Page 81 - The Miracle of Human Creation

THE CREATION OF A HUMAN BEING FROM A CELL

is now called the foetus. This stage begins from the eighth week of preg-
nancy and continues to birth. In this stage, as distinct from the earlier
ones, the face, hands and feet of the foetus become distinguishable and it
takes the external appearance of a human being. At the beginning of this
stage, all the organs of the 3 cm. foetus are in place. This stage lasts for
thirty weeks and development continues until the week of birth.
The stages that we have briefly outlined here and the wondrous de-
velopments that happen in each stage will be explained in more detail in
the pages that follow.

The First Cell Begins to Multiply
The cell containing 46 chromosomes that is formed from the union of
the sperm and the egg is the first cell of a new human being that will open
its eyes to the world in nine months. The first and single cell which con-
tains the plan for the whole body is called the "zygote".
The first cell division happens 24 hours after the sperm and the egg
unite. These two newly formed cells are identical to each other. With this,
the first day of the 9-month period of life in the mother's womb begins.
Now there are not one but two cells in the mother's womb. Later this

number will increase to four and continue in this way as the division mul-
tiplies. 21
The cells in the cell cluster in the fallopian tube continue to divide
and grow and move towards the place where they will spend the next ni-
ne months. This is the mother's womb (uterus).
In this stage, the necessary changes occur in the uterus. Blood rushes
into the uterus and makes it strong and resilient. As we mentioned in the
previous section, the corpus luteum in the ovary increases its secretion
and informs the body that pregnancy has begun. In the meantime, the
zygote moves with a swimming motion towards the uterus and begins to
send a biochemical signal containing the message, "I'm here!" These mes-
sages make the mother's body prepared to ensure the presence of the salt,
iron, blood and vitamins needed by the foetus. At the same time, the bi-

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