Walking in the Womb


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A new type of ultrasound scan has produced the first vivid pictures of a 12 week-old foetus "walking" in the womb.

The new images also show the foetus yawning and rubbing its eyes.

The scans, pioneered by Professor Stuart Campbell at London's Create Health Clinic, are much more detailed than conventional ultrasound.

Professor Campbell has previously released images of unborn babies appearing to smile.

He has compiled a book of the images called Watch Me Grow.

Conventional ultrasound, usually offered to mothers at 12 and 20 weeks, produces 2D images of the developing foetus.

These are very useful for helping doctors to measure and assess the growth of the foetus, but convey very little information about behaviour.

The article also tells what a baby can do by week:

  • From 12 weeks, unborn babies can stretch, kick and leap around the womb - well before the mother can feel movement
  • From 18 weeks, they can open their eyes although most doctors thought eyelids were fused until 26 weeks
  • From 26 weeks, they exhibit a whole range of typical baby behaviour and moods, including scratching, smiling, crying, hiccoughing, and sucking. Until recently it was thought that smiling did not start until six weeks after birth.

The full story

EDIT:

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Baby Yawn

_40322435_walking203.jpg

Baby Steps

Edited by NeoSoft
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Rubbing his/her eyes? Surely they don't have developed eye within 12weeks or a fully fuctional nervous system. Then again I've never looked into such things, so I'm probably wrong.

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Rubbing his/her eyes? Surely they don't have developed eye within 12weeks or a fully fuctional nervous system. Then again I've never looked into such things, so I'm probably wrong.

I never thought it was possible either :unsure: but this good doc says it's true!

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