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What would happen if a roman slave became pregnant?

I was in a History lesson and we were learning about slaves, but what would happen if a female slave was captured at, let’s say, 2 weeks pregnant, and bought when she was 1 month pregnant, what would happen to the baby? I mean if you keep it, you get a free slave, but if you keep it the female slave would have to care for it day and night, and maybe not be able to work properly and not be able to fully concentrate…

Any Historians out there?

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What would happen if a roman slave became pregnant?

Answer #1

Well it’s not like they had safe abortion back then. Unless the owner wanted to risk killing a very expensive possession, he probably didnt do much about it. And you realize that back then, it isnt like now. Women worked in all sorts of things right up till they gave birth. Then they got back up and went back to work.

Answer #2

You’re underestimating how valuable slaves were. Imagine, as a farmer, you bought $200,000 tractor, brought it home, opened the engine compartment, and found all the components to build another identical tractor. Would you bemoan the fact that, gee whiz, now you have to put together another tractor, or would you revel in your good fortune?

You’re also assuming that the owner would allow the mother to stay with the baby to raise it. Why should he when it would be far more economical to hire a nurse?

This is from Frederick Douglass’ account of slavery in America, where children were ‘’part[ed] from their mothers at a very early age. Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month, its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off, and the child is placed under the care of an old woman, too old for field labor.’’