r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/Historical_Project00 • Jun 03 '24
Is it just me or does it never look like the handmaids are pregnant? Question
Whenever we see handmaids in a group, walking, at the grocery store, etc. None of them ever have an obvious belly of any kind. They never look pregnant. Wouldn't that be more accurate to the story and paint a better picture of the situation their in if many of them were seen in various stages of pregnancy?
THT is already so dystopian to watch as a viewer (because it's meant to be), and I feel like that would be the cherry on top (not in a good way obviously, but you get what I mean).
Edit: Did Gilead claim that their "handmaid program" was successful to the Mexican ambassador? It's been years since I watched that episode (and I currently don't have a Hulu subscription) but I remember the Mexican ambassador showing interest in their way of trying to increase the fertility.
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u/zombiefishgirl Jun 03 '24
The thing is even with the Handmaid's the fertility rate is extremely low
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u/why-peanut Jun 03 '24
Which part gave you that? I got that they were chosen exactly for being fertile, but the men are most likely infertile and they don’t accept this being a male problem (June’s Doc said that and even Serena thought that about Fred).
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u/zombiefishgirl Jun 03 '24
I know, by "even with the Handmaids" I was referring to the system rather than the Handmaids themselves fertility as in "even with the system of having handmaids the overall fertility rate is extremely low, e.g. as you said, male fertility especially "
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u/snakefinder Jun 03 '24
As other commenters are saying- there’s a fertility crisis and Handmaids are believed to be “more” fertile because they’ve given birth to at least one healthy child. However, the book and the show give hints that it’s really a problem with the men.
BUT ALSO- the handmaids & commanders who follow the ceremony are only “having sex” (raping the handmaid) once a day, for only 3 days out of the month, when the handmaid is believed to be fertile based on counting days from her periods I believe. Thats not a great way to get pregnant. Even happy couples with no fertility problems who have sex often might take more than a year to get pregnant. There’s like a million variables.
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24
Did Gilead claim that their "handmaid program" was successful to the Mexican ambassador? It's been years since I watched that episode (and I currently don't have a Hulu subscription) but I remember the Mexican ambassador showing interest in their way of trying to increase the fertility.
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u/kritycat Jun 03 '24
Yes, that was the whole point of showing off the children at the reception. They are then negotiating to export handmaids to Mexico -- not just the program, sex trafficking women to other countries.
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24
I guess my question then is if it was successful, wouldn’t we see more haindmaids visibly pregnant?
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u/d4ddyslittlealien Jun 03 '24
I’m currently rewatching and actually just saw this episode today. The Mexican ambassador said that a child has not been born alive in 6 years in her home city. So even a handful of full-term, healthy pregnancies from Gilead would be a success compared to Mexico
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24 edited Jun 03 '24
I just watched that clip on YouTube. I love how when she says "My country is dying." June brings it into comparison to Gilead, "We're already dead." MIC DROP
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u/kritycat Jun 03 '24
I'm not really up on the various ways pregnant handmaids would be treated, so I cannot comment on why you don't see the number of pregnant handmaids that you think would be appropriate to see.
As a formerly pregnant person, I didn't appear pregnant for more than 5 months. In those robes? I'd expect that the vast majority of pregnancies are not visible except when VERY far along, and at that point, I'd assume most were kept home for their "health and safety"
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u/NeedARita Jun 03 '24
It seems like after the grocery store scene and the hospital handmaids didn’t go out as much after they were pregnant but I can’t say for certain.
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u/mi2626 Jun 04 '24
I swear I remember them kinda lying about how successful they actually were or implied as such.
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u/ZongduOfArrakis Jun 03 '24
They claimed as such, but that episode is a weird one to me, since they did not really give religious fundamentalist vibes and I'm not sure why a still relatively democratic country that sends female ambassadors isn't considering artificial insemination and buying sperm abroad. It kind of comes off as a dropped plot, as we haven't really heard more about Mexico and Tuello also said that Canada had made improvements thanks to science the following season.
