Movie Review: In the Womb

In the womb – the DVD – Review A must see movie for future parent's! Experience  the life before birth, The formation, a step by step in a film that have not been seen like him. In the womb, was produced for National Geographic Channel . Its includes  features in advanced technology, simulations that have been  generated by ultrasound photography in four dimensions. Before it takes its first breath, a human baby has been through an incredible transformation from a single cell to a complex, self-sustaining organism.Watch this amazing process in real time inside the womb. Recommendation + personal experience I remember that moment I realized that my wife's stomach size is what supposed to be my child, with God's help,  I studied this film, explaining   me something that is very difficult for me personally to understand: how our body produces live? How does it work? If you think that I got it after seeing the film and that I  understood all of these scientific facts, then you're wrong, its still seems like a crazy miracle that happens one after the other in the all wide World.I sthrongly recommend everyone to see that   movie, it shows the very little detailsof the process  and even shows us the fetus  in  a verity of positions, moves, making faces, etc that we cant see without that film. you will enjoy it. Source:  http://www. shvoong. com/exact-sciences/2000143-womb/#ixzz2cqvNjWSF Maybe this has already been talked about and I missed it, but I thought I would let all of you ladies know about a National Geographic special my husband recorded for me to watch called â€Å"In the Womb. † I HIGHLY recommend the film.It's a fairly new documentary about how babies develop and it's quite interesting. I thought I would do a little review for you all since some of you are midwives and others are looking for informational videos. There are good and bad things about the documentary, but the end made me so very, VERY happy that I've forgiven the film all of it's faults. Con: The intro is of a woman in labor screaming bloody murder like they do in the movies while giving birth. You'll forgive this later, however. Read on. Con: I kinda almost fell asleep at the beginning when they were covering conception.It was stuff we've all heard a million times in school, so it was pretty redundant. Get to the babies already! Pro: Some of the computer graphics and filming was really amazing. They use all new footage, no recycled stuff from other documentaries. Con: Sometimes the film would state some fact and then not back it up in any way, so you'd be left wondering â€Å"gee, that's new. Where on earth did they get THAT? † For example, during one part, they said that a woman is more likely to have a miscmarriage if she experiences stress, has an immune disorder, or if she has previously given birth to a boy.Now, I've had three miscmarriages, so I've read tons of information about it and never have I heard that givi ng birth to a boy makes you more likely to have a miscmarriage. I thought â€Å"wow, really? Where'd they hear that? † but they just went on to the next subject without explaining. Con: 99% of the babies in the film are not real – they are either rubber models (which look absolutely fantastically realistic, by the way) or these super creepy alien-looking computer generated babies that totally freaked me out. They were a bit disturbing looking.Con: They stressed the value of ultrasound in the video and I'm personally against it, but it doesn't lose a lot of points with me because a lot of women are pro ultrasound. Pro: They did mention that ultrasound might be harmful, though it is not â€Å"known† to cause problems in babies. They also mentioned that while we can't hear ultrasound, babies CAN because it creates an echo inside the water-filled uterus. They explained that babies â€Å"run† from it because it is extremely loud – somewhat like standing next to a subway train. Pro: They provided TONS of the most amazing 4D footage of babies I've ever seen.They had videos of babies only weeks old in the womb yawning, playing with their noses and feet, and twins interacting with each other. I cried at parts. Pro: Aside from a brief (and very low-key) clip where a doctor does a minor surgery on an unborn fetus along with a few short clips of doctors pperforming ultrasound, there were NO HOSPITAL SCENES or doctors in the film. Woot! The best part ever: The film follows only one mother through her pregnancy and ends with her giving birth. I grumbled my way through a few mildly irritating parts of the film, but whe I reached the end, I got a rather shocking surprise.When it's time for the mother to give birth, you see her standing – yes standing – next to a bed in a birthing center giving birth. There is not one doctor in the room or a machine beeping of any kind, only the woman, her midwife, the cameraman, and the husband . There are no bright lights and it's very quiet except for the woman's screams. Then, to my utter delight, the narrator informs the viewers that standing or squatting are the best positions in which to give birth and that it is better and more comfortable for the mother than laying on her back.I wish every reader could have been there with me as I whooped and hollered and punched my fists in the air in delight! Imagine a mainstream documentary saying something like that! The baby is immediately handed to the mother through her legs and she sits on the bed with her newborn, a smile plastered on her delighted face. No one takes her baby away. The midwife waits to cut the cord and then the mother is seen breastfeeding. WAY TO GO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC!! So yes, any midwives out there who are looking for a good educational video, I'd have to say that this is the one.It's not about birth, it's about development, but it's the best I've seen so far and it's SO ultra pro-natural birth. ETA: S ORRY! The Youtube link seems to have been taken down. I'll keep an eye out for any other sites hosting the full video   -Amber