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How third trimester babies prepare for the outside world

Live Action News - Human Interest IconHuman Interest·By Bridget Sielicki

How third trimester babies prepare for the outside world

Each child, unique and unrepeatable, goes through an incredible journey within his or her mother’s womb from fertilization to the third trimester. While the human eye is unable to view the changes taking place within, science has shown us that the preborn child goes through an amazing amount of growth before birth. Live Action’s Baby Olivia video also gives us a detailed look at the miracle that takes place as the preborn child develops.

By the time she’s reached her third trimester in the womb, the preborn child has already done a tremendous amount of developing. Her existence starts as a single cell at fertilization, but by the end of the second trimester, she’s capable of life outside the womb with medical assistance. The final, third trimester is one of great growth. Her limbs and organs complete their complex development and she puts on weight as she prepares for her journey to the outside world.

As the trimester progresses, we start to see the preborn child doing some of the same things she’ll be doing as a newborn. At 24 weeks (26 weeks LMP/gestation), she’ll be startled by loud noises. When she startles, she’ll react in much the same way she would outside the womb, with increased movement, increased heart rate, and swallowing. Her lungs are also busy at work during this stage, producing a substance that will enable her to breathe after birth.

Thumbnail for A Never Before Seen Look At Human Life In The Womb | Baby Olivia

At 26 weeks, the child’s sense of smell is fully functioning and her eyes are capable of producing tears. By 27 weeks, her eyes react to the light outside the womb. She can also recognize sounds from the outside world, like her parents’ voices, stories, and lullabies.

As the baby grows, she continues to build fat deposits in her body and the wrinkles disappear from her skin. At 30 weeks, she’s making breathing movements at least 40% of the time in preparation for her birth.

How third trimester babies prepare for the outside world image

 

Dear Reader,

Have you ever wanted to share the miracle of human development with little ones? Live Action is proud to present the "Baby Olivia" board book, which presents the content of Live Action's "Baby Olivia" fetal development video in a fun, new format. It's perfect for helping little minds understand the complex and beautiful process of human development in the womb.

Receive our brand new Baby Olivia board book when you give a one-time gift of $30 or more (or begin a new monthly gift of $15 or more) to fuel Live Action’s life-saving content.

READ: The abortion industry depicts preborn children as ‘dots.’ Here’s the truth.

As the child spends her last several weeks in the womb, she’ll continue to form unique and individual traits. For instance, she could develop preferences for certain flavors or foods based on what her mother eats.

By the time the baby is born, she’s spent months on an incredible journey in her mother’s womb. From her start as a single-celled human being, the preborn child has grown quickly into a recognizable human child and by the end of the third trimester, she weighs on average between six and nine pounds. By the time of her first breath, her tiny heart has already beat over 50 million times.

7 month fetus, late abortion, 28 weeks, heart
A human baby growing inside the womb. Age is about 7 months. (Getty Images)

As Baby Olivia shows us, each child goes through this incredible process in the womb. Birth may be the first time the baby greets the outside world, but it’s not the beginning of her journey. This child has been fully human, wonderfully and beautifully made, from the moment of fertilization.

Visit The Endowment for Human Development for more information.

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