Due to a very aggressive production schedule it was previously announced that the show's first season would be cut short.
Meanwhile, Violet (Taissa Farmiga) and Vivien (Connie Britton) accustom themselves to their new living arrangements, Constance (Jessica Lange) raises Tate's child as her own and a new family buys the house.
Kate Mara and Charles S. Dutton guest star as Hayden McClaine and Detective Granger, respectively.
When a new family, the Ramoses, moves in, Vivien, Ben, Moira, and other ghosts resolve to scare them, as to make them leave the house.
Vivien finds Nora taking care of the Harmon baby, who took one breath in the house, meaning he is now a ghost.
After that, the Harmons and Moira decorate the house for Christmas, while Tate tells Hayden he'll wait forever for Violet to forgive him.
[2] Due to a "very aggressive" production schedule and the series' pilot shoot having to wait for co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's other show, Glee, to wrap its second season production, it was announced that the show's first-season finale would be thirty minutes shorter than planned.
"[5] In its original American broadcast, "Afterbirth" was seen by an estimated 3.22 million household viewers and earned a 1.7 rating share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research, its highest numbers of the season.
The critical consensus reads, ""Afterbirth" is an enjoyable season finale that manages to deliver a few last minute scares as it ties up loose ends.
"[8] James Queally from The Star-Ledger commented about the season and its finale, "After a wildly uneven first nine episodes... and two red-hot episodes leading up to the finale... "Afterbirth" starts out flying high at the way too fast pace that has made American Horror Story an enjoyable ride these past two weeks.
Club stated, "Part of the fun of those early episodes – even when I really didn't like them – was that you never quite had a good sense of what the hell kind of show you were watching.
"[5] Matt Fowler at IGN gave the episode a score eight out of ten, signifying a "great" rating.
"[11] The Horror Writers Association gave "Afterbirth" the 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Screenplay.