If there's one gameplay aspect in The Sims 4 that EA seems to have ignored for too long, it's pregnancy. And yet, pregnancy is such a crucial part of a game that essentially simulates life. For those who want to build their families from the bottom up, it can get super repetitive and tedious to play with the same, predictable settings.
Thankfully, tons of modders have chipped in to create realistic mods that make the game a million times more immersive. Players wanting to spice up their family gameplay should definitely grab a few of these pregnancy-enhancing mods for their next legacy or family playthrough. Here are a few essentials dedicated Simmers shouldn't miss out on.
Updated April 11, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: The Sims 4 is another great entry in this popular life simulation series. Despite launching with a dearth of content and gameplay options, the game has simply become better over time and is now easily one of the best games in the simulation genre that fans can check out. The massive amount of DLC for this game ensures that players will enjoy a fresh gameplay loop every single time, and the possibilities don't end there. The Sims 4 also has an active modding community that can tweak and modify many aspects of the game with ease. The sheer number of mods that are available in The Sims 4 is truly impressive, and fans who might be getting bored of the vanilla experience can download a whole host of mods to make the gameplay more engaging than ever before. Pregnancy is one aspect of The Sims 4 that has been affected heavily by mods, the best of which are mentioned below.
1 Realistic Pregnancy Symptoms
Regardless of what The Sims 4 may try to say, there's no denying that pregnancy is anything but a walk in the park. A woman's body and moods are altered quite heavily, with hormones and a heavier stomach leading to many complications further down the line. This typically leads to pregnant women experiencing a series of symptoms that can arrive at a moment's notice.
Players who want their Sims to go through such an authentic experience during their pregnancy should definitely check out the Realistic Pregnancy Symptoms mod. It does a great job of replicating these symptoms in-game, and players will have to micromanage the actions of their pregnant Sims quite a bit if they wish to avoid any unnecessary complications that can arise from Sim autonomy.
2 Risky Woohoo & Try For Baby Chances
All the aspects of fertility vary for different women, and so it's rather disappointing that the base version of The Sims 4 doesn't really account for any pregnancy risks or the chances of impregnation during the WooHoo and Try for Baby options. Thankfully, there are mods that personalize the very nature of pregnancy itself, increasing the chances of a WooHoo leading to a baby as well.
Players will need to be mindful while messing around with their partners. Trying for a baby won't be a straightforward process anymore either, with everything from a Sim's mood to their traits governing their current rate of fertility. A high rate of fertility isn't necessarily a good thing either, since this can lead to unwanted pregnancies more often than not.
3 Pregnancy Time
The nine-month pregnancy period is obviously common knowledge at this point, but trying to replicate this time period in a session of The Sims 4 can be quite a huge ask. Instead of spending nine virtual months with a pregnant Sim, only a few days pass before a Sim gives birth.
Players who don't like this brief pregnancy period can download a mod to change the pregnancy timeline. This figure can be tweaked all the way to 147 days, which can seem excessive but certainly is pretty realistic if players want to emulate these lengthy pregnancy periods.
4 Pregnant Aging And Death
Not all mods related to pregnancy for The Sims 4 are necessarily happy. However, they can still be useful when trying to make dramatic and extremely emotional stories in a game as happy-go-lucky as The Sims 4. The Pregnant Aging & Death mod by PolarBearSims does that job perfectly.
Whereas in the vanilla version of the game, pregnant Sims were immune to death, this mod makes them like normal Sims. Pregnant Sims will no longer be safe from the hazards of the world, nor will they wait until giving birth to age up and die. It's the ultimate sad and realistic mod out there, perfect for storyteller Simmers.
5 Discover Pregnancy
For seasoned players, the main frustration in The Sims 4 is that pregnancy never comes as a surprise. From a storytelling perspective, this can make the game feel predictable and boring in the long run, and that's why Discover Pregnancy by SimMixD is a fantastic pregnancy mod to add some spice and excitement.
