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For clarification's sake, "vampires" will mainly be referred to as "vampyres" in this entry in order to emphasize that this applies to this specific species known as vampyres, not the beings categorizes as vampires as a whole. tw : This meta will be discussing sexual reproduction and pregnancy. As such, it may touch loosely (and briefly) upon the related topics of birth control, infertility, child loss from a detached, academic perspective.
It is possible for vampyres, as long as they maintain themselves enough to have consistent human bodily functions, to reproduce biologically and have children of their own. Reproduction is among the last of human functions to return to a vampyre as they feed and sustain themselves and is one of the first to go away when inadequately fed, and therefore, as consequence, reproduction amongst vampyres is typically only common amongst the aristocracy and others with the means to keep themselves able to sustain these functions. However, vampirism will not cure pre-existing fertility issues or sexual dysfunctions, and thus, these issues will persist even if one is well-fed and in otherwise ideal condition.
There are two types of vampyres that can be born through sexual reproduction. The first of these are the dhampir, or "halflings" as they are more casually called (or sometimes more derogatorily as "halfbloods"). These are vampyres born from unions between a vampyre parent and a non-vampyre parent; the latter of which is almost always a human, though unions with other compatible beings are not unheard of. Dhampir are the most common kind of born vampyres, yet somewhat less numerous than turned vampyres. The second type of born vampyres are the pureborn; these are vampyres born from two vampyre parents, an exceptionally rare occurrence that almost never happens outside of the aristocratic lines due to all of the effort required to maintain a healthy pregnancy (and suppression of such births amongst houses and clans lower in power).
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Dhampir are most commonly born from a vampyre father and a non-vampyre mother. As the mother is the one that carries the child to term, it does not matter if the father is able to maintain human functions after the child has already been conceived as a human mother has no such issues. A dhampir is no different from a human child while in its mother's womb, though the mother may experience spontaneous, abnormal periods of anemia (low red blood cell count) and/or polycythemia (high red blood cell concentrations) during various stages of fetal development. There is no true consistency in the manner of which these conditions may occur and no data on what causes these specific occurrences during a dhampiric pregnancy, but it is hypothesized that these occurrences may signal the amount of vampiric traits the dhampir may inherit as they grow into maturity. For example, if a mother experiences little or no changes in her blood production while pregnant, then usually this indicates that the child will be more human in quality; if she experiences several such changes, this indicates the child may be more vampiric.
The genetics of a dhampir are not evenly split between parents, as natural, human DNA is not perfectly 50/50 either. For dhampir, while their basic genetics will be functionally the same as what one might obtain from two human parents, their vampiric traits are not linked directly to genetic factors. As explained in the entry on the turning of vampyres, vampirism is both a biological and mystic condition. Vampiric traits among dhampirs vary broadly and unpredictably for the same reasons that it is hard to determine what abilities someone will gain from becoming a vampyre let alone if they will become one successfully at all.
Whereas a turned vampire will have their vitae replaced by their sire's, a born vampyre's vitae is generated, not replaced. And in this case, they have not only one parent's vampiric essence competing for "control", in a sense, but the human parent's vitae similarly vying for propagation. The dhampir will be born with their own vitae formed from a mix of the two, but not to any guaranteed proportional degree; as such, some dhampir may be so close to humans in nature that they have little to distinguish themselves from a human at all, while some may be equal in power (and consequently have similar needs) to a turned vampyre. Some may develop a need to drink blood, others can sustain themselves on human diets alone, and others may alternate between the two. Some may be immune to sunlight, some may have some resistance, and others may be fully vulnerable to it. Some may need to breathe to survive while some may not, and the latter may or may not choose to mimic human breathing as other vampyres do.
The large variance in dhampir traits has led this to be considered an unreliable form of reproduction for those seeking to bolster the numbers and power of their clans or lineages, though dhampirs of little power may still be found useful through servitude amongst the aristocracy. Still, some dhampirs are capable of inheriting unique abilities not commonly passed through a bloodline, and any who may develop such an ability upon the age of maturity (near puberty, typically) will often be sought after for aristocratic service. Dhampirs vary in their lifespans as well; all will age through childhood and young adulthood normally, but beyond that, some may stop aging entirely, some may age more slowly, and others may live a normal human lifespan.
