FAQ / Life on Pern / Craft Information / Healer Craft / Pregnancy & Childbirth on Pern
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Last updated 21st July 2006 by Bree
Pregnancy & Visiting the Dolphins
Article by: Avril
Pregnancy & Dolphins: When a Visit is NOT Okay
Dolphins, once known as shipfish, are one of Pern's biggest assets to medicine, despite not actually following under the purview of the Healercraft. Using the special sense that enables them to "see"
underwater, dolphins are capable of detecting abnormalities in the human body, such as tumors and a woman's pregnancy. Dolphins are aided in this by human dolphineers who specialize in working with dolphins to diagnose medical problems.
However, dolphins are not the only way of detecting pregnancy. In fact, consultation of a dolphin is comparatively rare, considering the fact that only a coastal Hall, Hold, or Weyr could possibly have access to a pod. Since /between/ is the preferred method of abortion on Pern, taking a woman suspected to be pregnant /between/ just to visit the dolphins to confirm pregnancy would not be done, as that could quite possibly trigger an abortion and the visit to the dolphins would be moot. Short flights over land might be acceptable, especially if the woman resides within a few miles of the sea, but for inland women, access to dolphin diagnosis would be almost impossible. Dolphin detection is also not entirely accurate, especially not initially, and a trained Healer can typically confirm pregnancy within close proximity of the earliest time a dolphin could detect it.
So when is a dolphin likely to diagnose a woman's pregnancy? If the woman lives in a coastal Hold, Hall, or Weyr which has a nearby dolphin pod. If she lives anywhere else, a Healer is the way to have a pregnancy diagnosed. Otherwise, the /betweening/ to visit the dolphins would probably trigger an abortion of the baby. For this reason, visiting the dolphins is not a common course of action.
See Also: Pregnancy & Childbirth on Pern, Dolphin Craft
Referenced By: Dolphin Hall Duties
Dolphins, once known as shipfish, are one of Pern's biggest assets to medicine, despite not actually following under the purview of the Healercraft. Using the special sense that enables them to "see"
underwater, dolphins are capable of detecting abnormalities in the human body, such as tumors and a woman's pregnancy. Dolphins are aided in this by human dolphineers who specialize in working with dolphins to diagnose medical problems.
However, dolphins are not the only way of detecting pregnancy. In fact, consultation of a dolphin is comparatively rare, considering the fact that only a coastal Hall, Hold, or Weyr could possibly have access to a pod. Since /between/ is the preferred method of abortion on Pern, taking a woman suspected to be pregnant /between/ just to visit the dolphins to confirm pregnancy would not be done, as that could quite possibly trigger an abortion and the visit to the dolphins would be moot. Short flights over land might be acceptable, especially if the woman resides within a few miles of the sea, but for inland women, access to dolphin diagnosis would be almost impossible. Dolphin detection is also not entirely accurate, especially not initially, and a trained Healer can typically confirm pregnancy within close proximity of the earliest time a dolphin could detect it.
So when is a dolphin likely to diagnose a woman's pregnancy? If the woman lives in a coastal Hold, Hall, or Weyr which has a nearby dolphin pod. If she lives anywhere else, a Healer is the way to have a pregnancy diagnosed. Otherwise, the /betweening/ to visit the dolphins would probably trigger an abortion of the baby. For this reason, visiting the dolphins is not a common course of action.
See Also: Pregnancy & Childbirth on Pern, Dolphin Craft
Referenced By: Dolphin Hall Duties