Live Action’s newest video, Along for the Ride, highlights the life of a child inside the womb and the unique and special place she holds in her parents’ lives from the moment of fertilization.
The video follows a young couple throughout their days — walking on the pier and Christmas shopping — as they unknowingly spend those moments with their newly created baby. Though they are unaware of their baby’s presence, she is growing and living right alongside them. As the mother experiences the first indications that she is pregnant while the couple is ice skating, she catches her breath and her baby’s heart is shown steadily beating. Their two distinct lives are intertwined from the beginning — two heartbeats, two lives, living in sync with each other.
“Pregnancy is a truly magical time for a family,” said Lila Rose, Live Action Founder and President. “I remember carrying my little boys during pregnancy and the way I wished I could see them as we experienced the world together. Along for the Ride gives families the opportunity to do just that. This joyful and exceptional showcase of a family welcoming their child into the world will capture the hearts of millions. We have developed state-of-the-art, medically-accurate animations to share each milestone a baby achieves through his or her journey in the womb. Through this story, everyone can see the true humanity of the child and catch a glimpse of his reactions to the new world around him.”
At six weeks, about the time a woman first learns she is pregnant, her baby’s heartbeat can finally be detected by doctors, but it has been beating since about 21 days after fertilization. By seven weeks, her baby’s heart has four chambers and has nearly completed its development.
On Christmas morning, the new mother gifts her husband with baby shoes, and together they experience the joys and emotions of knowing that they are now parents. As they embrace, their baby touches her small hands and fingers together.
As the mother tells her parents the news of their new grandbaby while painting her toenails, the baby can be seen wiggling her own toes in the womb. And as the new mother exercises, her baby is along for the bike ride — bouncing around inside of her mother. At about 16 weeks, her mother can finally feel her daughter’s kicks and tumbles.
The baby is cruising along with her parents right into the Fourth of July, and as they celebrate the day with fireworks, the baby senses the flashing lights of those fireworks and reacts to them. And as the couple prepares the nursery, the mother sings to her baby, who sucks her thumb and sleeps safely inside her mother’s womb. There, for every moment. At 24 weeks, babies are capable of blink-startle responses.
Though they have yet to meet face to face, their baby is with them for weeks and months — along for the ride with them throughout their days. She isn’t “tissue.” She isn’t simply a “fetus.” She is a unique human being — their child — from the moment she was conceived.
And at her birth, she is the same person she was just moments before and months before. She is bigger, stronger, and ready to experience life with her parents on this side of the womb. But she is the same child as she always was, right from fertilization.
“This video strikingly portrays the reality of human life and development inside the womb,” said Dr. Christina Francis, CEO-elect of the American Association of Pro-Life OB/GYNs (AAPLOG). “It offers a beautiful reminder to pregnant women that they are never alone because their baby is always with them, growing and experiencing life right along with them. As an OB/GYN physician, I have the immense privilege of caring for two patients at once, and this video is an amazing depiction of the interaction between my two patients.“
Editor’s Note 12/12/22: This article was updated with quotes from Lila Rose and Dr. Christina Francis.
