Preparations for the First Breath

After birth the most important thing for the baby is to breathe; it is necessary that the lungs, which had never known air before, fill with it and start to breathe. The baby, who had previously received oxygen from the mother's blood, must now take it from the air with his own lungs. And in a miraculous way, the lungs, when had never taken a breath before the first moment of birth, begin to breathe quite normally.

At the moment the baby is born, God creates everything in readiness and ensures that the preparation of the lungs has been completed as required. For the preparation of the lungs, the diaphragm comes into play; it is located between the stomach and the rib cage. The diaphragm begins to function towards the sixth month of pregnancy. At first it expands and contracts intermittently several times an hour, but after birth it will do this continuously.

It can be seen from this that the baby is constantly under special protection, but it must be remembered that this is not the mother's protection. As the foetus develops, the mother carries on her normal life; none of the changes in her body are under her control. Even if she wanted to intervene, she could not. All these developments occur by the eternal power of our Lord. God has created all the things required for a child to come into the world as a normal human being in the most wonderful way. All the needs of the baby while it is in the foetus stage are met, and the mother is spared the necessity of thinking about what she must do to bring the baby into the world and ensure that the baby will survive.

Even if she thought about doing something to this end, there is nothing she could do. For example, taking waste material from the body of the foetus into her own kidneys, purifying it and discharging it are things which no mother could do on her own. It is God Who determines all the needs for a new human being to come into the world and constructs the system in the way that will best respond to these needs.

The Preparations Are Completed

As the foetus gradually gets prepared for life in the outside world, an extraordinary team of workers is organized among the organs. The work that will be done is determined according to the conditions in the outside world. The eyes, unused in the mother's womb, are constructed for the intensity of the world's light; the ears are made for the world's sounds. In the same way, the stomach and the other digestive organs are equipped with a physiological system designed to function in relation to this world's nutrient material. The cells of the digestive system are programmed and adjusted so as to digest food they have never encountered. Along with their ability to analyse carbohydrates and fats, they are programmed to know which nutrients are required by which organs and to ensure that these nutrients are sent to the relevant cells in the body. So, the foetus is prepared for the outside world in a planned and programmed way. Here we must point out again that these organs and cells that constitute the body of a new human being make these preparations for an environment that they have never seen, heard of or otherwise experienced. They develop as if they were aware of the environment that was waiting for them after leaving the mother's body. Certainly it is impossible to claim that these cells accomplish these acts by their own prescience. The conscious and deliberate preparations made by the cells in forming a baby's body, inspired in them by God, must be considered as an important proof of creation.

It is possible with today's technology to observe the development of the baby in the mother's womb with ultrasound.

In the final months, the foetus begins to gain weight. Certain cells produce a fat layer which is named "brown fat" because it has a brownish colour. The special brown fat develops in particular areas of the foetus such as the nape of the neck, around the kidneys and behind breastbone. In addition to providing insulation, brown fat itself produces heat. The special function of this fat layer is to keep the baby warm in the early weeks after birth.43 The fact that these cells which produce this fat layer flawlessly perform the duties that have been inspired in them is another proof of creation.

In the meantime, the skin of the foetus undergoes important changes resulting in the development before birth of skin surface which is critical for survival after birth. The skin of the foetus produces an oily surface covering which confers a water repelling property to the surface of the skin in contact with the amniotic fluid. This oily surface layer has an important effect to promote maturation of the underlying skin cells and the formation of a skin barrier before birth.44

In earlier sections, we mentioned that in the early stages of the embryo, the mother's defensive cells are not permitted access to the baby's blood. These cells see the baby as a foreign intrusion and could kill it. But in the ninth month, this situation changes suddenly and antibodies (a protective protein produced by the immune system) in the mother's womb pass to the foetus through the placenta. When we examine the reason for this, we are struck by something very surprising. In the first six months after birth, the cells in the baby's immune system do not develop, but the baby will need antibodies to protect it from the germs in the world. So, in the last month, the mother's antibodies, which are permitted access to the baby's blood, will be ready to protect the baby from contracting infectious diseases when it is first born.45 In the subsequent months, as the baby's immune system begins to produce its own antibodies, the mother's antibodies will cease functioning.

As in what we have said before, this operation too, as outlined above, is an example of the perfect plan in the creation of human beings. The details in every month, every day, every minute of the formation of a human being are minutely calculated. Flawless systems prevent harmful material from reaching the foetus, but when these materials are needed, the old system is removed according to the same perfect plan, and a new one is put in place. Certainly, this perfection does not come about by the deliberate decision and will of the cells which make up a human being. All these things are proof of the incomparable creation of Almighty God.

As can be seen in the examples given, every stage in the development of a human being is controlled and occurs according to a perfectly ordered plan. And every human being, while in the foetus stage, undergoes this controlled development and grows into maturity. The special plan and perfect design in the development of a human being is a manifestation for aware individuals of the eternal knowledge and wisdom of God

CREATION FROM A DROP

During the nine months in the mother's womb, growth continues perfectly. The foetus first enters the womb as a drop of fluid and gradually turns into a human being.

If there were the slightest lack of coordination in this development, the foetus would surely die. For example, if the brain grew more quickly than the bones of the skull, the brain of the foetus would be compressed and suffer damage. This coordination is also important for the formation of the eyes, the liver and heart, as well as other organs and the bones which surround them. The ordered development of the organs is also very important because, if the kidneys were slow to develop and the circulatory system had already formed, the blood would not be purified and the body would be poisoned.

But this does not happen and the baby about to open his eyes to the world is created by passing perfectly from one stage to another.

The only power that creates a complete human being from what was at first just a drop of fluid is that of Almighty God, the Lord of the universe.

The Qur'an tells how God created human beings:

Does man reckon he will be left to go on unchecked?
Was he not a drop of ejaculated sperm,
then an alaq (embryo) which He created and shaped,
making from it both sexes, male and female?
Is He Who does this not able to bring the dead to life?
(Qur'an, 75: 36-40)

Certainly, an individual confronted by this truth will always be thankful to his Lord for creating him from a drop of fluid and making him a seeing, hearing and thinking person.

Say: "It is He Who brought you into being and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show!" (Qur'an, 67: 23)

43. Geraldine Lux Flanagan, Beginning Life, Dorling Kindersley, London, 1996, p. 87
44. 1999-2003, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/dept-div/skin/medical.htm)
45. Laurence Pernoud, J'ettends un enfant, Pierre Horay, Paris, 1995, p. 135