# What if a third of all pregnant women magically ceased to be pregnant? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 5, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941 "2022-02-05T01:29:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/1 "2022-02-05T01:29:41Z")
There are around 100 million women pregnant at any one point in time in the world. What if a third of all pregnant women magically ceased to be pregnant? It’s instant, painless and no physical harm is suffered by the woman at all. Women affected are still able to have children in the future. How would this affect the population, society, culture, economy, politics etc? The selection is completely random. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/2 "2022-02-05T01:32:39Z")
I think it would be extremely disorienting to the women. And to women after that whoo for pregnant. Are you envisioning a one-time event, or a change in how pregnancy works? ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/3 "2022-02-05T01:41:22Z")
It might be a relief to some of the women, but however “magical” and physically painless the process, it would be very emotionally painful and traumatic to many of them. I know that if I had suddenly ceased to be pregnant with either of my kids, I would be grieving the loss and death of the child. I’ve known women who’ve suffered miscarriages, and even though they were just 3-4 months pregnant, they were very unhappy about it and still felt the pain of it years later. And a third of those pregnant women would be in their 3rd trimester, 7-9 months along, when the loss would be extremely traumatic. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/4 "2022-02-05T01:56:14Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > it would be very emotionally painful and traumatic to many of them. > … the loss would be extremely traumatic. Agree. This is a very troubling thread. I wouldn’t be able to write about this premise without realizing the obvious effects, and being horrified at the idea. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/5 "2022-02-05T01:58:31Z")
We sort of have something like that already with abortion which according to this is 25%. > **[Abortion study: 25% of pregnancies terminated, estimates suggest](https://www.bbc.com/news/health-36266873)** > > One in four pregnancies ends in an abortion each year, global estimates from the World Health Organization and Guttmacher Institute suggest. It’s not magic, but at least the woman can elect it instead of it magically happening at random in exchange for the unpleasant side effects your magic method avoids. But the how the loss of a good percentage of pregnancies affects the population can be seen in our modern day society. ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/6 "2022-02-05T02:31:11Z")
It happens once. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/7 "2022-02-05T02:32:38Z")
> [@Cmyers1980](#): > > What if a third of all pregnant women magically ceased to be pregnant? It would be weird. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/8 "2022-02-05T02:40:47Z")
I have no doubt that a large number of pregnant women wanted to become pregnant in the first place, and if their pregnancies “magically” disappeared, they would try to become pregnant again. So there would be a dip in the birth rate for perhaps 1-2 years, followed by the pregnancy rate returning (more or less) to what is was before. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/9 "2022-02-05T02:47:04Z")
The U.S. and other barbaric nations would likely find a way to blame the women whose pregnancies magically disappeared, leading to a bunch of bullshit new laws that would likely be imposed on all women of reproductive age, not just the ones who are currently pregnant. It would not be a good time to be a woman. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/10 "2022-02-05T02:47:38Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > So there would be a dip in the birth rate for perhaps 1-2 years, followed by the pregnancy rate returning (more or less) to what is was before. As Infinity Gauntlet snaps go, this is pretty weak-sauce while also being unnecesarily traumatic to millions of people. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/11 "2022-02-05T03:11:54Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@kanicbird](#): > > We sort of have something like that already with abortion which according to this is 25%. Abortion isn’t random so I think this is a bit too off-topic for this particular thread. The effects of a massive random event are going to be significantly different. The OP is admittedly rather contrived, but let’s stick to it for the purposes of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/12 "2022-02-05T03:20:54Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And to women after that whoo for pregnant. Women after that whoo sometimes _do_ find that they got pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/13 "2022-02-05T04:12:13Z")
Yeah, weird typo, sorry. It would be very disorienting to the women who lost their pregnancy, and to women after that who were pregnant. I think a lot of the women who magically lost their pregnancies would grieve, and the women who were pregnant for a while after would be constantly anxious that the same might happen to them. I think the effects on the population and economy would be minimal, though. Very few modern women gave the maximum number of kids they can, so in most cases, the women who lost a kid would get pregnant shortly thereafter, and the overall population would be about the same. There might be some discontinuities in elementary school enrollment, etc., as the small cohort of kids moved through the system. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/14 "2022-02-05T10:29:13Z")
> [@Cmyers1980](#): > > It’s instant, painless and no physical harm is suffered by the woman at all. Women affected are still able to have children in the future. I think you vastly, vastly underestimate the harm that would be done by this. Mental harm can be as bad as physical. Loss of a wanted pregnancy can be traumatic for a woman and her partner. ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/15 "2022-02-05T16:29:30Z")
Nothing in my post should make anyone think I underestimate the emotional harm inflicted. I’m well aware of how painful it can be for an expectant mother to lose their child. The emotional impact is a part of why I made the prompt to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/16 "2022-02-05T17:10:19Z")
Hypothetically, the earth passes through the tail of a comet and 1/3 pregnancies terminate. Like the reverse of the antelope passing through the python economic analogy, a series of sectors see a 3-quarter slump: school admissions, entry-level jobs, etc. how those sectors mitigate their slumps will be where the effects would be seen. Really… not much. Example: Army recruitment quotas have to be met with reduced standards until the birth rate catches up. However, a strong job market for three quarters does the same thing already. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/17 "2022-02-05T21:41:48Z")
We just passed through something like this in the last year. > **[New Vintage 2021 Population Estimates Available for the Nation, States and...](https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2021-population-estimates.html)** > > According to estimates and components of change released today, the population of the United States grew in the past year by 392,665, or 0.1%. That 0.1% was the lowest population growth the US has ever had. Seventeen states actually lost population. A number of them had more deaths than births, although I don’t know how many. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/18 "2022-02-05T22:01:40Z")
> [@Cmyers1980](#): > > Nothing in my post should make anyone think I underestimate the emotional harm inflicted. Maybe it wasn’t an intentional underestimation, but the word “magically” looks like it downplays the harm, since “magical” has positive overtones. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/19 "2022-02-05T23:07:45Z")
Just for purposes of comparison, the infant mortality rate (under five years old) was over 46% in 1800. Cite: > **[United States: child mortality rate 1800-2020 | Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1041693/united-states-all-time-child-mortality-rate/)** > > The child mortality rate in the United States, for children under the age of five, was 462.9 deaths per thousand births in 1800. I don’t know what the death rate was at birth, but I bet it was close to 30%. Today 10 - 15% of pregnancies end in miscarriage before 20 weeks. > **[Miscarriage](https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/miscarriage-loss-grief/miscarriage)** > > March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. We use research, advocacy, and education to give every baby the best possible start. So it would be horrible, but not anything we haven’t experienced already. I suspect there might even be an increase in the birth rate after people find it was a one time event. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2022, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941/20 "2022-02-06T10:43:27Z")
If it was a one-time event I don’t think there would be any meaningful impact on demographics - those who wanted to be pregnant would most likely try again and most of them would get pregnant. Might not be a measurable blip in demographics. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-third-of-all-pregnant-women-magically-ceased-to-be-pregnant/958941.md?page=2)