Concerning Abortion

First Trimester

Fetal Development

This remarkable photograph of a tiny fetus in its unruptured amniotic sac was taken after surgery for an ectopic pregnancy in 1972. This picture demonstrates the development of a baby at only six weeks after conception.
Photograph by University of Minnesota Medical Photographer, Robert Wolfe.

Week 2

 The picture on the left is a fertilized egg only thirty hours after conception. Magnified here, it is no larger than the head of a pin. Still rapidly dividing, the developing embryo, called a zygote at this stage, floats down from the fallopian tube and towards the uterus. 

 

 

Week 3

At this point, the blastocyst, or developing embryo, is looking for a spot to implant in the uterus. Early formation of the central nervous system, backbone, and spinal column has begun. The gastrointestinal system has also begun to develop with the kidneys, liver, and intestines forming. The heart has begun to form.

Week 4

Hormones produced by the embryo stop the mother’s menstrual cycle.

Week 5

The embryo’s tiny heart begins to beat by day twenty-one. The brain has developed into 5 areas and some cranial nerves are visible. Arm and leg buds are visible and the formation of the eyes, lips, and nose has begun. The spinal cord grows faster than the rest of the body giving a tail like appearance which disappears as the embryo continues to grow. The placenta begins to provide nourishment for the embryo.

Week 7

Major organs have all begun to form. The embryo has developed its own blood type, unique from the mother’s. Hair follicles and nipples form and knees and elbows are visible. Facial features are also observable. The eyes have a retina and lens. The major muscle system is developed and the embryo is able to move.

Week 8

The embryo is reactive to its environment inside the amniotic sac where it swims and moves. Hands and feet can be seen. At the end of week 8, the embryonic period is over and the fetal stage begins.

Weeks 9-12

The heart is almost completely developed and the heart rate can be heard on a Doppler machine at the doctor’s office. Most major organs and tissues have developed and red blood cells are now produced in the liver. The face is well formed and the eyes are almost fully developed. The eyelids will close and not reopen until the 28^th week. Arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, and toes are fully formed. Nails and earlobes start to form and tooth buds develop in the gums. Fetus can make a fist with its finger. Testosterone (male sex hormone) is produced by the testes in male fetus.

 

 

Second Trimester

Fetal Development

18 weeks gestation (16 weeks since conception)“Life is present from the moment of conception.”
Dr. Jerome Lejeune, late professor and world renowned geneticist, University of Descarte, Paris“A person’s a person, no matter how small!”
Excerpted from “Horton Hears a Who,” by Dr. Seuss, late famous children’s author

  Weeks 13-16

The brain is fully developed and the fetus can suck, swallow, and make irregular breathing sounds. Fetus can feel pain (New England Journal of Medicine). Fetal skin is almost transparent. Muscles tissue is lengthening and bones are becoming harder. Liver and organs produce appropriate fluids. Eyebrows and eyelashes appear and the fetus makes active movements including kicks and even somersaults.

Week 20

“Quickening” (when the mother can feel the fetus moving) usually occurs around this time. Finger and toenails appear. Lanugo, a fine hair now covers the entire body. The fetus can hear and recognize the mother’s voice. Sex organs are visible on ultrasound devices.

 

Third Trimester

Fetal Development

Week 24

A protective waxy substance called Vernix covers the skin. By birth, most of the Vernix will be gone but any that is left is quickly absorbed. Fetus has a hand and startle reflex. Footprints and fingerprints are forming. Fetus practices breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid into its developing lungs.

Weeks 25 - 28

Rapid brain development occurs during this period and the nervous system is able to control some bodily functions. The fetus’ eyelids now open and close. At 25 weeks there is a 60% chance of survival if born. The fetus is considered legally viable at 28 weeks and there is a 90% chance of survival if born at this point.

Weeks 29 - 32

There is a rapid increase in the amount of body fat the fetus has. Rhythmic breathing occurs, but the lungs are not yet mature. The fetus sleeps 90-95% of the day. At this point there the survival rate is above 95% if the baby is born.

Weeks 38 - 40

The fetus is considered full-term. Lanugo is gone except on upper arms and shoulders. Hair on the baby’s head is now coarser and thicker. The lungs are mature. The average weight of the baby at this point is seven and a half pounds. At birth the placenta detaches from the uterus and the umbilical cord will be cut as the baby takes his first breaths of air. Breathing will trigger changes in the heart and bypass arteries forcing all blood to now travel through the lungs.

About the Photos

Many of the amazing pictures shown here were taken from the very excellent Nine Month Miracle CD ROM, by A.D.A.M. Software, Inc., the book A Child Is Born by the famous Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson, and the handbook When You were Formed in Secret, by Gary Bergel. Complete references are listed below. More about how these photos were taken. Photos appearing on this web site are reproduced under “fair use” terms for the purpose of public education. For permission to use these photos for commercial purposes, please contact the sources indicated below.

Sources

§  Nine Month Miracle (CD ROM software), A.D.A.M. Software, Inc., 1600 RiverEdge Parkway, Suite 800, Atlanta, GA, 30328.

§  The First Nine Months of Life, (brochure) Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO, 1995.

§  Medline Plus, a service of U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute for Health

§  Wellness Center
Fetal Development Pages

§  Pain and its Effects in the Human Neonate and Fetus, THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, Volume 317, Number 21: Pages 1321-1329, 19 November 1987.

§  Pediatricweb.com: Pre-Term Birth Information

Recommended Books, Videos and Software

§  A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson (also in paperback). The pictures are truly amazing (if you are pregnant or even thinking about getting pregnant, you must see this book!).

§  Nova: The Miracle of Life includes a detailed account of how a baby is formed, from conception to birth, complete with prenatal footage. Order from Amazon.com.

§  Nine Month Miracle, A.D.A.M. Software, Inc.: Join Adam & Eve as they experience life’s greatest miracles - the birth of their child. Nine Month Miracle is a wonderful way for the entire family to learn about conception, childbirth and everything in between.

§  Or visit our bookstore for more recommended educational materials

Related Links

§  Prenatal Testing

§  Basic Embryology Review Program University of Pennsylvania

§  Human Development Ohio Right to Life

§  Infant Development Stages of Life

§  NOVA Morphing Embryos

§  DiscoveryHealth Pregnancy Videos

 

Psalm 139

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 ¹ O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
 ² You know my sitting down and my rising up;
         You understand my thought afar off.
 ³ You comprehend my path and my lying down,
         And are acquainted with all my ways.
 ⁴ For there is not a word on my tongue,
         But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
 ⁵ You have hedged me behind and before,
         And laid Your hand upon me.
 ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
         It is high, I cannot attain it.
         
 ⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
         Or where can I flee from Your presence?
 ⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
         If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
 ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,
         And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
 ¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
         And Your right hand shall hold me.
 ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
         Even the night shall be light about me;
 ¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
         But the night shines as the day;
         The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
         
 ¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
         You covered me in my mother’s womb.
 ¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
         Marvelous are Your works,
         And that my soul knows very well.
 ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
         When I was made in secret,
         And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
 ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
         And in Your book they all were written,
         The days fashioned for me,
         When as yet there were none of them.
         
 ¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
         How great is the sum of them!
 ¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
         When I awake, I am still with You.
         
 ¹⁹ Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
         Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
 ²⁰ For they speak against You wickedly;
         Your enemies take Your name in vain.
 ²¹ Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
         And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
 ²² I hate them with perfect hatred;
         I count them my enemies.
         
 ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
         Try me, and know my anxieties;
 ²⁴ And see if there is any wicked way in me,
         And lead me in the way everlasting.