Info Health

Babies in the womb was already able to express facial movements such as laughing and crying faces. Facial expressions turned out to already be done by the baby before birth and when the pregnancy was 24-36 weeks, fetal facial movements become more complex.

This is a study for the first time about the baby's facial expression in the uterus. Researchers analyzed videotapes of fetal facial movements obtained from 4D ultrasound machine at the final stage of pregnancy. Researchers observed the same healthy fetus at 20 weeks gestation, and made ​​several observations again at age 24 to 36 weeks of gestation. As reported by ScienceDaily , Thursday (09/15/2011), researchers found that the fetal facial movement became increasingly complex over time.

Researchers looked at the fetus at 24 weeks gestation were able to move one muscle in their faces. For example, stretch the lips or mouth opening. At the age of 35 weeks gestation, the fetus is able to combine a number of facial muscle movement, such as stretching the lips, lowered eyebrows and smile lines deepen the groove, thus changing the expression of movement into a more recognizable and more complex. "This is an exciting new insights in the process of fetal development. What is remarkable of this study is the first time demonstrated that the fetus is healthy there is progression from simple facial movements are becoming increasingly complex, preparing the fetus for life after birth, "said Professor Brian Francis of the Department Mathematics and Statistics at Lancaster University.

While it can not make a sound, the development of fetal facial expression makes the baby at birth has mempu perform facial movements to accompany crying and laughing.  "We found more than we expected. We know that babies can blink before birth, and several studies have identified a frown on your baby before birth. But in this study, for the first time we have developed a method of coding and analysis that enables us to objectively track the increasing complexity of movement from time to time that produces a recognizable facial expressions , "explains Dr. Nadja Reissland from Durham University.

The investigators suggest that the patterns of motor movement develops before the baby can feel the emotion, such as breathing exercises movements in the womb even before the baby can breathe. This discovery has the potential to identify health problems in the womb, because there is a connection between the behavior patterns of the fetus and fetal brain development. Seeing the difference between the face of normal fetal development and may show abnormal brain development problems. The researchers now plan to see whether fetal facial movements can help distinguish between the fetuses of mothers who smoked during pregnancy and maternal non-smokers. Researchers will examine the relation with angry facial expressions, smiles and sad.