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u/mur0204 Jun 03 '24
Yeah. There is no way that their system is actually more effective for fertility than science would produce. The only way they might be producing more children would be because of the forced pregnancy portion meaning actually more people trying to get pregnant and keeping it when they do.
In an actual fertility crisis, it would be better fixed via science, checking sperm quality to ensure best success, along with making surrogacy and pregnancy in general an appealing pathway (govt subsidies that encourage people to both try as ell as keep the pregnancy). Think of how many people today are avoiding pregnancy due to the economic and environmental uncertainty, even those that would otherwise love a kid.
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u/ZongduOfArrakis Jun 03 '24
Yeah, I mean, it makes sense for Gilead, because of course of religious fundamentalism. But Mexico basically seemed very 'liberal coded' to me: 'nice' female ambassador that reminds June of the before times and who (in some ways) stands up to the system. So, idk why they act like she has no choice to take part in modern slavery unless like ten different types of schemes were tried and failed. Even then it would be risky if they couldn't trust the quality of Mexican sperm or if there was something in the environment that would affect the Handmaids once they got to Mexico.
I kind of actually think we at least needed an explanation for this in Canada, too. Like, contrasting the Gilead message with a pro-government propaganda about fertility research, but have background characters say 'oh all the money for the research has dried up paying off Europe for propping up our civilian economy' or 'the waiting list to get the treatment is ten years long' or something.
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u/mur0204 Jun 03 '24
Yeah- it doesn’t seem like they actually fleshed out the idea or their stance on what’s working (maybe they really don’t want to commit and start debates on whether they picked the “right” thing to win out on baby making) But then in this last season, they go all in on Serena finally got pregnant “because on the environment improvements healing them” and Fred going off during the trial (which should def get shut down for being out of order) about how they are the only country that has solved the problem at all and the support of Canadian people supporting that “fact”.
It ultimately just doesn’t make any sense for them to actually be succeeding.
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u/ZongduOfArrakis Jun 03 '24
Yeah and let's also not forget that the Handmaid system also covers the literal one percenters. Most people are laborers or at least are low ranking enough in the system they have to deal with their own wives (or really, bc the issue is men, the average women don't get rotated around enough for a chance of being with a man who's not sterile). It is basically an extreme vanity project as even if the Aunts fine-tuned some things to make the system better, the babies that are being born are the kind of kids who are expected to have their own servants and a large working population providing a surplus for them to live off - the kind of kids whose parents don't get anything special and whose fertility rates would probably be hit by malnutrition and poor living conditions and healthcare in a place as impoverished as Gilead.
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u/Blinkopopadop Jun 03 '24
I saw it as the threat that other more secular countries would start trying it out because "you can't argue with results"
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u/bananacasanova Jun 03 '24
Agreed. I wish they hadn’t dropped this plot line because I found it really interesting
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u/Milvers619 Jun 03 '24
Infertile woman here 🙋🏼♀️
3 days out of the month actually is all it takes to get pregnant. You can’t actually get pregnant when you’re not ovulating and you’re only fertile a few days out of the month. In my experience when my doctor finally got me to ovulate he said “ok have sex Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday” and I got pregnant. 🥰
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u/snakefinder Jun 03 '24
Oh I totally get that - however I think you’d agree it’s not always an exact science AND you were seeing an actual medical doctor whereas I think most in Gilead were just counting days? I can’t remember - I know pregnancy tests were black market, not sure if they talked much about ovulation. I remember they took the handmaid to the gyno but not sure what he was doing, exactly.
Still it’s not always so “on target” as it was for you- for example I’ve seen friends go through rounds of failed IVF- sometimes the pregnancy doesn’t “stick” for whatever reason.
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u/bananacasanova Jun 03 '24
I don’t recall why pregnancy tests were black market, did they state a reason?
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u/sparkledoom Jun 03 '24
But there’s also evidence sperm can live in the body for (I think) 5 days. So even though you can only become pregnant while ovulating, the sex doesn’t necessarily have to happen on ovulation days.
