At 16 weeks the majority of neuron multiplication in my brain is complete, and enamel on my teeth is laid down between 16 and 20 weeks. At 18 weeks my larynx shows movement similar to what is found after delivery. My retina has discrete layers, and at 18 weeks my body movements, breathing motion, and heart rate follow a certain circadian rhythm. A white material, vernix caseosa, covers and protects my skin from the amniotic fluid. Remember what substances are floating in the fluid?! The number of eggs in my ovaries peaks during week 19, at 7 million. Can you envision me giving birth to 7 million babies?! The population alarmist would go nuts! Don’t worry. Production stops, and their numbers are reduced to 2 million at birth. These are precursors of my primary oocytes, which number in the thousands. Whew!
By 20 weeks the cochlea in thee middle ear is developed. It converts sound waves to electrical impulses and sends them to the brain. This organ assists me in my many balancing acts. It’s noisy in here. I hear my heart beating and a blowing sound of blood rushing to my mum’s uterus. Sometimes I hear a whistling sound when blood rushes through my umbilical cord. My movement adds to the ‘music’, as does liquid and gas gurgling in my mum’s intestine… Ohh…Ohh! Look out below! At this time my eyebrows are complete, and my hair begins to grow. I’m not sure about this factoid. My dad and his cousin were not only bald at birth, neither had hair on their first birthday!
The two sides of my brain develop asymmetrically and my GI Tract has developed but is not functional. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) can be measured between weeks 18 and 21. I can be startled with loud noises, and I respond to noxious stimuli, touch, taste, hot & cold, and light. At 24 weeks my eyes reopen - it’s dark in here! I blink when startled, just like my mum. I practice my breathing exercises about 14% of the time. I keep sucking that nasty amniotic fluid in and out. My breathing responds to the CO2 in my mum’s bloodstream. That means my CO2 receptors in my brainstem are functioning like those in an adult.
At 24 weeks my lungs have developed terminal sacs which will become alveoli. I start manufacturing surfactant now. Surfactant is the chemical that helps the alveoli function better with the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. This is necessary to live outside the womb. A drug form of this chemical is available for us in children born prematurely. ALERT! GROWTH SPURT! My brain growth utilizes more than 50% of the energy my entire body uses at this time. My brain weight increases 400 to 500% from week 24 to 36! The brain consists of a lot of FAT! Let’s order up a sirloin steak, pork belly and a slab of bacon! Mum, did you hear that?
At 25 weeks rods and cones in my eye help me see low levels of light, color, and focus sharply on objects. I can produce tears at 26 weeks, but you won’t do anything to make me cry - will you, Mum? Odors can be detected at 26 weeks, and my rate of swallowing increases if sweets are present in the amniotic fluid, and it diminishes if bitter material is detected. I can detect the odor of garlic 45 minutes after mum eats this culinary delight! My chubby cheeks and fatty arms help maintain my body temperature, and supply me with energy stores. At 27 weeks I practice walking in the womb, and do somersaults.
At 28 weeks I can detect low frequency and high frequency sounds. I prefer the voice of my mum over all others. It appears I am reaching the end of my journey in the womb.
Hand covering mouth, 6 months gestation. 1) Scalp, 2) Ear, 3) Neck, 4) Eye, 5) Cheek, 6) Right Hand, 7) Forehead, 8) Nose, 9) Fingers. www.ehd.org.
Please review the words of Thomas Jefferson on the title page of this site. www.wordsfromthewomb.com.
To learn more please visit: www.ehd.org.
With love,
Rose M. Bryo
Hammer, Anvil, & Stirrup. Graphite on Paper by Rose M. Bryo