Fetal Development
Is it a human being?
"From the moment a baby is conceived, it bears the indelible stamp of a
separate distinct personality, an individual different from all
other individuals." Ultrasound pioneer, Sir William Liley, M.D. 1967.
"After fertilization has taken place a new human being has
come into existence. This is no longer a matter of taste
or opinion. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at
conception." Dr. Jerome Lejeune, genetics professor at the
University of Descartes, Paris. He discovered the Down
syndrome chromosome.
"It is scientifically correct to say that an
individual human life begins at conception."
Professor M. Matthews-Roth, Harvard University
Medical School.
"By all the criteria of modern molecular biology,
life is present from the moment of conception."
Professor Hymie Gordon, Mayo Clinic.
When does the heart begin to beat?
At 18 days [when the mother is only four days late
for her first menstrual period], and by 21 days it is
pumping, through a closed circulatory system, blood
whose type is different from that of the mother.
J.M. Tanner, G. R. Taylor, and the Editors of Time-Life
Books, Growth, New York: Life Science Library, 1965, p.
When is the brain functioning?
Brain waves have been recorded at 40 days on the
Electroencephalogram (EEG). H. Hamlin, "Life or Death
by EEG," JAMA, Oct. 12, 1964, p. 120
Brain function, as measured on the
Electroencephalogram, "appears to be reliably present
in the fetus at about eight weeks gestation," or six
weeks after conception. J. Goldenring,
"Development of the Fetal Brain," New England Jour.
of Med., Aug. 26, 1982, p. 564
How early do some organs form?
The eye, ear and respiratory systems begin to form
four weeks after fertilization.
K. Moore, Before We Were Born, 3rd ed., 1989, p. 278
And function?
Very early, e.g., glucagon, a blood sugar hormone,
has been demonstrated in the fetal pancreas 6 weeks
after fertilization, and insulin by 7 to 8.
F. Cunningham, "Pancreas," William’s Obstet.,
19th ed., 1993, p. 183-4
Thumbsucking has been photographed at 7 weeks
after fertilization.
W. Liley, The Fetus As Personality,
Fetal Therapy, 1986, p. 8-17
When does the developing baby first move?
"In the sixth to seventh weeks. . . .
If the area of the lips is gently stroked,
the child responds by bending the upper body to
one side and making a quick backward motion with
his arms. This is called a ‘total pattern response’
because it involves most of the body, rather than a
local part." L. B. Arey, Developmental Anatomy (6th ed.), Philadelphia: W. B. Sanders Co., 1954
At eight weeks, "if we tickle the baby’s nose, he
will flex his head backwards away from the stimulus."
A. Hellgers, M.D., "Fetal Development, 31,"
Theological Studies, vol. 3, no. 7, 1970, p. 26
Another example is from a surgical technician whose
letter said, "When we opened her abdomen
(for a tubal pregnancy), the tube had expelled an
inch-long fetus, about 4-6 weeks old. It was still
alive in the sack. "That tiny baby was waving its
little arms and kicking its little legs and even
turned its whole body over."
J. Dobson, Focus on the Family Mag., Aug. ’91, pg. 16
When are all her body systems present?
By eight weeks (two months).
Hooker & Davenport,
The Prenatal Origin of Behavior,
University of Kansas Press, 1952
When do teeth form?
All 20 milk-teeth buds are present at six and a
half weeks."Life Before Birth,"
Life Magazine, Apr. 30, 1965, p. 10
How about nine weeks?
At nine to ten weeks, he squints, swallows,
moves his tongue, and if you stroke his palm, will
make a tight fist.
By nine weeks he will "bend his fingers round
an object in the palm of his hand."
Valman & Pearson, "What the Fetus Feels,"
British Med. Jour., Jan. 26, 1980
When does he start to breathe?
" By 11 to 12 weeks (3 months), he is breathing
fluid steadily and continues so until birth. At
birth, he will breathe air. He does not drown by
breathing fluid with-in his mother, because he
obtains his oxygen from his umbilical cord.
This breathing develops the organs of respiration."
"Life Before Birth," Life Magazine, Apr. 30, 1965, p. 13
" Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy decreases the frequency of fetal breathing by 20%. The ‘well documented’ higher incidence of prematurity, stillbirth, and slower development of reading skill may be related to this decrease." 80 F. Manning, "Meeting of Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons," Family Practice News, March 15, 1976
" In the 11th week of gestation fetal breathing is irregular and episodic. As gestation continues, the breathing movements become more vigorous and rapid." C. Dawes, "Fetal Breathing: Indication of Well Being," Family Practice News, Mar. 16, 1976, p. 6
Episodic spontaneous breathing movement have been observed in the healthy human fetus as early as ten weeks gestational age. Conners et al., "Control of Fetal Breathing in the Human Fetus," Am J. OB-GYN, April ‘89, p. 932
When can she swallow?
At 11 weeks. Valman & Pearson, British Med. Jour., "What the Fetus Feels," 26 Jan. 1980, p. 233
What of detailed development, like fingernails and eyelashes?
Fingernails are present by 11 to 12 weeks; eyelashes by 16 weeks. Fingerprints are completely established during the fourth month of gestation. Hamilton et al., Human Embryology, Fourth Ed., 1972, p. 567
At what point are all her body systems working?
By 11 weeks. "Life Before Birth," Life Magazine, Apr. 30, 1965, p. 13
How does the size of the baby increase in weight?
At 12 weeks (three months) she weighs about 30 gm (1.0 ounce); at 16 weeks about 170 gm (6 ounces); and at 20 weeks (four months), approximately 454 gm (one pound).
When is taste present?
" Taste buds are working between 13 and 15 weeks gestation" (11 to 13 weeks after conception). Mistretta & Bradley, Taste in Utero, 1977, p. 62 Bradley et al., "Dev. Taste Buds . . . ," J. Anat. 101 (4) 1967, p. 743-752
How about hearing?
" Auditory sense is present in the infant 24 weeks before birth [14 weeks after conception]. This involves brain functioning and memory patterns." M. Clemens, "5th International Congress Psychosomatic," OB & GYN, Rome: Medical Tribune, Mar. 22, 1978, p.