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u/Milvers619 Jun 03 '24
Yep that’s why you are fertile the days leading up to ovulation because the sperm is in there waiting for the egg.
You only ovulate one day but are fertile 5ish days a month. I think it’s the 3 days before, day of and day after (don’t quote me on that because I’m not sure the exact days)
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u/bronfoth Jun 03 '24
🤣🤣🤣 sorry, but under other circumstances I can imagine quipping... "So you're saying that's it? 3 times? We can't have sex again after Thursday? 😳🤭 Oh sorry, I see, we CAN, but it won't help us get pregnant. Okay then! Thanks Doc!"
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u/Milvers619 Jun 03 '24
Lol we did do it Friday and Saturday just in case but I didn’t ask about it 🥴😂
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u/bronfoth Jun 03 '24
Bahahahaha.... Well I wouldn't have back then either. My kids are 20 and 17 now, and I'm 8 years divorced and have been dating on and off for 5 years. Very different now to what I was then. I would have made a good obedient handmaiden back in the day. Now I'd be lucky to be a Jezebel. 🤣
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u/bronfoth Jun 03 '24
🤔 actually, I was married to a church minister. What the heck would I have been?
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u/Milvers619 Jun 03 '24
I like to think we’d be econopeople since we haven’t really “sinned” Luckily I wouldn’t be a handmaid due to infertility.. but maybe I would since I had a healthy baby 😳
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u/bronfoth Jun 03 '24
Oh heck... Surely they wouldn't risk you being a handmaid? \ I wonder, would being an econowife be so bad?\ Is it maybe the best position to simply fly under the radar?
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u/Milvers619 Jun 03 '24
I think being an econowife is the best case scenario. You get to keep your family as long as you follow the rules and that’s the most important thing I think.
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u/bronfoth Jun 03 '24
Yes, same. If they stole my kids I don't know what I'd do. I'd be a June for sure. But more irritable a d passive-aggressive. 🤭
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u/panicnarwhal Jun 03 '24
while it’s true the fertile window is only about 7 days long, that window can vary wildly - i got pregnant when i technically “shouldn’t have” - a whole 13 full days after the first day of my last period. i can still remember looking at my app and thinking it was okay 😭
apparently it (fertile week) can happen anywhere between day 6 and day 21 of your cycle, so if they are off on those 3 days - no one is getting pregnant, especially with the majority of the dudes shooting blanks 💀
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u/Milvers619 Jun 03 '24
Cycle day 13 is actually very commonly a fertile day. Typically you ovulate in the middle of your cycle. Day 13 would be right around there. Most women with normal regular cycles would be fertile around that mark.
Obviously this is not exact as every woman is different.
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u/panicnarwhal Jun 04 '24
according to the app, i was fertile days 4 through 10 - and this was the app recommended to me by my ob/gyn and my midwife, so for me to get pregnant on day 13 was pretty shocking at the time lol. that’s when i looked into it further, and realized exactly how wide that window really could be!
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u/Milvers619 Jun 04 '24
Do you have short cycles? I know 4-10 is possible but it’s definitely early. I’ve also noticed that the apps can really vary quite a bit.
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u/Important_Pattern_85 27d ago
The handmaids go on monthly doctor visits to check they’re ovulating. I don’t remember if this was from the book but it was definitely in the show
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u/bronfoth Jun 03 '24
🤣🤣🤣 I love how often this thread ends up being a sex-ed type discussion. "To get pregnant you need to..." 🤣🤣🤣
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u/cart-pit Jun 03 '24
i think its a couple of things... a) the fertility crisis is still very real, and even the handmaids have difficulty getting pregnant
b) IIRC, in the book, pregnant handmaids were instructed to rest aside from getting regular exercise- they wouldn't have been expected to do the shopping or other errands and thus are less likely to be seen
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u/OpheliaLives7 Jun 03 '24
I think the book mentions miscarriages and stillbirths a couple more times as well. Offred mentions Unbabies and even stops for a funeral econopeople are having I think.
