[The reasoning both explains nothing and everything. Religion is a powerful force, and to think it was that strict and deeply-rooted in this town...]

I still find it impossible to abide by. Was their fear truly so overpowering that it outmatched the love for their unborn child...?

[Obviously it was. Ithaqua's corpse wouldn't have ended up in the forest otherwise. What if his mother hadn't found him? He'd have been left there, without even a proper burial. It's difficult to think about, it really is. And he hasn't even started thinking deeply about how she managed to revive Ithaqua just yet. That should be quite literally impossible, so how...?

Well, he'll put a pin in that thought for now.]

I take it thy mother made her home in the forest precisely because of her status.