The Unplanned Pregnancies of 'Gilmore Girls'

Over the years, we’ve noticed that Gilmore Girls had a few repeating themes. The show was short on the words “I love you.” Amy Sherman-Palladino actively avoided actual breakup scenes, and the series had a pretty sex-negative tone. One of the most commonly repeated themes was unplanned pregnancy. Of Gilmore Girls’ eight main pregnancies, five of them were accidental. Let’s take a look at how realistic that was. 

Who had an unplanned pregnancy in ‘Gilmore Girls’?

Gilmore Girls’ entire premise revolved around an unplanned teenage pregnancy, so, technically, Lorelai Gilmore’s pregnancy at 16 was the first mention of an unexpected baby. In season 2, Christopher Hayden discovered his girlfriend, Sherry Tinsdale, was unexpectedly expecting. The shocking news completely altered his plans to get back together with Lorelai. 

In season 7 of Gilmore Girls, Lane Kim found out that her first sexual experience, on her honeymoon, resulted in a twin pregnancy. Lane was especially downtrodden about the news because she found sex particularly unappealing. Also, in season 7, Sookie St. James’ was shocked to discover she was pregnant for a third time, despite her believing her husband, Jackson Belleville, had a vasectomy years earlier. 

Finally, Rory Gilmore learned that she was pregnant in the final moments of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. The pregnancy was not planned, or so it would seem. Gilmore Girls fans are still waiting for a second revival to learn who fathered Rory’s baby (we think it was Logan). 

Which pregnancies were planned? 

When you look at the show over its seven-season run and single revival special, there were only three planned pregnancies, two of which belonged to Sookie St. James. Her first son, Davey Belleville, was born in season 4. While it is never explicitly stated that he was 100% planned, Sookie and Jackson had spoken about having children. 

Their second child, Martha Belleville, arrived the following season and was planned. Jackson noted that the doctor had them on a “schedule” during his acceptance speech when he beat Taylor Doosey to become Stars Hollow’s town selectmen.  

Liz Danes and her dopey husband, TJ, also appeared to plan their pregnancy somewhat. Liz announced that she was pregnant in season 6 of Gilmore Girls. While she never explicitly stated that she and TJ planned to have a baby, she didn’t say that the news was a shock either, so we will count it as a planned pregnancy. Liz Danes was arguably one of the worst mothers on the show, but it all turned out in the end.

How common are unplanned pregnancies? 

If you think the ladies of Gilmore Girls had more unplanned pregnancies than average, you would be correct. Of the eight pregnancies mentioned, at least five were unplanned and largely met with apprehension. That means 62.5% of the pregnancies mentioned were not part of the game script. Is that more than the average? Absolutely. 

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 98 out of every 1,000 women of childbearing age will become pregnant each year. Of those who become pregnant, 45 pregnancies are unintended or unplanned. According to the institute’s research, 45% of pregnancies are unplanned. In short, the ladies of Gilmore Girls are shocked by two lines on a pregnancy test more often than the average population. 

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