Ugh now im wondering if Gilead had some morbid baby mass graves somewhere that were discovered after Gilead fell.
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u/TrailMomKat Jun 03 '24
More likely, unbabies and stillbirths were incinerated.
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u/bronfoth Jun 03 '24
"unbabies" is just another horrendous label I can't un-hear.
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u/JanisIansChestHair Jun 03 '24
In the book, Angela is supposed to be an “unbaby” or a “shredder” is the other term 🤮
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u/bananacasanova Jun 03 '24
“Shredder” always makes me shudder, ugh
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u/juliacaanfly Jun 03 '24
Are they called Shredders because they "shred" the mothers on the way out, or is it the disposal method?
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u/Possible_Dig_1194 Jun 03 '24
I'm going to guess they are disposable because even healthy babies will tear their mother's apart
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u/JanisIansChestHair Jun 03 '24
They’re called shredders when they have physical disabilities and deformities. I googled for a better definition and it’s basically because they’re unlikely to survive Gilead and are being “sent to the shredder” in the proverbial sense. They are just left to die.
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u/juliacaanfly Jun 03 '24
Ah, okay. I wasn't sure if the babies were being shredded or were the ones doing the shredding. I didn't even think it could have just been a name lmao. Thanks!
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u/OpheliaLives7 Jun 04 '24
More morbid thoughts, i know US Catholics used to (some are) still against cremation. Do we think whatever flavor of Christianity Sons of Jacob are would be too? Idk how other Christian denominations felt about it in the 80s.
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u/TrailMomKat Jun 04 '24
You're right on, I actually am a Catholic and after years of saying "cremate my ass, don't waste good earth on me," and my family bore the expensive burial of my sister, my daddy came around and decided he wanted to do the same. Because if anything, it would save us all a fuckton of money.
I want an open bar at my funeral, and a bonfire my kids can toss me on, then dance round it and pee on the ashes lol
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u/Rubyleaves18 Jun 03 '24
Like China and similar regimes, they probably hide the statistics of failed pregnancies, stillbirths, etc. Therefore, I would not be surprised if there was a mass grave of poor babies.
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u/ZongduOfArrakis Jun 03 '24
The most unusual thing is that even at this point in the show, none of the Handmaids seem stressed about almost being to the point where they'd be purged if they hadn't gotten pregnant. Alma and Brianna did die before they likely reached the six year mark (probably - it's unclear actually, since June says seven years later in that season) but the weird thing is they don't seem to express a sense of anxiety about the fact that they need to be pregnant, pronto. The entire plot of season 1 was June panicking because she had one assignment left before the Colonies, so it's weird that nobody else seems to be under the same pressure (granted, since season 4 a lot of the Handmaids are new aside from Janine and Esther).
I agree above that the Handmaid system is kind of doomed to inevitably fail though, because the men are sterile and they don't test them. In reality, you'd likely start to see it come apart at the seams a bit by the time of seasons 4/5, where a lot of the Handmaids would start hitting three failed postings (it could survive, but would have to either break the promise to send them to the Colonies or regularly purge more Econowives for the system to remain intact). However, this isn't really focused on, and in fact the show actually kind of leans into the opposite and acts like Gilead has helped improve fertility rates (explicitly, at least in Fred's words, and then a huge amount of pregnancies begin to happen in season 5). It might be hard to I guess factor all the pregnancies into the writing and the costuming department, but yeah, it's weird that this dilemma has basically been ignored.
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u/emwimm Jun 03 '24
To my understanding, the fertility crisis is still ongoing. Handmaids do struggle to get pregnant. If I remember correctly, handmaids only get a limited amount of time at each household to "produce." Maybe three or four ceremonies? In the book, I don't really remember them fawning over all the pregnant handmaids. I believe it still was a struggle for them to be fruitful in the original text.
