If the women of Lehi’s party “did bear children” (1 Nephi 17:1) at this point in time, and if the marriages took place according to 1 Nephi 16:7 in the valley of Lemuel, then at least nine months had passed. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]
“Our Women Did Bear Children in the Wilderness”
Camille Fronk cites Doughty as describing the desert birthing bed as “a mantle or tent-cloth spread upon the earth.” Older women among the clan typically assisted the mother by taking her away from the camp,“ apart in the wilderness,” to be delivered. (Charles M. Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta (New York: Random House, 1936), 268.) [Camille Fronk, “Desert Epiphany: Sariah & the Women in 1 Nephi,” in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol. 9, Num. 2, 2000, FARMS, pp. 13, 80]