These beautiful images of unborn children are used by permission of Life Issues Institute, copyright © 2001

Photographers: Andrzej Zachwieja and Jan Walczewski

The facts on life before birth are from the Endowment for Human Development, www.ehd.org

Human Life is Sacred

What is life like in the womb?

Seven weeks from conception

• Baby is called an “embryo” at this stage of life

• His heart has been beating since week 3, day 1

• By week 5, his liver was making blood cells

• His skin is only one-cell thick, letting you see through it

Seven weeks from conception

• Upper and lower limb buds (arms and legs) appeared by week 4

• Embryo can move & respond to touch

• Collar bone and jaw bones were the first to form

• Eyes, ears, lungs, stomach, and other organs are forming

• He can hiccup!

Eight weeks from conception • Brainwaves can be

recorded

• She can roll over, touch her face, turn her head, squint, move her jaw, and point her toes

• Over 7 million heartbeats already!

• This is the end of the embryonic period

Eleven weeks from conception • Now called a “fetus” • Can tell who’s a boy and

who’s a girl • About 3 inches long (head

to heel), weighing 1 ounce • He can suck his thumb,

yawn, and smile • Can swallow the fluid he’s

swimming in • Has fingerprints!

Twelve weeks from conception Tiny fingernails and toenails grow on her hands and feet. Her arms have grown to their final proportion compared to body size. Except for the top of her head and her back, her whole body responds to light touch.

Sixteen weeks from conception • Teeth are developing

• Mom can feel her baby move

• Fat deposits fill out the baby’s cheeks

• He’s six inches long and has begun to crowd his living quarters.

• He can feel pain

Twenty weeks from conception • She’s about 10 inches

long and weighs about 9 ounces.

• Hair begins to grow on her head

• She may pedal her legs, make crawling movements, roll over, or turn somersaults.

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image.

You are special to God because He made you after His own likeness, NOT because of …

• how old you are

• how big you are

• where you live • what you look like

• what you can do

All human life is sacred from the very beginning.

4-day-old human being, blastocyst stage