Life Before Birth
Source: Janelle Weaver, "Social before Birth: Twins First Interact with Each Other as Fetuses," Scientific American, 1 January 2011.
"... scientists found that fetuses begin reaching toward their neighbors by the 14th week of gestation. Over the following weeks they reduced the number of movements toward themselves and instead reached more frequently toward their counterparts. By the 18th week they spent more time contacting their partners than themselves or the walls of the uterus. Almost 30 percent of their movements were directed toward their prenatal companions. These movements, such as stroking the head or back, lasted longer and were more accurate than self-directed actions, such as touching their own eyes or mouth."
"The results suggest that twin fetuses are aware of their counterparts in the womb, that they prefer to interact with them, and that they respond to them in special ways."
"Gallese says. 'The womb is probably a crucial starting point to develop a sense of self and a sense of others.'”
Only those who deny that life begins a conception are surprised by these findings.
"For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy" (Luke 1:44).
