Snarsisian Pregnancy & Infanthood

The Snarsisian species are an egg-laying species, and as such both the pregnancy as well as the egg stage as aspects of having a child. The two stages are seen as separate, and due to the egg stage being longer than the pregnancy state, more emphasis is put on the former in Snarsisian culture.

There are separate medical fields focusing on the pregnancy stage, the egg stage, as well as the infant stage with each one requiring different expertise. There are often trained professional Egg-careers whose job it is to care and watch over eggs, making sure they do not get damaged or sick and that parents are notified as soon as the egg begins to hatch.

Snarsisian Pregnancy & Egg Stage

Snarsisian have a short gestation period of a few months, at the end of which the mother will birth the egg or eggs. Clutches of one to three eggs at a time are the most common. The eggs at this stage are quite soft allowing for an easier birth, with the shell hardening a short time after. Eggs are often taken care of in a community egg nursery, where all the eggs in the area are watched over by egg carers in a controlled supervised environment.

The egg stage -when the offspring is developing in the egg outside the parent’s body- typically lasts around five months, with the infant breaking out of the shell using a small egg tooth that breaks off shortly after hatching. Occasionally the egg tooth will not fall off after hatching, in which case it is common for them to be filed down or left alone.

When first hatched, infant Snarsisians are typically very helpless with very little eye sight or hearing, and their skin is often very delicate and frail. It is typically at this stage that the parents will bring the infant home.

Practices

Egg jewelry

Parents will typically save the egg shells from their offspring, with many even bringing them to artisans and made into jewelry. The most common technique for this is making the shell and inlay into the final jewelry piece. The process often results in an elevated design that makes the bracelet a bit more tactile than it otherwise would have been.

These jewelry pieces are often kept as sentimental pieces by the parents and may even be passed on as family heirlooms. The most common forms of egg jewelry are bracelet bangles, with swirling organic motifs being the most popular. Oftentimes the name or initials of the child whose shell was used is engraved on the inside.

Similar traditions may be followed with children’s egg tooths but this is less common than using egg shells.