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u/Critical_Success_936 Jun 03 '24
Three years of ceremonies, if I recall. Ceremony is once a month, but it's a full year of it before they switch households. Which makes no sense bc, before pregnancy tests, it was more common to know 2-3 months along.
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u/psychobabblebullshxt Jun 03 '24
I thought the ceremony was performed once a month?
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u/Exciting_Editor_8366 Jun 03 '24
Some where, I think the last season June says it happened 3 nights in a row during their fertile period.
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u/lordmwahaha Jun 03 '24
This is what I thought too - because realistically, you’d never get pregnant if it was only one day. Ovulation varies enough between women that you would have almost zero chance of striking ON the exact day. I was pretty sure it was three days a month.
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u/Issis_P Jun 03 '24
I just rewatched the movie and it appears they are only there for four’ish months. At one point when Offred was back at the red centre Aunt Lydia was asking her about the ceremony and why they skipped xx and xx day as they were her most fertile. So it sounds like it was supposed to be attempted on the three best days for conception. There were also a lot of big time jumps in the movie that make me thankful for the more detailed TV series.
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u/mur0204 Jun 03 '24
In the show June explicitly states that it is three nights in a row each month during their most fertile phase (checked via gyno visits).
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u/emwimm Jun 03 '24
The ceremony is a monthly occurrence.I looked it up and the wiki states "Handmaids have three chances to get pregnant in three different households during two year assignments." So this could be a mistake on my part, thinking that this implies that they get three ceremonies at each household before reassignment.
Regardless, the chances that someone will get pregnant during a global fertility crisis with just one attempt to do so a month are probably pretty low in this fictional world, just as they would be irl.
Edit: Other commenters have explained the assignment protocol which makes MUCH more sense than what I had interpreted! Thanks, all!
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24
I assumed it was once a month to align with the most fertile period of the handmaid's menstrual cycle? At least if I were trying to force babies into this world that would make the most sense to me.
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u/emwimm Jun 03 '24
That's also what I assumed. But you also would have to take into account that Gilead does not use medical intervention to help with family planning and pregnancy except if it is done to save a baby. They would be tracking cycles the old fashioned way. Given that we see how stressful living with the wives is, and given that most people who menstrate know how just a little stress can totally throw your cycle out of line, it isn't farfetched to believe that the pressure to become pregnant, the stress of failure, and the fear of abuse could all cause a handmaid to have even more issues conceiving. Pair that with a global fertility crisis, and it definitely becomes easier to believe that handmaids getting pregnant is an uncommon feat at best.
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u/lordmwahaha Jun 03 '24
The show basically confirms that it’s rare to actually have a kid, too. When you see the children of Gilead in that one scene - there aren’t many there. That’s maybe 20 kids that they’re celebrating like it’s a huge deal. And handmaids who have had a child are given places of honour in certain ceremonies, implying it’s not just normal. If it was normal, it would be expected.
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24
Someone else also just mentioned that the commanders were infertile themselves, further contributing to this.
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u/emwimm Jun 03 '24
Definitely. Serena herself doubts her husband's ability to produce, which is why she suggests June uses Nick to get pregnant.
Gilead uses infertility as a way to keep women oppressed. The show mentions something along the lines of "there are no infertile men, only barren women." Gilead doesn't even consider the possibility that the problem with the fertility crisis could stem from or affect men at all, only women. This then allows Gilead to manipulate the pious women into believing they are less than worthy, further feeding into the narrative.
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24
It's so infuriating. Today in the US, 9% of men and 11% of women experience infertility problems, so pretty much the same rates. Definitely unsurprising though they would create a narrative like that. It's always the woman's fault.
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u/mur0204 Jun 03 '24
And some of that statistic is thrown by women be in more likely to get tested even though it’s more complex testing and more invasive (since many men take it as a challenge on their manhood to be sterile). So it’s likely almost exactly the same, since it’s usually random luck of the draw.
