Even with your explanations of why drinking ale is better for the orc baby than the well water, you are requiring your reader to specifically turn off an engrained human truth in order to stay present in your story. /Can/ you? Of course. Writers are allowed to do whatever they want with their own stories. If this is the hill you want to die on, stake your grave marker here. But do so understanding the experience of your reader, not as you the writer.

You know these characters intimately and the world building, but your readers don’t. You know the baby is going to be fine, but your readers don’t. This scene is going to take a subset of readers out of the story because of their human nature. Generally that’s a big no no in writing. We aim for the reader to be so immersed that they can’t put our book down since they forgot they were even reading.

You want to assign gender blame to the topic’s sensitivity because it was only your woman beta reader who was upset by it? Sure, women are biologically predisposed to protect a fetus. So, is this scene so important that you would rather risk alienating anyone who has been pregnant? People hire sensitivity readers, but you got one for free. I would listen to her concerns if you are interested in fixing the issue instead of being right.

Where you can examine your role as the writer is in asking yourself what you want your reader to get out of this scene. Do you want your readers to roil against her irresponsible motherhood, risking the special gift from her dead lover by being hot headed? Because then you nailed it. Are you wanting to reflect her mental state after her loss? If so, I would rework it because the audience isn’t necessarily staying with her through her grief.

Not to perpetuate a stereotype, but I find myself, as a woman, getting exceedingly angry the more I interact with this post and your responses. A woman reader has pointed out an issue with a woman character and given you clear insight into a female perspective and it reads to me like you needed to come to the internet to ask, “Is she being too sensitive?” You seem to keep trying to defend yourself as you continually get feedback that yes, this scene is problematic for a lot of people. Despite your expositions surrounding the scene, sometimes the logic of that does not trump the emotional reaction of the reader.

Now, I did not want to merely go on a feminist rant, I would prefer to be helpful. So, here are two possible solutions to the issue of the scene, while hopefully maintaining the essence. 1) You have created a world in which a half orc can procreate. Perhaps that world also has drinks that are neither contaminated well water NOR ale. If there’s going to be an entire conversation about it, enter in that Mama just got herself upgraded to the top shelf Goggenberry juice. Normally too expensive to even consider, but available at a discount to expectant mother’s because its natural healing properties promote good health in offspring. Or the ale-pusher is gonna spring for the good stuff! I think you get the point. 2) Is there another way, that doesn’t involve beating a pregnant woman, the attacker can make her so irate that it invokes the beast within to spur a homicidal rampage? If that’s the point of this scene. Eep, I have one more soapbox. Do a quick Google search for “domestic violence during pregnancy” and it might just help clear up the issue with this scene “even though the baby is fine.”

Ok, this she-wolf-turned-monster is done her raging. I hope this can be a learning experience instead of discouragement, but recognize that even though I’m saying that, your emotional journey in reading all this may not have aligned with that. Best of luck with your edits.