Is it a bird? Is it a badger?

[j4]

I reckon it's more predator than alien. That may not be the most flattering photo. But the detail visible in the scan was really amazing (that one doesn't really do it justice) -- we could see all four chambers of the actual beating heart actually beating, every bone in the spine, tiny feet with even more tiny toes kicking, tiny hands reaching out in their first miraculous attempts to punch mum from the inside... :-}

Fortunately, it's also apparently just the right size, in the right place, & with all the right bits functioning as expected. And moving about all over the place. And if you do want to know: it's a girl!

I promise that not all my posts this month will be about babies, honestly. I am still thinking other thinks. But it is quite new and exciting having a small person living inside me.

Comments

[k425.livejournal.com]

I think it's the first breath that actually initiates the physical change, but it's a long time since I studied neonatal heart problems!

[jinty]

The link above says that cutting the cord precipitates various changes in pressure. I must admit that when I wrote the comment I didn't know as much as I did after I read the link properly - I had this vague idea of valves slamming shut on birth, somehow!

[juliet]

I read that and thought "that implies that cutting the cord is *required*, which is not the case (as per various forms of natural third stage including lotus birth). But I guess that if you *do* cut the cord, that precipitates the pressure change; and otherwise when the cord stops pulsing by itself that'll do it.

Thank you for the link!