A while ago, we wrote a walkthrough and review of the Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth mod by Pandasama. Since then, the mod has undergone numerous updates, adding new features along the way. The latest update is one of the largest updates so far, which adds home births as an option to deliver your baby in The Sims 4!
Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth – Home Birth Update
We loved our last playthrough of this mod and we can’t wait to explore this update, so let’s get right to it!
Preparing for a Home Birth
There is now a new option in the Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth mod for delivering your baby when you call the obstetrician. Pregnant Sims can call their obstetrician in their 2nd trimester and opt for a home birth!
Once you’ve selected the home birth option, you’ll want to get the house set up for the delivery. If you’d like to give birth in a bed, purchase the birthing pillows from Build/Buy and place them on any double bed. If you’d rather have a water birth, purchase the birthing pool. Both the bed and the pool need to have space around them for the bassinet to spawn after delivery. If there isn’t space, the baby may spawn in an unreachable spot.
Pre-birth activities previously only available at the hospital are now available for home births in The Sims 4, so you may want to purchase the exercise ball, too.
Don’t forget to ask another Sim to be your birth companion before labour starts! A birth companion is required for a bed birth. Sims can ask both friends and romantic partners to be their companion but Pandasama recommends a romantic partner due to the intimacy of the animations.
It’s Time! Realistic Childbirth Style!
When labour starts, click your Sim and select Start Home Birth. This is a very important part of The Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth mod. The birth will not happen properly unless you do this. Do not select Have Baby. This is the EA home birth that has your Sim give birth standing up in front of a bassinet.
Once you have started the home birth process, you can call a midwife to come and assist with the birth. A midwife is optional for a bed birth but required for a water birth. A midwife can assess the baby’s health and check your Sim’s dilation. If a Sim in the household is in the Doctor career, they can also do these things. You can call a midwife at any point during labour but they charge $120/hr so if you’re low on funds, you may want to wait until your Sim is nearly ready to give birth.
Just like natural births at the hospital, your Sim will be in early labour a long time with The Sims 4 Realistic Childbirth mod. You can help speed things along by doing pre-birth activities at home: cuddle with your partner in the birth pool, take hot baths, walk around, use the exercise ball, do breathing exercises, or sway and get massages from your partner in order to trigger active labour sooner.
When your Sim is 10cm dilated, they are ready to start pushing. Make sure you have a birth companion if you want a bed birth and click the birthing pillows to begin delivering the baby. If you want a water birth, make sure there is a midwife present and click the birthing pool to begin the delivery.
Your Sim will push with the assistance of the midwife or companion for a short period of time. When the baby is born, there will be some very heartwarming animations while both parents bond with the newborn.
When the delivery is 100% complete and the baby is in a bassinet next to the bed or birth pool, move the bassinet away from the bed/pool before deleting the birth pillow or pool! If you don’t, you will delete your baby, too!
Our Thoughts
I’d been waiting anxiously for this update to the Realistic Childbirth mod for a long time because I knew it would be perfect in my medieval save. It was even better than I’d hoped it would be. I actually found myself tearing up while Bob and Eliza bonded with their new baby. It was just so precious and heartwarming in a very authentic way. The animations really tug at your heartstrings and make every moment feel so special, and the wide variety of moodlets allowed me to really get inside Eliza’s mind and feel all the emotions she was feeling.
This mod has been a must-have for realism lovers and family gameplay enthusiasts since day one but this latest update really elevates it to an even higher quality. I’m beyond impressed with absolutely everything.
This version of the Realistic Childbirth Mod is currently in early access but will go public on October 26th, 2022! Click the button below to be taken right to the download page on Pandasama‘s Patreon!
Please note mods are not supported on consoles
