Posted on 01/13/2011 9:12:48 AM PST by markomalley
Every mother knows that newborns are social creatures just hours after birth. They prefer to look at faces over objects, and they even imitate facial expressions. Now a study suggests that the propensity for social interactions exists in the womb. Twins begin interacting as early as the 14th week of gestation.
Researchers at the University of Turin and the University of Parma in Italy used ultrasonography, a technique for imaging internal body structures, to track the motion of five pairs of twin fetuses in daily 20-minute sessions. As published in the October PLoS ONE, the scientists found that fetuses begin reaching toward their neighbors by the 14th week of gestation. Over the following weeks they reduced the number of movements toward themselves and instead reached more frequently toward their counterparts. By the 18th week they spent more time contacting their partners than themselves or the walls of the uterus. Almost 30 percent of their movements were directed toward their prenatal companions. These movements, such as stroking the head or back, lasted longer and were more accurate than self-directed actions, such as touching their own eyes or mouth.
The results suggest that twin fetuses are aware of their counterparts in the womb, that they prefer to interact with them, and that they respond to them in special ways. Contact between them appeared to be planned—not an accidental outcome of spatial proximity, says study co-author Cristina Becchio of Turin. “These findings force us to predate the emergence of social behavior,” she says.
My twins are still the best of friends. They interacted in utero just like they do now - there was a dominant (the girl) and a passive (the boy) twin.
When I was 28 weeks, I had an ultrasound of my daughter. She was sucking her thumb.
My son was busy... being a boy... (a-hem) at his 7 month ultrasound. The dr told me that this was normal behavior for baby boys during the third trimester.
But the one that floored me was my son’s three month ultrasound. He was *kicking* his little butt off. It looked like he was trying to peddle a bike.
Ask moms how many of them played with their babies in the womb. Tapping their bellies and getting tapped or kicked back. Telling their baby to kick and getting the response.
I do so miss being pregnant! It was the funnest, most interesting, most beautiful experience of my life! I wish I could’ve done it half a dozen more times. :-)
LOL ! One of our girls came out looking like a prize fighter - her face was all bruised and her eyes were puffy. Her twin didn’t have a mark on her. “Rocky” was kind of quiet for the first few months - I guess her sister really must have laid into her.
Beautiful. No wonder twins always have a special relationship. It starts before they’re born.
It presents a lovely picture of pre-born babies!
LOL!!! Best laugh of the morning!!!
One of my singletons had a very distinct personality from about 14 weeks onward, and I could tell he would have a buoyant, humorous personality from the way he would frolic around whenever I settled down to pray or read the paper. And he has turned out to be a very amusing and witty person.
BTTT for incredibly beautiful photographs.
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