There are different views on how mermaids have babies. One possibility is that they carry their babies in their wombs for 9-12 months and then give birth to them from the bottom side of their tails, similar to dolphins. Another possibility is that mermaid mothers lay eggs in a safe spot near the ocean and nurture them until they hatch, depending on their species. There is also a view that female mermaids lay eggs in the water and male mermaids fertilize them by smacking them with their tails. One source describes a fictional process where the mother mermaid has a sore tummy, which bubbles and opens up to release the baby mermaid with a scream and a bubble around it, and then the hole replaces itself back together with a cleaner circle. Another source suggests that mermaids release eggs into the water and a male fertilizes them.
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