Players will no longer be able to just know from specific cues if their Sim is pregnant, such as certain idle animations like thought bubbles with baby items or appearing nauseous. This adds a lot of excitement and anticipation to gameplay, and it's also realistic in the sense that pregnancy isn't always easy or straightforward to detect.
6 Pregnancy Is Fine
The moodlet system in The Sims 4 is a genius addition to the game, making it more interesting to control Sims. However, pregnancy often gives powerful positive moodlets that last for days and aren't necessarily always realistic or helpful in terms of immersive gameplay, especially when a Sim is having their third child.
Thanks to the Pregnancy Is Fine mod by Iced Cream, Sims will now feel perfectly Fine about their pregnancy without being constantly over the moon about it. This is of course more of a preference mod, and in some cases, overjoyed Sims can be exactly what the player wants.
7 Cycle - Menstruation And Fertility
In the real world, pregnancy isn't easy for everyone to achieve. Some families try for years without success, while in The Sims 4, having a child can seem ridiculously easy. Thanks to the Cycle mod by NeonOcean, pregnancy in The Sims 4 becomes more realistic and challenging.
Sims now have menstrual cycles that they must track in order to maximize their chances of having a baby. There are certain times in the calendar when they will have a higher chance of conceiving and should prioritize those days. The mod also adds in all the headaches of dealing with periods, along with tampons and pads.
8 WonderfulWhims
From the maker of the infamous WickedWhims mod, comes WonderfulWhims by TURBODRIVER, which is a slightly more wholesome and family-friendly gameplay mod that improves a ton of features in the game, including pregnancy. For the sake of realism, it's possible to have a menstrual cycle, miscarry, and even donate unborn babies for scientific research.
On top of those options, a variety of features dealing with relationships, preferences, and attractions have been added in, somewhat inspired by The Sims 2's attraction system. It's possible to have polyamorous relationships and even an open relationship with another Sim.
9 Quadruplets And Quintuplets
Having twins not enough for players? Maybe the idea of quadruplets or quintuplets sounds like a great challenge for a household, in which case the base game itself might make things a bit challenging, as it does limit the maximum amount of babies a Sim can be pregnant with.
Pekesims fixes this issue by introducing the possibility of even more babies with this The Sims 4 pregnancy mod. Be warned, however, that raising this many children is going to be a major challenge, but at the same time, it really does make things a bit more interesting. For extreme family players only.
10 Babies For Everyone
Throughout the years, the franchise has been known for producing some of the most inclusive games of all time. That includes romance options as well, allowing for same-sex romances and marriage, as well as all possible romantic interactions. The only issue is that same-sex couples don't have the opportunity to conceive.
That is until this Sims 4 pregnancy mod by Tanja1986 was released. Through the power of science, anyone can now become pregnant if they so wish, which just takes away a ton of hassle from the game and makes romance gameplay so much more interesting and diverse for Simmers.
11 Baby Maker Trait
While the game already has a trait for Sims who are family-oriented, this trait just doesn't seem to focus enough on wanting more children or babies. After all, some are eternally in a constant baby fever mode and just can't get enough of the parent lifestyle.
That's where this mod by Kialauna steps in and introduces a brand new custom The Sims 4 trait called BabyMachine. Sims with this trait are often in a flirty mood and will want to seduce those around them to try for a baby. Moreover, they also get a boost when it comes to the Charisma skill, so they can better find romantic partners.
12 Advanced Birth Certificate
Players who have Get To Work installed will know that they can join their pregnant Sim at the hospital when they finally give birth. This also provides them with a new birth certificate in their inventory, which can be placed on the wall as a decoration.
With this little pregnancy mod by LittleMsSam, the birth certificate can also be gained through the rabbit hole interaction. Moreover, it can be renamed, and it'll be slightly different depending on which life state the born Sim represents. That means mermaids, vampires, and even spellcasters will have unique certificates.
