CHAPTER XIII.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE FŒTUS.

Minuteness of the Germ of Human Life.—The Embryo Cell and Its Store of Food.—Its Journey to the Uterus.—Meeting the Spermatozoön, Conception Occurs.—The Changes Which take Place in the Uterus.—Life is Present the Moment Conception takes Place.—The Mysterious Development of the Embryo.—The Sin of Tampering with the Work of the Infinite.—The Various Changes in the Development of the Embryo and Fœtus set Forth.—The Changes that Occur each Month.—Parenthood the Benediction of Husband and Wife.

How does the tiny speck, so tiny that it cannot be seen with the naked eye, only one hundred and twentieth of an inch in diameter, how does this tiny atom of matter, begin in its growth, continue and develop into the full grown child? This little germ or ovum, the part furnished by the mother, in the creation of a human being, contains the germinal vesicle, or embryo cell, and the stored up food for the early days of life after conception takes place. After the ovum leaves the ovary, somewhere in its journey to the uterus or womb, it is met by the spermatozoön, or male element of conception, and by their mysterious union the new life is begun.

Coincident with the impregnation of the ovum, active changes are inaugurated in the uterus. The organ becomes more vascular, increases in size, its lining is thickened and softened, thus in all ways preparing a soft bed, or cradle, for the nesting time and growth of the little one entrusted to its care. During pregnancy the uterus enlarges from an area of sixteen square inches to three hundred and thirty-nine square inches in the fully developed state. After delivery it does not resume its former shape and size, but retains vestiges of the condition through which it has passed, its retained weight having increased fully an ounce and a half.

In some inconceivable way a notion has become prevalent, that there is no life in the embryo until motion is felt by the mother. How life enters then has been left by them an unexplained mystery. That this professed belief is but a device of Satan, to excuse the shameless taking of life in-utero, is the only method of accounting for its prevalence. Life, organized life, begins the very moment conception takes place, and is as surely life as that which exists when the little active creature is placed in its mother’s arms.

After conception takes place, while yet the embryo is on the way to its nesting place, many and rapid changes take place. By a process of segmentation or division, the contents of the ovum are broken into innumerable granular cells, from which mass the whole organization of the embryo is gradually evolved.

How some of these cells are transformed into muscle, others into bone or cartilage or nerves, or brain, or connective tissue, when no difference can be distinguished in the various cells, is among the mysteries of life which science has not yet fathomed. That it does this we all know; how it does it belongs wholly within the knowledge of creative wisdom.

In tracing the steps of progress in the life of the embryo, which I shall soon give, let every young person who reads these pages learn once and forever, that when she is tempted to rid herself of the product of conception, even the next moment after conception has taken place, she is tempted to murder, as surely as though the child were in her arms, a living visible bit of humanity, and she were plotting to take its life. It is a terrible thing to tamper with the work of the Infinite, and with nature’s inexorable laws, and punishment is sure to follow.

When the embryo has finished its journey, and has settled itself for a long stay of nine months, not of rest, but of ceaseless activity, of growth and development so marvelous and sure, it begins to draw its life from the uterus, for the stored up food in the ovum is already exhausted. At first it draws by absorption through the membrane enclosing it, then through the placenta or “afterbirth,” which is created as the medium of communication for the life-giving force, between mother and child.

Up to the close of the third month we call this little new life an embryo; after this time it is called a fœtus. For a full description of the embryo and fœtus, in the various stages of development, we copy from Leavitt’s Science and Art of Obstetrics.

“_The First Month._—The embryo in the first week of gestation, is a minute, gelatinous and semi-transparent mass, of a greyish color, presenting to the unaided eye no definite traces of either head or extremities. The entire ovum measures but one-fourth of an inch, and the embryo but one-twelfth; but during the next week they double in dimensions. The coverings of the child are developed, and it is attached to the uterus, but does not yet draw its life from it. At the close of the month the ovum is about the size of a pigeon’s egg, and weighs about forty grains. The embryo is about three-fourths of an inch in extreme length, and about one-third of an inch in direct measurement as it is coiled up. The structures have so little bulk, that when ruptured they easily escape attention, in abortions, generally passing with a clot.

“_Second Month._—At eight weeks the ovum is about the size of a hen’s egg, and it weighs from one hundred and eighty to three hundred grains, and is about two-thirds of an inch in length from head to caudal curve. Its independent circulatory system is forming: indications of the external generative organs are visible: and ossification has begun in several parts of the body.

“_Third Month._—The embryo weighs from three hundred to four hundred grains, and measures from two and a half to three and a half inches in length. The forearm is well formed and the fingers are discernible. The umbilical or navel cord is about two and a half inches in length. The head is relatively large, the neck separates it from the trunk, and the eyes are prominent. The chorion has lost most of its villi, and the placenta is formed. Points of ossification are present in most of the bones. Thin membranous nails appear on the fingers and toes. Sex may be determined by presence or absence of the uterus.

“_Fourth Month._—The fœtus weighs five or six ounces, and is about five inches long. Its sex is more distinct; movements are visible. The convolutions of the brain are beginning to form: ossification is extending: the placenta is increasing in size, and the cord is about twelve inches long. The head is one-fourth the length of the whole body. The sutures and fontanelles are widely separated. Hair begins to appear on the scalp. If born, the fœtus may live three or four hours.

“_Fifth Month._—Fœtal weight has increased to ten ounces, and length to about nine inches. The head is still relatively large. Fine hair, (lanugo) appears over the whole body. Fœtal movements can be felt by the mother. If born the fœtus can live but a few hours.

“_Sixth Month._—Weight about twenty-four ounces, length eleven inches. Fat is found in the subcutaneous cellular tissue. Hair is darker and more abundant. The membrana pupillaris exists but the eyelids separate. If born at this time the fœtus breathes freely, but life is retained only a few hours, with rare exceptions.

“_Seventh Month._—Weight from three to four pounds, length fourteen to fifteen inches. The skin is wrinkled, of red color and covered with vernix caseosa. The pupillary membrane disappears. If younger than twenty-eight weeks it is not likely to live.

“_Eighth Month._—Weight from four to five pounds, length from sixteen to eighteen inches. Development is now rather in thickness than length. The nails are nearly perfect, and the lanugo is disappearing from the face. The navel is gradually approaching the centre of the body, until now it has nearly reached the median point. The cranial bones are easily molded under pressure, a point to be remembered as bearing on the question of induced labor in pelvic deformity.

“_Ninth Month_—or at term.—At the end of pregnancy the fœtus weighs an average of six and a half or seven pounds, and measures about twenty inches in length. The average weight of mature males is greater than that of females. At birth the fœtus is covered with vernix caseosa, a whitish tenacious substance, composed of a mixture of surface epithelium, down and the products of sebaceous glands. During intra-uterine life it serves as a protection for the skin against the amniotic fluid. It can be removed thoroughly only by preceding the use of water by a free use of oil.”

So the baby grows until it reaches intra-uterine maturity, and comes into our arms for cherishing. Pity, pity the little one that comes with no love to receive it, and pity more the mother of such a child. No woman has a right to marry, unless she desires offspring and is willing to fit herself for maternity. No man has a right to take upon himself the sacred vows that make him husband, unless he comprehends all that it means, and is measurably ready to meet its duties and responsibilities. With such preparation, and such understanding upon entering matrimony, we should see a nobler, stronger race of men and women in the coming generations.