While it is most common for dhampirs to be born from a vampyre father, it is also possible for them to be born to a vampyre mother. This is far, far more rare, however, as it is rather precarious for a vampyre to have to sustain herself through an entire pregnancy. (This will be explained further below when discussing pregnancy for vampyres.)
The perception of the dhampir varies amongst vampyres. To some clans and lineages, they are highly sought individuals, often trained to serve particular roles in a household or act as guardians. To others, they may see them as tainted beings and view them as a scourge. Attitudes vary greatly, but there remains a consistent bias in the aristocracy in particular towards joining bloodlines with dhampirs of any house or lineage, as it is believed that their progeny may further dilute a bloodline.
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Pureborn vampyres are born from two vampyre parents. (A vampyre born from a vampyre and a dhampir will still be considered a dhampir themselves, no matter how much they take to vampirism later on.) They are a rare occurrence, and hardly (if ever) seen outside of the aristocratic clans and houses. The highest among the aristocracy, namely the ruling Kings, almost exclusively choose their heirs from amongst their own pureborn progeny for the sake of keeping the lineage as strong as possible rather than "tainting" it with further human dilution through turnings. Pureborn are unique in power and capabilities, often unrestrained from weaknesses that would plague other vampyres, and as such, they are treated with reverence in vampiric circles.
The uniqueness of the pureborn comes from the fact that they possess naturally what all vampires must chase for the rest of their undead lives: humanity. They are born bodily human; never touched by near-death through transition, with an innate power within them rather than power tethered to them through another's essence as is the case with turned vampires. Their power is entirely self-generated, and they do not have to feed on another's vitae to maintain it (though they do have to feed regularly, yet less often). This is because, when a pureborn is conceived and begins to develop, it creates embryonic stem cells for itself just as a human fetus would.
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they have the potential to develop into any type of cell to aid development of the fetus. The most important cells developed during this period, for the purpose of vampiric propagation, are hematopoietic stem cells. These stem cells are responsible for the creation of blood cells within the body. When an adult is turned into a vampire, in the process of the loss and replacement of their blood and vitae, the onset of vampirism also kills the adult hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. Vitae is, to an unquantifiable extent, tied to the production of blood in the body, hence why vampyres must consistently replace their lost blood to stay alive as they can no longer regenerate their own blood and vitae.
Pureborn, however, being born with intact stem cells that will continue to replicate and never undergoing the turning process (which kills the stem cells) are able to generate their own blood and vitae. This is also true for dhampir, though it's less notable for them as they also have a human parent involved and gain less from their parent's vampiric essence; whereas a dhampir will only get a portion of that parent's essence in competition with their human parent's vitae, a pureborn will have the full impact of the essence of two vampyres and their lineage as there is no human vitae to compete with for propagation.
As mentioned, pureborn still need to feed on blood and vitae, albeit far less often than a turned vampyre. This is because, as full-blooded vampyres, they are still hardwired to need blood and vitae as sustenance. They can eat human food with no issue and sustain themselves for a while on it, but eventually they do need to start feeding once the reach the age of maturity and their vampiric traits begin to fully awaken. Until then, like with dhampirs, they may seem to have little distinction at all from human children.
Pureborn are highly sought after by aristocratic lines for the reasons aforementioned. Not only are they generally less vulnerable to certain weaknesses than turned vampires and require less to sustain themselves (and rarely, if ever, find themselves contesting with the inner Beast that plagues most of their kind due to this), but an heir possessing the power of two lineages would strengthen the house or clan exponentially. Pureborn tend to inherit rare and unique abilities impossible to find elsewhere, and their chances of inheriting such abilities are effectively doubled by nature of having two vampiric parents.
Those who are pureborn also tend to have more resistance to sunlight, even moreso than those who do keep themselves fed enough to walk freely during daylight hours. It's often said that they are immune to the sun entirely, but this isn't necessarily true; this is mainly because they require less to keep themselves healthy enough to withstand it. Pureborn also age normally up until around anywhere from age 25-55; this varies per individual, but eventually they stop aging altogether and will live the rest of their life in immortality as other vampyres would.
