Gestation

in physiology, the act of carrying young from the time of conception to that of part i uri tion. The average time of a woman’s pregnancy is 9 solar months, or about 280 days, though it may be as few as 7 or as many as 10. The period of gestation is shorter in carnivorous than in herbivorous animals, varying from 21 days, in the case of the guinea pig, to 21 months that of the elephant.