National Geographic Channel's In the Womb by Inbar Maayan  Keywords:  Human development,  Movies,  Fetus Written, produced, and directed by Toby Mcdonald, the 2005 National Geographic Channel film  In the Womb  uses the most recent technology to provide an intricate glimpse into the prenatal world.The technologies used, which include advanced photography, computer graphics, and 4-D  ultrasound  imaging, help to realistically illustrate the process of development and to answer questions about the rarely seen development of a human being. The following description of the images and narrative of the film captures the major points of  In the Womb, and of embryonic and fetal development, as they are seen at the outset of the twenty-first century, depicted in only 100 minutes. In the Womb  opens with a glimpse of the mature  fetus  moment s before she is ready to emerge into the outside world.The narrator explains that at this final stage, she is equipped with all of the faculties necessary for full function outside the  womb. The main focus of the film, however, is the journey leading up to these final moments, a journey that begins with just a single cell. This journey is viewed intermittently tthroughout the film using 3-D and 4-D  ultrasound  scanning techniques which show the baby moving. 4-D refers to a string of 3-D images taken in real time (time is the fourth dimension), thus creating a movie of in utero events.In addition, the process is simulated by computer imaging based on observations, giving a vivid portrayal of embryonic and fetal development. The developmental narrative begins with millions of swimming  sperm, and an explanation of their unique purpose—carrying the father’s genetic information to the moment of  conception. The  sperm  are produced in a man’s  test es, and their quality depends on his lifestyle choices; they tend to be damaged by the consumption of various drugs and by heat, and stimulated by the consumption of coffee.A singlesperm  is filmed swimming across a black landscape, which accentuates the rapid, intricate movements of its tail. The tail’s flexibility allows the  sperm  to progress approximately a tenth of an inch per minute. Millions of  sperm  are filmed as they appear in the  vagina, many of them dead on their sides, with the vast crowd in the middle swimming toward the  uterus, the  fallopian tubes, and the  egg, which looks like a moon-like orb nestled among its protective agents. This  egg, like all her others, was formed during the mother’s own time in the  womb  and has resided in her body ever since.The film suggests that in order to find the  egg, the  sperm  Ã¢â‚¬Å"sniff it out† using their figurative sense of smell. A graphical simulation shows the  sperm   traveling toward the awaiting  egg, and one of them penetrating its outer layer. The bigger picture, in which the rest of the  spermare permanently shut out upon  fertilization, is filmed. Another graphical simulation follows, illustrating the fusion of the father’s and the mother’s genetic material at the moment of  conception. The narrator notes that this particular genetic combination has never before existed, and will never be duplicated in another human being.DNA, which carries the organism’s genetic information and is bundled in the chromosomes, is depicted as a long, energetic helix that carries the more than 20,000  genes  that make up an average human. These  genes  are responsible for various characteristics and are determined by paren'tal contributions. They are absolutely crucial to the development of new life. The various physical effects of genetic information are illustrated in the display of various shapes of eyes, noses, hair , and other features.The great variability of genetic effects on appearance is depicted by the morphing of a face to show a vvariety of characteristics, both male and female. It is noted, however, that while the parent's contribute equal amounts of genetic information, it is the DNA from the  sperm  that determines the child’s sex, via its twenty-third chromosome, which is either an X or a Y. The  genes  contributed by the parent's largely predetermine the child’s appearance and much of the child’s personality and predisposition for certain diseases.After the illustration and explanation of  fertilization, a description of the fertilized egg’s journey toward the  uterus  is accompanied by film footage of the process. As it sails along the fallopian tube on the first day of its journey, the single cell divides into two identical cells. Cell division continues and by the fifth day, the resulting ball of cells is made up of about 100 cells and is called a  blastocyst. At this stage, theblastocyst  will split into two groups of cells: the outer layer prepares to become the  placenta,  umbilical cord  and fetal membranes, and the inner layer prepares to become the embryo itself.The cells making up the inner part of the  blastula  are  stem cells, and have the ability to differentiate into all of the different types of cells that make up the human body. One week after  fertilization, the  blastula  reaches theuterus, where it will start to develop into a new human being. Three weeks into  gestation,  In the Womb  simulates the embryo folding inward and elongating as the basic body plan is determined. An actual embryo at this stage is shown and a basic spine is visible.The top of the embryo, destined to become the head and brain, is indicated; this region has already begun to generate  nerve cells  by the fifteenth day of the  pregnancy. These  nerve cells  will proliferate and eventually become the brain and the  central nervous system. The heart forms soon after this, and twenty-two days after  conception, begins to beat. This movement is initiated by a single heart cell which begins to beat and induces the cells around it to beat to the same rhythm. Close-up filming shows this pulse as heart cells proliferate and the organ continues to form.With the formation of the heart come thin veins and early blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen and nutrients; the blood in these veins moves to the beat of the heart. During the early stages of development the heart beats relatively independently, though its function will later be carefully regulated by the brain. By the time the embryo is four weeks old, preliminary eyes have appeared on her head. These look like dark spots on a pale landscape of surrounding tissue on which the early contours of the forehead, nose, mouth, and other parts of the mature face can be seen.In addition, arm and leg buds emerge. The n arrator mentions that even though thirty days have passed since  conception, the embryo is almost indistinguishable from the embryos of other mammals. The changes taking place in the embryo’s  morphology  over the following few weeks are shown through film progression. The face plates move in to better define facial features, arms and legs continue to take shape, and the head becomes more clearly defined. At six weeks, the embryo is about an inch long, has a firmly rooted and visible  umbilical cord, and the outline of her fingers can be distinguished as well.The eyes have developed by leaps and bounds, although they are not yet concealed by eyelids. The nostrils are now visible, wide-set beneath the eyes on a head that is giant in relation to the size of the body. By the end of eight weeks of  gestation, the embryo is called afetus  and is no longer dependent on the  yolk  sac that nourished it during the  embryonic stage of development. The  yolk  sac, a balloon-like structure of tissue with visible veins, vanishes at this point and the  fetus  becomes solely dependent on the  umbilical cord  rooted in theplacenta, and thus on the mother’s blood for nutrition.A close examination of the  placenta  reveals intricate blood vessels transporting the nutrients necessary for the embryo’s growth, while keeping out many of the toxins present in the mother’s own blood. Despite the placenta’s effectiveness, substances like drugs and alcohol cannot be completely be filtered out, and it’s up to the mother to limit her consumption of them. By nine weeks, the nervous system has developed dramatically and starts to allow the  fetus  to move. Although this movement, shown through computer simulation, is not yet connected to the brain, it premotes agility and further growth.After this point, the body will gradually come under the control of the brain. This change also has the effect of regulating heart rate, which may increase to more than 150 beats per minute before cerebral  regulation. A standard  ultrasound  is performed at the Create Health Clinic in London at the conclusion of the first  trimester, and the narrator explains how  ultrasound  waves function to create the image on the screen. While a physician explains the various tests that can be done at this stage of  pregnancy  using  ultrasound, the baby’s heart can be seen contracting and expanding in the moving image.A step beyond standard  ultrasound  is the 4-D scan, which shows the three-dimensional  fetus  moving in real time. This tool allows for even more accurate evaluation of the fetus’s health and development. It shows everything from the  fetus  moving her arms to yawning or playing with her nose. Four-dimensional scans of various babies at different stages of development greatly expand the amount of detail that is visible to the world outside the  womb. The n arrator also notes that this first  ultrasound  scan is the first oopportunity to ascertain the number of fetuses present in the  womb.Four-dimensional scans also allow us to see the preliminary steps of a baby’s literal first steps. These are manifested in scans of eleven- and twelve-week-old fetuses kicking and pushing off the walls of the  uterus  as they exercise the use of their appendages. This movement is called the stepping reflex, and it is controlled by the fetus’s nervous system. The five weeks leading up to this point, weeks six through eleven, are considered to be the period in which the  fetus  undergoes the most dramatic transformations in its developmental journey.By the end of the eleventh week, all organs have formed, but the  fetus  is still tiny—about three inches long—and thus must grow significantly before it can be  viable. Sex is also determined at this point, and the sex organs produce  hormones  that furth er regulate the sexual development of the  fetus. Miscmarriage beyond this point is far less likely than during the first three months of  pregnancy, since the  fetus  is more stable. As time goes on, the  fetus  looks more and more human, and her senses sharpen further.Simulation reveals highly developed hands and the hardening (ossification) of bones beneath the semi-transparen't skin. The face looks far more â€Å"human† as well, with the eyes now closer together and the nose and mouth more defined. By this time, the brain controls most of the body–including the heart–through thecentral nervous system. Aside from seeing the heart, a Doppler probe is also used to hear what the fetus’ heart sounds like. It beats at a frantic 146 beats per minute, which the physician indicates is a healthy pace for a  fetus  this age.At four months, she not only has control of her heart rate, but she also begins to respond to physical stimuli and to move a round a lot. She has also begun to develop proprioception, which is the awareness of the body’s position in its surroundings. She is shown feeling the sides of the  womb  and grasping at different parts of her body. Four-dimensional images of twins also reveal how interactive they are with each other; identical twins, however, interact much more than do fraternal twins, who have a membrane separating them.This membrane is also visible with this more detailed scanning tool. Eighteen weeks after  conception, fetal movements become readily detectable to the mother. In addition, the  fetus  starts digesting amniotic fluid as her digestive system begins preparation for the outside world. Another preparation has been revealed by 