The Sims 4 Infants update gave Simmers a whole new life stage — Infants, obviously. But one surprise new feature has changed the game in a big way. The ‘Have Science Baby’ interaction allows Simmers to create an even wider variety of nuclear and non-nuclear families than ever before. Here are just a few of the real-life (and future/fantastical) family structures and stories that the Science Baby makes possible.
Single-By-Choice Parents
Bob and Eliza sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage.
That childhood nursery rhyme sums up the so-called “traditional” family route. But for Sims whose family plans don’t include a romantic partner, there’s Science Baby! If a Sim decides they don’t want to wait for a love interest to have a baby, all they have to do is pick up the phone.
Single Sims can have a Science Baby with another known Sim of the opposite sex, recreating real-life donor and surrogacy situations, or with known same-sex Sims through the magic of Sim Science. Best of all, they don’t need the input, consent, or involvement of the other Sim at all!
Is your Sim so busy with their career and hobbies that they don’t even have friends to make Science Babies with? No worries! Single Sims can have a Science Baby all on their own, too.
Queer Couples
A 2022 base game update made it possible for Sims of all genders to get pregnant or get other Sims pregnant with a CAS selection. So, some queer couples in the Sims world can have babies together the “old-fashioned way.” Unfortunately, since the real world hasn’t quite caught up to this possibility yet, this can complicate the storytelling side of things.
But with Science Baby, Simmers can tell real-life queer parenthood stories. One Sim can have a Science Baby with a friend as a sperm donor or gestational surrogate or use their partner Sim’s genetic material. Either way, they go away to the hospital and come back with a baby like magic, so you don’t have to figure out how to explain how your cisgender lesbian couple managed to get each other pregnant.
Infertility Stories
Of course, queer and single Sims aren’t the only ones getting in on the Science Baby action. Getting pregnant is no walk in the park, even for many straight Sim couples. Sometimes, no matter how hard a Sim tries, they just can’t seem to make the family they’ve always wanted. Adoption is, of course, an option, but what if they just want a baby that looks like their spouse?
Thankfully, Science Baby can make Sims’ parenthood dreams come true. With a simple phone call, their infertility struggles are over as they’re whisked away to the hospital to get their new baby. Depending on the story you want to tell, one half of the couple can have a Science Baby with a known sperm or egg donor, or they can have their new bundle of joy together using a surrogate.
Widowed Parents
Cara and Don were high school sweethearts who reconnected after University and fell wildly in love. Tragically, just days after their wedding, Don was crushed by a Murphy Bed in their honeymoon suite. In an instant, their dream of starting a family together was cut short.
Or was it?
Thanks to the magic of Science Baby, widowed Sims can still have the family of their dreams. All Cara has to do is pick up the phone, and she can have her dream family in an instant. Unfortunately, Cara can’t (yet) have a Science Baby with the ghost of her deceased spouse. But she can use the DNA of, say, Don’s sister to ensure that her baby has a genetic component with her late husband. And of course, she can always have a Science Baby by herself — with or without moving her dead husband’s ghost back in.
Platonic and Queerplatonic Parents
Not all Sims want to get married to have a baby, but single parenthood is not for the faint-hearted. For Sims who want to start a family but would rather not raise a rambunctious infant alone, Science Baby makes it possible for a Sim to have a baby with their best friend.
Sure, they made that drunken marriage pact, promising to tie the knot if they were both still single at 40. But thanks to Science Baby, they don’t have to — they can have and raise a baby together as bros. None of that complicated relationship stuff, just two pals building a biological family with their chosen family.
Science Baby adds yet another layer of diversity and inclusion to the ever-expanding Sims universe. We’ve come a long way from the traditional nuclear family, in the world of the Sims and in the real world. The Sims franchise has always been ahead of the curve in terms of representation, and this is just one more way the game allows Simmers to create the life of their dreams.
What’s your favorite Science Baby story? Let us know in the comments! And be sure to check out our other Sims content in the links below.
