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24-week old fetus yawning

Though the precise design of yawning is a mystery story , 4 - D ultrasound images let on that fetuses gape in utero

27-week old fetus

Yawns can be distinguished from feeding reflex action because gape sassing expend longer undecided and have a shorter closing period .

28-week old fetus

As babies mature , they gape less oft . Researchers believe oscitancy may help touch off brain development .

32-week old fetus

Because yawning frequency changes throughout maternity , yawn pattern could be used as a marker of healthy development .

Yawning in utero

By the time babies are full - full term , they have stop yawning in the womb .

Fetal Faces

researcher used ultrasound images of foetus ' faces , like these , to track how they used progressively more complex facial movements .

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Ultrasound videos have captured fetuses yawning in the womb.

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Fetal facial expressions develop in the womb

a woman yawns at her desk

An artist�s rendering of an oxytocin molecule

A baby girl is shown being carried by her father in a baby carrier while out on a walk in the countryside.

a pregnant woman touches her belly

an illustration of an ichthyosaur swimming underwater with ancient fish

an illustration of a group of sperm

A new study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to show dramatic changes in the brain during pregnancy. Pregnancy increased gray matter loss and reshaped the default mode network, which is responsible for the mind wandering and a sense of identity.

Abortion rights demonstrators gather near the Washington Monument during a nationwide rally in support of abortion rights in Washington, D.C., on May 14, 2022.

A child covering his mouth.

10 week old fetal human hand with muscles highlighted

A newborn baby with lots of hair

Adorable 3-month-old twin boys

An image comparing the relative sizes of our solar system�s known dwarf planets, including the newly discovered 2017 OF201

a view of a tomb with scaffolding on it

an illustration showing a large disk of material around a star

A small phallic stalagmite is encircled by a 500-year-old bracelet carved from shell with Maya-like imagery

a person holds a GLP-1 injector

A man with light skin and dark hair and beard leans back in a wooden boat, rowing with oars into the sea

an abstract illustration depicting the collision of subatomic particles