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u/lordmwahaha Jun 03 '24
If you were forcing babies into the world you wouldn’t do it on one day though. Because that would never work, because you quite literally have no way of knowing for sure if the woman is actually ovulating on that day. Even having sex literally every single time you MIGHT be ovulating, it’s still normal to take up to a year to get pregnant.
It would have to be several days in a row.
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u/tryingtobecheeky Jun 03 '24
They get three postings. Each posting is two years. In the book, June was at her last posting.
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u/CookieCompetitive337 Jun 03 '24
In the book, handmaids had 2 years in a household to produce a baby. And three chances I.e. can be in three households for 2 years each. Once your six years is done, off to the colonies with you.
June's posting with the Waterfords was her third so she needed to make it happen. Serena knows this and that's why she organised Nick's part in it.
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u/bananacasanova Jun 03 '24
I don’t remember getting the impression that Serena cared that much about June potentially going off to the colonies, but it’s been awhile since I watched that season
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u/Oragami Jun 03 '24
I cant remember where I read it (pretty sure it was The Testaments) but I saw somewhere that they got two years each in three postings, with one 'ceremony' each month. I may be wrong. Might be different than what is in the show
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24
Thank you (and to u/zombiefishgirl), that makes a lot of sense. I didn't realize the fertility rate was that low for even the handmaids!
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u/imperfectchicken Jun 03 '24
Would like to point out that a visibly pregnant Handmaid might be guarded or sheltered for the duration, instead of strolling around in public all vulnerable-like. Jealous strangers aren't uncommon.
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u/aussie_teacher_ Jun 03 '24
Yes, there's a line in the book about Janine "showing off” because she's out shopping and heavily pregnant, so doesn't have to go. From memory there's also a scene where TV Janine is out walking with an armed guardian nearby.
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u/peoplesuck2024 Jun 03 '24
Seems a lot of the males are infertile, and they don't use any real tools to measure when a handmaid is ovulating. Also, when a handmaid becomes pregnant, her duties are often lightened, and she isn't seen at gatherings or out of the house near as much.
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u/lordmwahaha Jun 03 '24
Well yes, that’s because of the global fertility crisis. It’s still impacting the handmaids. Just because they can have babies in theory, that doesn’t actually mean it’s easy. Especially because the show literally confirms that the MEN are the main issue, so there probably aren’t a lot of handmaids actually getting pregnant.
Out of universe, it’s probably because baby bumps are props that cost money. And the costumes are fairly baggy, anyway, so you wouldn’t be able to see a bump until quite late in the pregnancy.
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u/__merryprankster Jun 03 '24
I was thinking this too during my last rewatch. I know there is a fertility crisis, but I thought maybe they’d add more just storyline. But if you think about it, the story only focuses deep on a handful of Handmaids, so the chance is way less.
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u/Mammoth_Ad1017 Jun 03 '24
I thought once a handmaid was pregnant, she got kind of pampered and allowed to be home relaxing maybe? That's why we don't see them out and about doing errands? I could be wrong...
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u/illumi-thotti Jun 03 '24
It irritates me more how few miscarriages and stillbirths we see in-universe. The U.S. epidemic of miscarriages, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths was very prevalent in the flashbacks and the rate of healthy births for handmaids has been previously stated to be 5% (meaning 95% end with pregnancy loss, infsnt disabilities or death).
Meanwhile only 2 handmaids have actually had unsuccessful pregnancies (OfAndy's stillbirth and an offscreen birth of a disabled baby Alma tells June about). Characters were having major pregnancy complications left and right only for the baby to be born completely fine. Even Natalie's son was fine (despite Natalie being shot through the torso early on in pregnancy and her severely premature son being removed via c-section and placed in a nicu).
I get not wanting to show copious amounts of baby death, but maybe don't establish mass baby death as part of the world building if you don't want to depict it. It makes the stakes feel nonexistent.
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u/doublersuperstar Jun 03 '24
Their clothing is huge, loose-fitting. When they’re going out, they have to wear those enormous red cloaks. It hides pregnancy very well. When they have that off, I’ve noticed baby bumps.
