Now we know what babies are REALLY up to in their moms’ wombs

By Rebecca vineyard

July 29, 2015

By Rebecca vineyard

July 29, 2015

It’s a pretty exciting week in science. First, the surgery to transplant hands onto the youngest patient ever has been deemed a success, and now, an astoundingly clear video of a baby in the womb has landed in our lives.

Though we still may think of ultrasounds as grainy images of what appears to be an indistinct lump, it’s now possible to get a clear video of what’s really going on inside a mother-to-be’s belly. Ultrasound technicians and doctors no longer have to help parents understand what they are seeing on the screen; it’s incredibly clear. Modern day technology, it seems, has kicked things up several notches.

This particular video depicts the son of Sander van der Laan and his wife in the womb, doing things you might not expect an infant in utero to even do: eat, wake up from a nap, and even sneeze. Amazing (and adorable).

While traditional 2D ultrasounds are still standard, 3D and 4D—which is a 3D scan that actually moves, and refers to the fourth dimension of time—technology has been available for a while. In fact, the infant in this video is now three years old!

3 and 4D scans require exposing the baby to more ultrasound than necessary, so while there’s no evidence to suggest these scans are unsafe, they typically don’t occur unless medically necessary. They are clearly a more satisfying experience for parents than the traditional ultrasound, though, because they really reveal what an unborn baby is up to.

The video depicts the van der Laan’s son waking up from a nap in utero, scrunching up his face in mild annoyance and wiggling his nose.

While to an extent, babies at this stage still looks somewhat like an Uruk-hai being born at Isengard, it’s pretty phenomenal to see them behaving like fully-fledged people even though they’re still in the process of developing.

Truly, seeing the van der Laans’ son rub his eyes with a tiny fist before he’s even born could make even the hardest of cynics swoon over the miracle of life.