Understanding the Self Through Family Planning

Midterm Project

Reflection on a Documentary Film:

Life Inside the Womb by Body Atlas

Submitted by:
#20 Justine A. Escote

ABCOMM-1

Submitted to:
Ms.Gloria P. de la Merced-Josol, RPsy, RGC

Submitted on:
October 8, 2019
 Life Inside the Womb

The complexity of life commences even before the conception of a newborn. In fact, the
intricate process of reproduction does not merely encompass the specific act of intercourse and
fertilization, for in actuality, it also involves the formation of profound and meaningful
relationships built within the foundation of care, trust, and love. However, beneath all of its
perplexity and complexity, there is an underlying display of genuine hope and simply
sophisticated beauty.
For every breathing human introduced into the Earth, there is an equivalent amount of sheer
joy added into the equation, neutralizing the negativities brought about by the disparities and
problems of the world we recognize as home. Every new life is indeed a miraculous wonder -
and according to statistics, there are about 250 children born every minute - implying that
miracles do happen, and it does so with every tick of the clock. In consideration of this account
however, the direction of this narration must progress towards a more technical approach - and
by that it means the outset of the discussion of the factors concerned with the development of a
baby within its very first haven - the womb.
It would be ideal to start the discourse with how it all initiates, and that by all means refers
to the penetration of the sperm cell into the largest cell in the human body, the egg cell. This
particular union is responsible for the formation of the embryo (forms in less than month after
the fertilization of the egg cell) which then matures and transforms into a fetus (after the eight
week of fertilization). There are various elements, however that is involved within this process
excluding the division and multiplication of cells. For starters, the genetic information
considered as the “precious cargo” carried by the DNA will combine with the genes of the
mother to develop an individual with a unique genetic make-up. This basically implies that the
traits from both parents will be passed onto the child, although a number of these might be
recessive while the others are more dominant. After a day and a half of fertilization, the egg cells
divide again and again until they drift into the womb wherein a handful of chemical messages
are released for the purpose of guiding the cells to become part of the eye, heart, or the leg.
These division and multiplication of cells plays an integral part in the development of the child
for when those cells begins to change, they will eventually form into other significant parts of
the body such as the head, brain, spinal cord, digestive organs, etc. At five weeks old, the
membranes of the baby inside the womb is attached to the beginnings of the umbilical cord,
another factor that is vital in the development of the unborn child. This umbilical cord is
regarded as “the baby’s lifeline” for it delivers the food and oxygen into the baby, taking away
the wastes, and also connecting the fetus into the placenta of the uterus. This placenta, on the
other hand, acts as the baby’s lungs, liver, and digestive organs and avoids the the mother’s
blood from blending with the baby’s. This also suggests how important it is for the mother to
develop a healthy diet and lifestyle for it also affects and determines the overall health of the
baby once it was born.
 All of the factors and elements mentioned above are referenced from a documentary film
“Life Inside the Womb” by Body Atlas. If I were to describe the said film, I would think of it as
highly informative for it has addressed and explored at length the various factors and stages of
development that occurs during the pregnancy. It has demonstrated how the baby inside the
womb grows and develops from a single cell into a conglomeration two two trillion cells
furthermore proving the complexity of a new life. The approach it has followed in conversing
the main points is very methodical combined with the visual aids and an effective voice over.
Also, the utilization of the experience of the pregnant mother in the film has also added
authenticity to the overall impact of the film. Following her journey through pregnancy until she
eventually delivered the baby into the world is certainly an element that has elaborated the
material of the documentary.
The notion of conception has reminded me about two things: 1) why I wake up every
morning; and 2) my purpose in life. In all fairness, I have never asked or begged to be born in
this world, but here I am anyway. I am alive, with a complete set of body parts and functioning
senses that renders me an able-bodied individual that has a role in the society. The thing is I
once have this mindset that the role is predetermined, and that it has already been established
and imposed by the society itself. This made me indifferent about numerous things, and made
me feel like I was merely existing and not living. My eyes open up in the morning, and I, like a
mechanical robot, just follows the daily routine and functions I was programmed to do so. But
now I have a different perspective in life, and this is mainly the result of various experiences I
had the last few years with the company of my loving family and friends. I think now I have a
more concrete awareness of my purpose, a role that I myself have the power and liberty to
choose. I am granted a life, and so I would do everything within the breadth of my ability to
protect and aid everything that has life on Earth. To be more specific, I would like to relate it to
my current course, AB Communication, a path that I am now sure I would like to follow and see
through the end. As a communicator, I would utilize my talent for words to spark a change in the
situation of our world. It does not matter what medium I will use, be it newspaper, radio, or
television, as long as I am able to accomplish my mission. This gives me a will to live and not
just be a floating bottle in the ocean waiting for the tidal waves to wash me away to unknown
directions. I am now enjoying every moment that passes, and having an ambition and objective
in life really does make a difference.
The gift of life is a treasure that will never amount to any materialistic wealth. We might
question our own existence, but doing so would not take away the fact that we are one of the
seven billion people sharing the globe. After all, if the majority of us will bring upon a new life
in the future only to realize how valuable existence is, I think that right now is the time we
appreciate every waking moment. We are still here in this world, sometimes even unaware of
how lucky we are to live; and so we must be thankful for this blessing, and consider every day
and every life as a present given to us by God.