13 MC Command Center
It's pretty obvious The Sims 4 is lacking in gameplay in so many ways. At times, it's difficult to tell any stories, because of how generic everything is. However, the MC Command Center by Deaderpool changes that entirely by allowing players to control just about anything within the game with just one click.
This is a great, versatile mod for any Simmer, not just those looking to make pregnancy and family gameplay more realistic. However, it does allow the player to introduce varying lengths of pregnancy and even some mood swings to spice things up in the household.
14 Wicked Whims
Definitely not designed for those under the age of 18, Wicked Whims makes the love life of Sims much more realistic. However, it's not just for new animations and interactions that this The Sims 4 mod by TURBODRIVER is great. It also has some features related to pregnancy.
For one, the mod introduces menstrual cycles, fertility treatments, birth control, and even pregnancy termination services. Sims can also measure their level of fertility if they're looking to conceive and want the highest chances. For realistic gameplay, the mod definitely does a lot, if players can get past the NSFW parts.
15 Instant Morning Sickness
Not at all pregnancies are obvious. In real life, surprises take place all the time, and it can make for really great storytelling to have that same aspect of surprise in a game as well. In past Sims games, this was very much the case, as there was no option to take a pregnancy test.
The Instant Morning Sickness pregnancy mod by Polar Bear Sims ensures a Sim doesn't get a moodlet before experiencing morning sickness, which essentially spoils players with the surprise of what's happening. Whether they have food poisoning or they're pregnant, only time or a pregnancy test will tell.
16 Ultrasound Scan
A massive aspect of pregnancy gameplay in The Sims 4 is having to do frequent visits to a gynecologist to keep track of progress. In The Sims 4, this never happens, which is what this Ultrasound Scan mod by LittleMsSam remedies. Not only do Sims get photos of the ultrasounds, but they'll also gain crucial information.
They can find out about the gender and number of their babies, once they reach the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. What's super nice is that the ultrasound photos can be hung on walls and will provide a cool happiness moodlet to boost a pregnant Sim's spirits.
17 Pregnancy Overhaul
Pregnancy definitely doesn't look the same on everyone, and the way EA designed it seems a bit cartoonish at times. LittleMsSam's pregnancy mod for The Sims 4, Pregnancy Overhaul, introduces a much more toned-down version of the appearance and animations of pregnant Sims.
A pregnant Sim will no longer have a massive belly that might seem exaggerated. Moreover, a Sim will now walk normally regardless of being pregnant. Plus, while a Sim is still in their first or second trimester, they can participate in more physical activities, namely jogging, and yoga.
18 Labor Puddles
It's hard work to be pregnant, and as the due date approaches, the unthinkable might happen, but not in The Sims 4. That is until this pregnancy mod is installed in the game. Polar Bear Sim's Labor Puddle mod will spawn a small puddle underneath a Sim that's gone into labor.
What's cool about this mod is that it also works for any pets in the household who might be pregnant and who suddenly go into labor. An option even exists to spawn a new puddle with each contraction that pregnant Sim experiences, to make it even more realistic.
19 Pregnancy Mood Buffs
One thing that The Sims 4 excels in is emotions, even if they might seem a bit flat at times. However, during pregnancy Sims tend to simply feel uncomfortable most of the time as their bladder depletes quicker and they get hungry faster due to cravings and such.
Zafisims' mod changes pregnancy so that a Sim can finally experience a range of realistic mood swings related to their heightened, hormonal state. A player can pick from angry, embarrassed, sad, tense, or uncomfortable, each with either a +1, +3, or, +5 effect on a Sims' overall mood.
20 Stretch Marks
It can be a bit irritating to see a Sim grow a massive belly and then simply return to their previous size once they've given birth. A real pregnancy tends to leave markings that stay for a lifetime, which is what Katybug273 introduces in their Stretch Marks mod.
The markings can be found in the upper chest tattoo category, and this pregnancy-related mod has several options to choose from. While many are centered around the belly as a reference to pregnancy, there are a few that are around the thighs and even the chest area. There's something for everyone's needs here.