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Ever wonder what you were like before you were born?
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Life before birth. For centuries it was an
unknown factor simply because it was invisible. A bulging abdomen signified
growth, but without pictures that "growth" was referred to as a blob of
tissue or fetal matter.
Now, with state of the art technology of 3-D and
transvaginal sonography, we can observe fingers, toes and organs. We can
watch the child kick, jump and
move his arms and legs. |
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Four weeks
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Seven weeks
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18 days after conception, the heart begins to beat. At four to
five weeks you can see it on the ultrasound.
All of this is happening long before any movement is detected by the
mother, but the baby's been moving in there since eight weeks.
You can see the uterus, gestation sac, yolksac, and the
embryo. The beginning stumps of the arms and legs are beginning to show.
The embryo floats freely in the amniotic fluid, which will cushion and
protect the baby through the nine months he will spend in his mother's
womb. |
At seven
weeks, you can clearly see the arms and legs and the head. Seven
weeks is the time that we first visualize movement.
Brain waves can be detected
just 40 days after conception and the genetic blueprint that determines
every detail of human development such as sex, height and eye color
existed at the moment of conception.
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Nine weeks
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Ten weeks
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Measuring
a little over one inch, the developing baby is no longer an embryo, but
a fetus - meaning "young one". Here you can see the measurement of the
heartbeat and even listen to it.
Nine weeks is also when the developing child has
fingerprints -- a personal identification for
the rest of his life.
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At ten weeks, unborn babies
can be seen sucking their thumbs, and are very
active. |
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Last 3 Months
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Last 3 Months
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Nutrition, oxygen and time are
the only three things required for the development of the unborn baby
since the moment of conception.
The heart, which began beating around the 18th day after conception,
will pump more than 300 gallons of blood in a day during the 9th month
of pregnancy. |
During the last three months
before birth,
the baby's weight will triple to more than seven pounds, and grow to
approximately 20 inches.
Roughly one week before the 40th week, the
infant stops growing and drops his head down into the mother's pelvis.
The baby, not the mother, sendsa
signals to start the contractions.
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Special thanks
for Sound Wave Images for
providing this film segment. |
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