By Dave Andrusko
How many million times have pro-lifers made the simple—and absolute correct—assertion that birth is just a change in location? That while the law may allow for the absurd conclusion that a child in utero is something/someone different than the baby who makes her appearance when she is delivered, commonsense and experience say otherwise.
When making the transition from in utero to ex utero, the baby is not even changing zip codes.
There is a blog called babycenter.com which recently ran a delightful piece under the headline “Stunning photos show how a baby fits in your womb.” Sara McGinnis starts with this question:
“Have you ever wondered how your baby managed to fit inside your body? Sure, there are some amazing illustrations out there depicting how things generally fit — but what about your son or daughter in your womb?
In the next sentence McGinnis clues us into something absolutely fascinating:
“I recently came across the work of Marry Fermont, a photographer who lives in the Netherlands, and was amazed to see this photo of a “little guy [who] just laid still in the hands of the midwife. Just like inside the womb.”
As you can see from the photo, this is an ex utero pose of the curling position the child had adopted while in his or her mother’s womb. In other words, this is how a baby in the very latter stages of gestation can ‘fit’ inside—by scrunching up.
Fermont assures McGinnis, “The babies are mostly totally relaxed in this pose. They feel secure and comfortable. They are used to being folded up this way.” Fermont says she was “the first birth photographer in the Netherlands to start taking these types of pictures.”
Most often it is the midwife who holds the baby for the photo, but sometimes it’s the dad who likes to show the newborn in this position. But as fascinated as he might be (and it is remarkable), obviously it is far more revealing for the mother who carried the baby for nine months. Fermont says
“Most of the parents cannot believe that their baby was inside of the belly when it’s born. It’s hard to imagine how your baby was curled up inside of you after it came out. You see it coming out, but you still cannot believe it was ever inside of you as soon as you have him or her in your arms. This disbelief has been voiced many times, and that’s why midwives started showing this pose — because of the curiosity of the parents.”
Disbelief? That is not an exaggeration. I remember when my wife delivered our first child. All that humanity in such a small space….
But there is a different kind of disbelief, the kind that disbelieves in the continuity of human development. That can convince itself that suddenly when the child takes the first breath outside the womb, he or she is magically transformed into something new. In fact, all they have done is change addresses.
What a wonderful account. You can read it in full—and see another pose—here.
Tip of the hat to lifenews.com.