- Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Someone dies as someone else is born, how poetic.
- Bizarre Baby Boom: A bizarre (possibly supernatural) event happens, and all the babies born after/conceived at the right time have superpowers.
- Born as an Adult: Literally being born or coming into existence in an adult body.
- Born During a Storm: A storm punctuates the baby's birth.
- Born from a Dead Woman: A baby is born after the mother has died.
- Born from Plants: A sentient being emerges from a plant.
- Born in an Elevator: Childbirth in a confined space, such as a stalled elevator or a stranded taxi.
- The Burlesque of Venus: Recreation of the famous Renaissance depiction of the birth of the Roman Goddess of Love.
- Child Naming Request: An expectant parent gives someone else the right the choose a name for their baby.
- Chocolate Baby: The baby isn't the supposed father's, and it is obvious from the baby's coloring (hair, skin tone, etc.)
- Clean, Pretty Childbirth: A baby comes out of its mother's womb looking dry and clean.
- Convenient Miscarriage: Couldn't possibly show a character choosing to have an abortion, but a baby doesn't fit in the work. Solution: she has a miscarriage.
- Cradle-to-Grave Character: Character is depicted in the work from their birth to their death in old age.
- Death by Childbirth: A woman dies in childbirth.
- Delivery Guy: A man with no medical experience takes up the role of midwife.
- Delivery Stork: A stork delivers babies — may deal with the myth or depict a stork actually delivering babies.
- Egg-Laying Male: Males of oviparous species are capable of laying eggs.
- Explosive Breeder: A creature reproduces at an alarming rate.
- Express Delivery: A pregnancy that develops at an abnormally fast pace, commonly because of some supernatural reason.
- Forced Miscarriage: Someone is forced to miscarry.
- Genesis Effect: A planet being born.
- A Hero Is Born: The story starts with the birth of the protagonist.
- Instant Birth: Just Add Labor!: Labour leading into birth much quicker than in real life.
- Last-Minute Baby Naming: Parents wait until after the baby is born to name them.
- "Lion King" Lift: Lifting a newborn baby into the air, as if presenting it to the world, a la The Lion King (1994).
- Maternity Crisis: Going into labour at a very bad time.
- New Baby Episode: An episode focused on a baby being born.
- Not Really a Birth Scene: Comedy trope: a character does many of the stereotypical things in a birth scene, but is not actually giving birth and is in fact doing something entirely unrelated.
- Out Giving Birth, Back in Two Minutes: Character goes offscreen pregnant, comes back holding Baby.
- Panicky Expectant Father: The dad freaking out when the mother is in labor.
- Premature Birth Drama: A baby is born preterm, with all attendant health risks.
- Prenatal Possessions: An unborn baby's environment somehow includes material objects or toys.
- Prom Baby: A teenage girl goes into labor while at the prom.
- Proud Papa Passes Out the Cigars: The newborn's father and his friends celebrate with a smoke.
- Screaming Birth: Labor and delivery involving a lot of screaming and hysterics. Can be played for drama or comedy.
- Spank of Life: Spanking a newborn baby to stimulate its breathing.
- Spontaneous Generation: Living things springing from non-living materials.
- Surprise Multiple Birth: A couple gives birth to more babies than they had anticipated.
- Three-Month-Old Newborn: Older babies playing newborns or newborns who look and/or act older.
- Tragic Stillbirth: A baby dies in the womb.
- Traumatic C-Section: Gory depiction of a C-section.
- Unto Us a Son and Daughter Are Born: A couple has twins: a boy and a girl. Family complete. Happily ever after.
- Wanted a Son Instead: Baby Alice is born! Too bad her parents wanted Baby Bob.
- Whale Egg: A mammal lays an egg.