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An almost unbelievable video is doing the rounds- according to Buzzfeed, it shows a 14-week-old baby clapping in the womb, and not just clapping, but doing so in time to its parents singing that old-time favourite, “If You’re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands”.
But is it real?
Thankfully, Buzzfeed enlisted a specialist to comment on whether or not the video is a hoax. Their Ob-Gyn author, Dr Jen Gunter, had the simple answer to the question of whether or not the baby is clapping: no and yes.
Womb with a view: first trimester
Womb with a view: second trimester
Womb with a view: third trimester
She says that a 14-week-old foetus is not capable of the gross motor control necessary for clapping, but the foetal movement resembles a clapping motion. She also added that clever editing could help to create the illusion.
See if you agree with Dr Jen:
Clap your hands: baby announcement via Jen Cardinal/YouTube
Ultrasounds and scans are a fascinating part of pregnancy. For most couples they are the first visual proof of an actual pregnancy (after the pee stick, of course). Those murky, grey shots confirm that you’re carrying a baby, and it’s time to start looking after yourself (and your unborn child).
My experience of those scans was squinting at the screen and nodding at the doctor’s comments, even though I couldn’t tell an elbow from a heel. But still, the printout would come home and get tacked onto the fridge like a foetal Rorschach test.
Scanning technology has improved so much in the past few years that doctors are able to access more information about the health of the foetus and the mother, so that better maternal care can take place.
More on pregnancy scans:
Predicting miscarriages
How doctors test for Down’s syndrome
They won’t tell me the sex of my baby
Meet your baby in the womb
Monitoring your bump
Pregnancy scans
What birth really costs in South Africa
Have you enjoyed your bump scans?
