10 ‘Unsolved’ Mysteries From Lost (That Have Really Simple Answers)
2. Why Cant Children Be Born On The Island?
The Mystery: Having Claire pregnant when the plane crashed was brilliant move on the writers part. Ignoring the implausibility of both mother and baby surviving the crash it gave an inevitable and anticipated major event fans could prepare for long before any major mysteries were set up. Of course, in true Lost spirit it actually turned out to be a gateway into a key running plot; there was a serious problem with childbirth on the Island. Tying into the themes of life and death as well as juxtaposing the increased fertility, it was something always alluded to by the show, but never tackled head on. The Simple Solution: Its an after effect of the Purge. When the fans settled on the (eventually correct) theory the statue was Tawaret many assumed its destruction marked the end of the Islands childbirth, but its actually something a lot less spiritual. Following in-world chronology the last birth before the problems began was Alex Rousseau in 1988 and we know a pregnancy started on the Island can work based off Ethans birth ten years earlier. This means something had to change between then and Juliet being hired to help solve the problem. The biggest event in that time was the Dharma Purge, which was achieved by using the Tempest station to distribute a deadly toxic gas. While anyone without a gas mask would die, there could easily be some other side effects, including the inability for pregnancies to last longer than a few months. This is why Claire and Sun were fine with their children; they weren't affected in the Purge.
The Mystery: Having Claire pregnant when the plane crashed was brilliant move on the writers part. Ignoring the implausibility of both mother and baby surviving the crash it gave an inevitable and anticipated major event fans could prepare for long before any major mysteries were set up. Of course, in true Lost spirit it actually turned out to be a gateway into a key running plot; there was a serious problem with childbirth on the Island. Tying into the themes of life and death as well as juxtaposing the increased fertility, it was something always alluded to by the show, but never tackled head on. The Simple Solution: Its an after effect of the Purge. When the fans settled on the (eventually correct) theory the statue was Tawaret many assumed its destruction marked the end of the Islands childbirth, but its actually something a lot less spiritual. Following in-world chronology the last birth before the problems began was Alex Rousseau in 1988 and we know a pregnancy started on the Island can work based off Ethans birth ten years earlier. This means something had to change between then and Juliet being hired to help solve the problem. The biggest event in that time was the Dharma Purge, which was achieved by using the Tempest station to distribute a deadly toxic gas. While anyone without a gas mask would die, there could easily be some other side effects, including the inability for pregnancies to last longer than a few months. This is why Claire and Sun were fine with their children; they weren't affected in the Purge.