By the time that you were six months in the womb, you had already developed a blink-startle response to loud noises. You still have this response – think when something loud scares you. You shut your eyes quickly, jumping a little! This is a trait that girls develop sooner than boys, while still in utero. You also physically reacted to music, perhaps moving rhythmically to songs that your parents liked to hear.

Breathing motions were made with your lungs to practice, if you will, better developing your respiratory muscles. Your brainstem was able to detect CO2 levels and trigger an inspiratory response. You began sitting up straight as your internal organs settled into final place and you started to be responsive to light.

You may have been hidden from sight, receiving from your mother your every need, but your connections to the outside world grew. At this age, if you had been in just the right position, your father (and other family members and friends) would have been able to hear your heartbeat by simply placing his ear against your mother’s abdomen.

When you looked like this picture, you had already established a rhythm of sleeping and waking… but, did you dream? Well, Rapid Eye Movement (REM) began between 18 and 21 weeks of your life, which means that you experienced the kind of sleep that allows for dreams. What kind of dreams did you dream? Although your world was very limited at this time, scientists speculate that the first stimuli that surrounded you in your watery world were woven into the fabric of your dreams. Perhaps, your very Creator spoke to you, “In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon mortals as they slumber in their beds.”[1]

Sources:

Just Facts: http://www.justfacts.com/abortion.asp#f66

The Endowment for Human Development: https://www.ehd.org/dev_article_unit15.php

Web M.D.: http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/your-pregnancy-week-by-week-weeks-21-25?page=2 (ages listed are from LMP, subtract two weeks for actual age)

The Archdiocese of Baltimore: http://www.archbalt.org/family-life/respect-life/spiritual-adoption/upload/Bulletin-announ-w-baby-images.pdf

[1] Job 33:15