Line #54 PlayingWith/TheBabyTrap


1	'''Basic Trope''': A woman gets pregnant on purpose, in an attempt to keep her boyfriend or husband with her.
2	* '''Straight''': Alice tells Bob that she's on the Pill (she isn't), and that they don't need to use a condom. She gets pregnant and tells him that the Pill apparently didn't work, when in reality she was never on it in the first place.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Alice has done this to two other guys before Bob; obviously, it didn't work.
5	** Alice performs oral sex on Bob, and inseminates herself with the collected semen behind Bob's back.
6	** "Proposing" marriage this way is considered the norm.
7	* '''Downplayed''':
8	** Alice asks Bob [[BlatantLies just hypothetically, of course,]] what he would do if she told him she was pregnant right now.
9	** Alice takes advantage of [[LawOfInverseFertility an accidental pregnancy]].
10	* '''Justified''':
11	** Alice wants to find a way to keep Bob with her.
12	** Alice believes that BabiesMakeEverythingBetter, and/or [[MyBiologicalClockIsTicking that her biological clock is ticking]], which is why she does this.
13	** Alice and Bob [[DestructiveRomance aren't exactly in a healthy relationship or marriage]].
14	* '''Inverted''':
15	** Bob pokes a tiny hole in Alice's diaphragm (or in his condom) so she'll get pregnant and have to stay with him.
16	** Alice tells Bob she's not using any sort of birth control even though she secretly is, because Bob wants a baby and Alice doesn't.
17	** Alice gets pregnant in an attempt to get Bob to ''break up with her''.
18	* '''Subverted''':
19	** Alice tells Bob she's pregnant, but she's lying.
20	** Alice ''is'' pregnant, but the child is most likely ''not'' Bob's; she tells him it is.
21	** Alice tries sabotaging her birth control, but [[LawOfInverseFertility it doesn't work.]]
22	** Alice gets pregnant, tells Bob (who agrees to marry her), and [[ConvenientMiscarriage miscarries]] shortly before the wedding.
23	** Alice really does get pregnant, even though she was properly taking her birth control.
24	** It turns out that it's just a PregnancyScare; A pregnancy test from her OB/GYN comes back negative, and Alice gets her period the very same day.
25	** Alice has an abortion.
26	* '''Double Subverted''':
27	** But then an official test from a doctor confirms that she really is pregnant.
28	** A DNA test confirms that the child actually ''is'' Bob's.
29	** Bob stays with her anyway.
30	** When they get to the clinic, Bob persuades her [[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion not to abort]], because he's willing to help her take care of the baby.
31	* '''Parodied''':
32	** Bob tells Alice ''[[MisterSeahorse he's]]'' [[AnatomicallyImpossibleSex pregnant]] to make her stay with him.
33	** Bob's male partner tells him that he's pregnant. [[TooDumbToLive Bob believes said partner.]]
34	* '''Zig Zagged''': Alice thinks that Bob is not the baby's father. A DNA test says that he is, but it turns out that the test was botched and the baby's real father is Charles.
35	* '''Averted''': Alice does not get pregnant, and does not lie about or sabotage her birth control.
36	* '''Enforced''': RuleOfDrama. May result in a VerySpecialEpisode.
37	* '''Lampshaded''': "I thought you said you were on the Pill!" "I lied! Now you have to stay with me because I'm pregnant."
38	* '''Invoked''': Alice stops taking her birth control pills, and has unprotected sex with Bob.
39	* '''Exploited''':
40	** As well as her parents and Bob, Alice scores pity with her friends.
41	** Alice doesn't really want ''Bob'', [[GoldDigger only his money]].
42	* '''Defied''':
43	** [[EthicalSlut Alice]] believes this is unethical, and resolves to try and find other ways of fixing her relationship with Bob. Like talking about their problems in a civilized and non-accusatory manner.
44	** Alice becomes pregnant ([[LawOfInverseFertility most likely accidentally]]), but doesn't care whether Bob stays with her. She may even abort.
45	** A Law to legally treat this deception as domestic abuse, punish the perpetrating party and remove their right for child custody is passed, as to discourage said practice.
46	** Biotech marches on enough that both partners need to actively choose if they want to possibly impregnate/become pregnant. This trope is now a bizarre anachronism that people find hard to comprehend let alone relate to.
47	* '''Discussed''': "What? No! I didn't get pregnant to make you stay with me. In fact, I don't care if you break up with me. I'll just raise the baby alone, or maybe [[ParentalAbandonment abandon it in the woods]]."
48	* '''Conversed''': "Why does Alice think a baby will make Bob stay with her? Realistically, it should have the opposite effect."
49	* '''Implied''': Alice and Bob have a ShotgunWedding, and Alice looks pregnant.
50	* '''Deconstructed''': This is not guaranteed to work, nor will it solve their relationship problems. (It might just create some interesting new ones, however.) It is also considered a form of DomesticAbuse.
51	* '''Reconstructed''':
52	** Bob loves Alice unconditionally, [[LoveMartyr even if she is a manipulative bitch]], and marries her anyway. They work out their relationship problems, and both mature as people. [[StrangledByTheRedString And live]] HappilyEverAfter.
53	** Bob gets out of this relationship and moves on, and finds a new girlfriend who treats him with love and respect. He may pay child support if the child is indeed his ([[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion assuming Alice doesn't abort it]]), but otherwise never has anything to do with Alice again.
54	* '''Played For Laughs''': Alice tells Bob that he she is carrying his child, and he believes her -- despite the fact that they've never actually had sex with each other.
55	* '''Played For Drama''': Bob doesn't want to stay with Alice, and [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide]] (or flees the country) to avoid paying child support. Meanwhile, Alice's parents kick her out onto the street.
56	----
57	Please don't leave me to go back to TheBabyTrap; I'm pregnant with your child!

Context PlayingWith / TheBabyTrap