Bodies...The Exhibition

Last Saturday, Dayton and I went to the Bodies exhibition at Atlantic Station. I've been dying to go ever since it came a couple of years ago. It was just as amazing as I had hoped. There's one part that I wasn't expecting (I JUST heard that it had this a few months ago). There's a fetus room. A room that shows fetal development. There is a warning posted before you go in, it warns you to take a moment before you go in, and also gives you directions on how to skip it. It says that all of the displayed embryos and fetuses died in-utero from various causes. I'll be honest....of course I was curious, but I was also a little nervous. And it turns out, for good reason.

As all my of readers know, I am fiercely pro-choice. Coming to that decision was not an easy journey for me. I almost felt guilty for admitting it. But I did, and I've embraced it. There were two tables and a display case set up. On the tables, there were these cylinder/tube type things. They were clear (obviously) all around and on top. It displayed fetuses at 4 weeks through 10 weeks. Then 12 weeks to 16 weeks. THEN, in the display case, there was at 18 week (I believe...) and a 28 week old fetus. As a mother, it was gut wrenching. As a person who is interested in reproductive issues, it was fascinating. I've had three children, I've had ultrasounds, I've had 3D ultrasounds. Nothing prepared me for what I saw. I took my time with each display. I wondered what happened with each baby. I felt sad for each of them, and each of their mothers. I tried to imagine that I was the mother that had lost them....I can't imagine walking into a room and seeing my dead fetus on display. These babies were all unclaimed and I couldn't help but wonder how a mother would feel if she walked into such an exhibition and saw what could have been her own baby on display. I also couldn't understand how a mother could not "claim" her lost child.

I was amazed at the 4 week tube. I must have stared at it for a good 5 minutes. It had no form. It looked like the tiniest piece of tissue. I was kind of surprised. I assumed that even at this early stage, it would have some form. It was at 6 weeks that it was recognizable as an embryo. It was at 10 weeks that it really started looking like a teeny tiny baby. This also happens to be the week that the baby changes status from an "embryo" to a "fetus".

Overall, it was a strange experience. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to each embryo/fetus. I wondered how their mothers were doing, mentally, after such a loss. It was definitely interesting, certainly informative...but I also felt sympathy. Dayton said it was interesting, but he looked a little uncomfortable. I wonder if that would be a little different for a man to see. As women, we experience pregnancy...we can look at an ultrasound and feel the baby move while we're watching him or her. But for a man, it seems that parenthood REALLY becomes "real" at birth.

If you have time, definitely check out the exhibit. But I would warn you to really consider whether or not you want to see the fetal development room. If I had ever had a miscarriage, I don't think I would have been able to see it. It wasn't bloody, gory, or messy....but I think it would have hit too close to home.