Development of the baby in the womb

The origin of life is not only one of nature's greatest wonders. It is also an unusually beautiful process. To capture it on camera, Swedish scientist and photographer Lennart Nilsson spent more than 12 years of his life. But the result is worth it. The scientist's project "A child was born: the drama of life before birth" was released in 1965, but until now these shots remain the most detailed and detailed in the history of obstetrics and gynecology. The pictures are chilling and make you think once again that our nature is truly perfect.

A lifelong project

Swedish scientist and photographer Lennart Nilsson

Lennart Nilsson began his passion for photography at the age of 12 and turned this hobby into the greatest achievement of his life. After becoming a scientist, he conducted a number of photographic experiments with microscopes, thanks to which he obtained unique images of human blood vessels "from the inside". This prompted him to think that it is possible to take detailed pictures of the origin of human life. With the help of the thinnest endoscopes, Nielson was able to record on film the entire development of a human embryo from fertilization to the last weeks of pregnancy.

This footage remains unprecedented to this day. Even with modern technology, none of the scientific photographers have been able to achieve such detail in their shots. Nilson's pictures clearly show the placenta and umbilical cord, heart, brain and even the contours of the face of the embryo already at the 5th (!) Week of pregnancy. During the development of the fetus, the scientist was able to occupy the tiny fingers and toes, the circulatory system, nails and fingerprints. It shows how the child moves and what he is doing in the womb. These photos will impress neither woman nor man

"A child was born: the drama of life before birth"

Before Nielson, the fertilization process could only be seen in biology books. Now we can see this miracle "live". This is how the sperm moves down the fallopian tube to the egg:

Sperm in the fallopian tube

The "historic meeting" is recorded here:

Meeting with the egg

It turns out that the winner has competitors: in this frame, two sperm are trying to penetrate the egg:

Fertilization process

Only one of them will come out the winner:

Egg implantation

The "implementation" process was successful. At this moment, a new life begins to develop:

Fertilization completed

The first week of development has passed. On the 8th day, the embryo has already fixed on the wall of the uterus, but it still looks like a caterpillar cocoon:

The embryo is fixed on the walls of the uterus

13 days after fertilization, the embryo begins to form the nervous system and the brain:

The embryo's brain begins to develop at 5 weeks

On the 24th day after fertilization, you can already clearly see a tiny heart:

The heart begins to beat already on the 18th day

Fourth week of pregnancy. The kid has already acquired physical contours. Now the baby, more than ever, looks like a tadpole. At this time, a small "tail" can be seen in all human embryos:

4 weeks pregnant

Fifth week. The length of the embryo at this stage of pregnancy does not exceed 1 cm. However, it is already possible to distinguish the contours of the face of the unborn child - by the openings of the mouth, nostrils and eyes:

At week 5, facial contours are visible

Pregnancy 40 days. At this time, the structure of the placenta is already fully developed, and the umbilical cord begins to form. Its rudiments can be seen in the photo:

At 40 days, the umbilical cord can be distinguished

The term is 8 weeks. The fetal bladder with amniotic fluid reliably protects the growing embryo:

8 week of pregnancy

At 16 weeks, the baby begins to actively move the arms. Scientists believe that there he studies his body and the world around him:

16 weeks: baby wiggles hands

All blood vessels are clearly visible through the transparent skin. There is no skeleton in our understanding at this time, it is thin and flexible cartilage that allows the baby to take any position:

Baby's circulatory system

At 18 weeks, the child has already developed hearing organs. Scientists have proven that at this time he can hear sounds not only inside the mother's body (for example, the beating of her heart), but outside (human speech, music, noise):

18 weeks old: baby already hears everything

At 19 weeks, on the tiny fingers of a child, you can already see the rudiments of nails:

The rudiments of nails are visible on the fingers

Half of the pregnancy has passed. For a period of 20 weeks, the baby's head is covered with an embryonic fluff. This is not hair yet, this is lanugo, which will come off the baby before the onset of childbirth:

Lanugo will disappear by the end of pregnancy

Most of all during this period, the baby loves to suck his own finger. They say that this is how you can determine which hand will be the leading hand in the child after birth, left or right:

Thumb sucking is a favorite thing in the womb.

At the 24th week of pregnancy, the baby develops sweat glands. He actively moves his arms, often bringing them closer to his face:

24 weeks pregnant

The baby in the womb is already 6 months old. At this time, he gradually begins to prepare for birth. So, most children at this time occupy a head-down position:

The child takes a head-down position

But there is enough space in the uterus, so the child may well turn over many more times:

The kid can still roll over

The term is 36 weeks. Less than a month left before birth. The child is quite cramped, so he can no longer turn around. At this time, the formation of all life-support systems ends. Very soon the baby will say hello to this world:

After 4 weeks, the baby will be born

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