Yes, the Mexican consulate was interested. I think she said it had been years since Mexico had a live birth.
But as others noted earlier, the birth rate in Gilead is still very low. It’s just supposedly the best in the world perhaps? Ugh.
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u/catastrophicqueen Jun 03 '24
Honestly even in the book not many of them are seen in various stages of pregnancy. Janine is described as being heavily pregnant at one point in the early stages, before a Birth Day is described, and June suspects she may be pregnant before the end of the book (which ends extremely early in the grand scheme of things compared to the show because it's mainly a narrative that occurs in June's head and memories) but it's very rare to see a handmaid pregnant, because infertility is often blamed on women but is actually a much more widespread problem, often originating with men more than women (although they do say that women are also struggling in some cases iirc).
Spoilers for the later seasons because from what I gather you've mainly mentioned early season stuff: I think that in the later seasons it might work, especially now that we are seeing so much more Gilead propaganda from the perspective of outsiders, it would make sense that they centered pregnant handmaids in propaganda to show us as a viewer how dystopian it is, but also making the point that Gilead wants to make of "we are having more babies because our policies have begun working" Early seasons though I think it makes sense that their rate of pregnancies is actually very low
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u/crikeyyyy Jun 03 '24
Its the baggy red robes that cover any sort of display of "sinfully sexy" female form, that also obscures the handmaidens midaection when she's big as a cow
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u/Hot_Page7128 29d ago
In the episodes where the Waterfords first visit Canada, Mark Tuello tells Serena that medical studies have shown the fertility problem is the men and not the women.
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u/FuzzyBumblebee3 Jun 03 '24
I agree with you and dont agree with the comments. I get that many men are infertile and even handmaids fertility rate are low, but i remember in the mexican episode they brought in like 20 children that handmaids “produced”. So there should be pregnant handmaids from time to time, but we never ever saw one other than june and janine. Its just another plothole for me next to a million others. But i didnt mind them until the last season. The lack of any logic in the last season are staggering.
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u/Forever_Marie Jun 03 '24
Not many get pregnant. June looked pregnant, I think? So did that girl that shot up the market. I don't remember if Janine looked pregnant since that is early on and it has been a while .
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u/cleverCLEVERcharming Jun 03 '24
Along with everything else mentioned, it would also be encouraged for the Handmaid to be modest about her pregnancy I would assume. Accept praise but do not invite it. The praise and attention would be designated for the wives. So having a prominent bump may be seen as greedy for attention.
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u/Liraeyn Jun 03 '24
Part of it has to be those dresses. They're built for use during all stages of pregnancy, so it takes a while to show.
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u/JavaCats72 Jun 04 '24
The book explains that most of the Commanders are infertile due to a virus that was used as a biological weapon. That’s why Janine got pregnant from sleeping with a doctor and Offred got pregnant after after sleeping with Nick.
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u/JuliaSky1995 Jun 03 '24
Did you miss the entire plot? There’s an infertility epidemic. The whole point of having handmaids is that couples could not get pregnant
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24 edited Jun 03 '24
I've watched the whole show. Of course the couples could not get pregnant, that's why there were handmaids. I was just under the impression that the handmaids were more fertile than they were. Be nice.
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u/i_like_beer23 Jun 03 '24
The handmaids were chosen since they were proven to be fertile by having at least one live birth previously although it wasn’t consistent with Gilead’s laws. The doctor that checked June before the ceremony said most of the commanders were sterile but they would never admit it. Or something along those lines, it’s been a bit since I’ve watched the first season.
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u/Historical_Project00 Jun 03 '24
I will say I feel like such a dumbass for asking in hindsight now, since I forgot about this part. I know the handmaids also struggle with fertility but I really do think the commanders being sterile are probably the biggest answer.
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u/Capable-Matter-5976 Jun 03 '24
The men are infertile but won’t admit it, that’s why more of the handmaids don’t get pregnant.