What is the Science of Pre-Natal Growth?

‘What is the Science of Pre-Natal Growth?:  Dependency and Personality’
What is the science of how a baby grows before birth?    Does a pre-born behave during its time in the womb?  Does it have a personality of its own? Is it a human being?  When can a pre-born exist outside of the womb?   These are just a few of many questions people have before the birth of their baby. Focus here is on survival and personality. And, is it really just a Catholic issue?

Human development is a lifelong process that involves continuous physical, cognitive and emotional changes. During some stages of development, changes are not so apparent as in adulthood. We can go through life daily and hardly notice anything new about us. However, during the pre-natal stage change is drastic, rapid, and dramatic. At conception where the sperm and ovum unite to form a zygote in one of the woman’s two fallopian tubes, life begins. From that point, 38 weeks of pregnancy ensues, and we can witness three distinct periods of development before birth: the germinal period of the zygote, developing into an embryo, and growing to what we refer as the fetus.   These forms of life exist within three time frames or trimesters.

The first trimester [germinal period] weeks 1-12 includes a 2-3 week period where a one celled zygote multiplies and exhibits the most rapid growth during pre-natal development. The 2nd trimester weeks 13 – 24, is the emergence of the embryo where the mother can now feel movements, and many organs are well developed. 

But it is during the 3rd trimester that the pre-born, now referred to as a fetus has a chance of survival. This is called the ‘age of viability’, weeks 22-26, 5-6 months.   Independent viability? – no, which brings up an important anthropological truth. Human beings are the most dependent of all creatures in the animal world. Whereas a cat, dog, bird, or unlimited number of animals are under a mother’s care for a mere few weeks before their independence, humans cannot survive on their own for many years after birth. This is how we are made. In today’s culture we can say this until a human reaches his/her 20s.  Anybody have relatives living with their parents in their 30s and 40s? That is a more cultural determinant.  Point to make here is that the status of dependence is often used as a rationale for abortion. Given the dependent nature of human beings, it seems that is an excuse more than a rationale. Case in point. Dr. Peter Singer, bioethics professor at Princeton University and advisor to then President Obama, called for the infanticide of children up to the age of 2. Why? Because they were dependent creatures and could not fend for themselves anyway. What about 95-year-olds in a wheelchair? What about 16-year-olds in a wheelchair? What of a paraplegic? What about a fetus in a mother’s womb? Human beings are not made to be independent for many years after birth and our culture has always called for responsibility for our fellow humans whether they be our children or our neighbor to a certain degree.

Age of viability or not, a pre-born fetus now experiences an expansion and maturity of lungs, brains, sensory and behavioral capacities and overall size. The mother continues to transmit blood and oxygen and now antibodies to fight disease.  Amazingly, the fetus rotates into an upside-down position in preparation for birth. Was this rotation voluntary?

Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget is probably the most noted developmental child psychologist in the world. According to Piaget, and other neo-natal psychologists today, the fetus actually knows what to do. As in the ongoing process of life, the fetus begins to accommodate itself as it realizes its situation. That is, awareness throughout this experience develops as the body develops, the same as we do as adults. The environment changes, perception and understanding of the situation changes and behavior modifies. The cerebral cortex, seat of human intelligence enlarges and the fetus is awake 16% of the time. This allows for further accommodation and modification of perception and behavior, though limited it may be. In fact, research shows that increased brain activity at this time leads to more accommodation in the womb resulting in less frustration and fear when a 1- or 2-year-old. Sight is apparent, eyes blink and the neo-natal or pre-born recognizes and reacts to sound, music and voices. In the final 3 months, the pre-born gains 5 lbs. and grows 7 inches. The fetus is referred as a pre-born in current literature. Significant to this terminology is determining what is the difference between a pre-born at 9 months and a born infant at 9 months and 5 minutes? So yes, you can say the rotation was voluntary as the pre-born’s perceptions give clue and stimulus to the personal efforts at cooperating with the birth process.

Further, developmental psychologist will point out that the nature of child’s birth and individual experiences are very telling of the personality of that individual throughout the life span. Aggressive birth / aggressive personality, passive birth/ passive personality, birth complications / physical and cognitive issues to overcome. Personality characteristics are thus evident before and during birth and illustrating traits of ‘human being’ status.
The question remains: For what reason would someone, knowing all that a zygote/embryo/fetus experiences through pregnancy – physically, cognitively, and emotionally, remove that living creature from this earth? Should we call someone a human being only after they have left home after ages 18+? Or should we accept the scientifically researched fact that dependence and human personality traits exist both before and after birth?  To this writer, it becomes a pro-life issue Catholic or not.