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It cannot be overstated how precarious pregnancy is for a vampyre regardless of whether their partner is a human, a vampyre, or another being altogether. As mentioned, reproductive functions are one of the first things to stop working when a vampyre starts to become under-fed. Since pregnancy naturally increases this threshold by a large amount, it becomes harder to maintain full bodily functions for a vampyre without amble access to a supply to feed on. Conversely, it's a common practice for vampyres who have conceived or fear possible conception without desiring to carry a pregnancy to term to simply not feed until the reproductive system shuts down, rendering any present zygote unviable as an abortive method. Under-feeding before or directly after sexual activity is also a common contraceptive tactic as it is easily manageable and is correctable before it has any impact on other functions. Birth control in general is indeed much more manageable for vampyres by the simple fact that the body of a vampyre is itself inhospitable to life on a general basis, only able to succeed in the creation of an entirely new life carried to full term by careful and intentional maintenance.
As mentioned when describing fluctuations in the blood of the human mother of a dhampir, similar fluctuations occur in a vampyre during pregnancy, particularly with a dhampir offspring. There is less variance for anemia and polycythemia when the offspring is a pureborn, but the mother of a pureborn will typically have one or the other throughout the entire pregnancy, and that will need to be contended with along with all of the other needs of the pregnancy. The vampyre must eat human food as well throughout to aid in the development of the fetus. The blood/vitae intake needed by a pregnant vampyre is almost doubled from what they would normally need to sustain full bodily functions as a human would; this is usually the most precarious part of the pregnancy, as those without resources and access to ample feedings may not be able to viably sustain such intake, or may endanger themselves by risking exposure while seeking such.
This is another reason why pureborn are more common amongst the aristocracy; the suppression of resources amongst lower ranked houses and lineages makes it harder for them to carry viable pregnancies, and this trouble is increased for individual vampyres with no connection to any houses and without such ties who would have to fully sustain themselves on their own.
A pregnant vampyre must also make sure not to consume RhD negative blood close in time to the birth if the fetus has a RhD positive blood type. Normally, after feeding, a vampyre's body will adapt the consumed blood to match their own blood type within the next day, but if giving birth before this conversion has finished, it may create antibodies in the mother's blood as it would if she already had an RhD negative blood type, and thus precautions should be taken. In this case, and with a mother who naturally has a RhD negative type carrying a fetus who is RhD positive, it should be treated with an antibody preparation the same as it would be in humans to prevent any possible future pregnancies from developing erythroblastosis fetalis (hemolytic disease of the newborn).
Because they develop as human-bodied beings, pureborn (as dhampir are as well) are still vulnerable to all of the same issues that can occur in human fetuses and infants. Even if the mother takes proper care of herself and is well sustained during pregnancy, there is always a risk that something could still go wrong, as with any pregnancy, be it before or after the birth. This is also one of the few circumstances in which a vampyre can die of "natural" causes as the body of the mother, in turn, becomes somewhat reliant on the fetal stem cells passed to them through the placenta; for vampyres, this stimulates their own production of blood late into the pregnancy, which will gradually lessen the amount of feeding they must do to sustain the pregnancy, but it weakens their vitae in turn, leaving them vulnerable to bleeding out and possibly dying as a human might during unfortunate medical events such as hemorrhages, etc. that may occur during birth, if left without medical care. That in itself is another danger of vampiric pregnancy; the lack of access to medical care, particularly medical care familiar with the functions of a vampyre's body.
The natural dangers of vampyre pregnancies compounded with politically motivated interferences (poisonings, assassinations, forced abortions, and infanticide are unfortunately not uncommon methods for one house to stifle the power of another) have led to the survival rates and the number of pureborn in existence being extremely low. An entire century may pass with only a handful or less born around the world. Those who are fortunate enough to have multiple heirs born to them may see large generational gaps between their children due to all of the difficulties, and pureborn heirs are greatly protected in any case when they do survive infancy; if not for parental affection, then because they are extremely difficult to replace.
more information may be added over time as headcanons develop.
