The hardest thing for me to come to terms with is that, while I hated Neelix while watching the show, I think if I'd actually been on Voyager, I would have really liked him. He's super friendly, and just wants to help, and makes all these crazy foods that would be fun to try. (Kess stuff not withstanding)
More like 2, actually. 4 would have been the normal time for her race, but some electrical storm nonsense kicked it off early for her temporarily.
I dont think that episode is that weird overall. They wanted to address the reproductive cycle of a very short lived race and also have a "what does it mean to be a parent" moral lesson.
"Hold hands with me to breed" is some pretty mild sex talk honestly, especially for the "go fast and have lizard sex" writers.
Apparently Ocampa females go into heat exactly once in their lives, and have a typical litter size of one? Each generation should be less than half the size of the one before it.