Yes, for basic membership.
Second Life is FREE! You can create an avatar and explore SL as long as you want and never pay a dime. However, most residents find that they wish to go shopping and expand the look of their avatars, and this does cost money. How much money you spend in Second Life is entirely up to you though, just like in the real world.
You only need a premium account for some features such as renting land.
Chat with our AI personalities
Yes, to join Second Life is free for basic membership. You will only need to pay for premium membership if you wish to buy Linden mainland or a private estate.
Type in 'freebies' in the search function, this will lead you to free clothes stores. There are also many free clothes available in SL Marketplace.
Basic membership of Second Life is free to all users and this allows full access to the grid. If premium membership is needed then payment is required on a subscription basis.
Second Life must be downloaded to access the main grid. There is an official Second Life viewer from Linden Lab and there are many third party compatable ones such as firefox, singularity and imprudence. Basic membership is free and premium membership requires a monthly payment.
You can give birth in the game "Second Life", which you can download for free. You can also give birth in the game "Sims", which you have to pay for. For a more realistic birth, I would go with Second Life.