4-D scans, where thefetus  can be seen practicing the blinking reflex. Soon, she will even have her own fingerprints. At the conclusion of the second  trimester, the  fetus  is fully formed but still needs to experience dramatic growth and to develop her senses.The film states that at this stage, she begins to taste flavors from her mother’s food, and to hear the sounds that surround her cocoon, including the tone and cadence of her mother’s voice. Comfort with her mother’s various sense-inducing habits may even prove conducive to more healthy development once the baby has been born. In the Womb  also notes that, as well as providing a preliminary basis for diagnosis of complications,  ultrasound  scans also premote the development of paren'tal attachment to the yet-unborn child.Ultrasound is thought to enhance the relationship of the child with the parent's, both in infancy and later in life. At twenty-four weeks, this relationship could begin prematurely, for it is at this point that a baby could survive outside of the  womb; though still small and underdeveloped, with appropriate intensive care, she could be considered  viable. The greatest complications may arise due to the prematur e lungs, since the lungs only fully develop near the conclusion of the  pregnancyand are filled with amniotic fluid until breathing begins.The eyes, which have been fully developed since the middle of the  pregnancy, cannot see yet but are adorned with eyelashes by the twenty-fifth week. Babies are usually born with lighter-colored eyes than they will have later; babies of Caucasian descent are often born with blue eyes, while babies of Asian or African descent first have darker brown eyes. These colors will often change or deepen during the first few months of life, as the pigments in the eyes are exposed to light, which is absent in the  womb. In the darkness of the  womb, babies in their final  trimester  spend most of their time sleeping soundly.When they are awake, however, fetuses are often active, practicing their reflexes in response to provocations from outside the  womb. These include the startle reflex, when the  fetus  flings her arms out and over her h ead, and the swallowing and sucking process, crucial to nutrition outside of the  womb. The latter may be manifested in thumb sucking, which is thought to be sthrongly correlated with handedness during a person’s life. The  placenta  not only conducts oxygen, nutrients, and flavors to the  fetus, but it may also conduct the mother’s mood. The ear or anxiety that a mother might experience cascade through, eventually causing the baby’s heart to beat faster as well. Serious and sustained stress or anxiety have been found to result in stress in the child and a higher risk for stress-related physical and mental health complications. Past twenty-six weeks the  fetus  concentrates almost solely on growth; despite this, serious issues might arise even before birth. In the Womb  shows Dr. Kypros Nicolaides of King’s College Hospital in London diagnosing and pperforming  in utero  surgery on a  fetus  whose intestines are obstructing lung grow th.He performs this delicate surgery with the help of a fetuscope, which allows him to see inside thewomb  and is also used as a tool in the surgery itself. Nicolaides’ technique for treating this particular disorder has been met with a 50% increase in the survival rate of his prenatal patients. The last two months of  pregnancy  see the final steps toward a healthy birth. During this time, the  fetus  develops a layer of insulating fat and has even been found to develop consciousness and memory. The  fetus  may remember and respond to familiar sounds such as her mother’s voice or even her parent's’ favorite music.If the  fetus  recognizes music, she might even move in rhythm. Fast music has been found to stimulate and excite the  fetus, which seems to be almost dancing in the  womb, while classical music will often have a calming effect. The development of all of these complex functions prior to birth has also led some experts to posit tha t, developmentally, birth is not as significant as was previously assumed. This is because the brain of a maturing  fetus  is almost identical to that of a newborn. This ssimilarity is particularly striking considering the sighting of rapid eye movement (REM) in 4-D scans, since these are indicative of dreaming.From thirty-five weeks on, the  fetus  could be fully functional and self-supporting (aside from its need for external nutrition and warmth). The film notes that though it is not yet certain what sets off delivery, the maturation of the lungs may play a key role. When mature, the lungs release a protein that affects the  hormone  production of the  placenta, reducing  progesterone  production and initiating the production of oxytocin, which in turn triggers uterine contractions and inhibition of memory.These are useful when the  cervix  undergoes extreme widening—approximately 10 cm—as it conveys the baby’s large head out into the wo rld. In the Womb  has now gone full-circle, arriving again at the time of delivery. To ease the pain of delivery and risks of complication, the mother in the movie delivers standing up and leaning forward with her legs spread apart slightly. During this time, the baby releases large quantities of adrenalin, which keeps the heart pumping fast and prepares the lungs to take their first breathes of air. Soon, the baby’s head crowns and is followed by the rest of the body.As soon as the baby has emerged, it starts crying as its lungs fill with oxygen and it is exposed to the light and cold of the outside world. The  placenta, now unnecessary, detaches from the  uterus  and exits the mother’s body through the birth canal. In the Womb  reviews the entire process of the  pregnancy  and highlights the grand achievement that is transformation from a single cell into an entirely new individual. The newly born baby depends on adults for warmth and nutrition, althoug h all other functions rest solely in her tiny hands.