Reactions to Fetal Models

During week 9 of the PGC, the girls each got to experience exactly what happens inside a pregnant woman by following the development stages of the baby from as early as 7 weeks after conception all the way to birth through the visual aide of Fetal Models we purchased from a US company, Heritage House. Last year for this lesson, all we had to provide as resources were statistics and photos, but this year we were able to invest some of our PEPFAR money into Fetal Models to have the girls truly see and feel what a developing baby is like during each stage of pregnancy.

Anyone that knows me, understands that this is one of my favorite lessons and something that I have enjoyed teaching since high school. Since being Wisconsin Teens for Life President and then an intern for National Right to Life, I have always had a passion for people (specifically teens) to understand how precious each baby's life is and how early it truly has all the characteristics of a living person. By 21 days after conception, the baby already has a heart beat! Just 3 weeks later the baby has detectable brainwaves! How amazing!

Now, I had the opportunity to bring this knowledge to pre-teen girls in Africa where pregnancy is not something to be hidden but actually a competition that has caused alarming rates of school drop-outs and HIV infections.

Like I said, last year I tried this lesson out and it was successful as far as photos could portray what a baby looked like inside a mother and as far as my English and broken Sepedi could get me in teaching. This year, however, I had two new weapons: Maam Tema and Fetal Models. I was very excited to see what the outcome would be now that I had learned a bit from experience.

Maam Tema is a phenomenal teacher. While she will quickly admit that the craft time is her favorite part of girls club and that Maam Ditsela prefers to tell the stories, she is an excellent speaker and has a way of making the girls pay attention and laugh at some of the most taboo topics. Well, after watching me teach the lesson last year and equipped with all of the resources I could provide her with, she took on teaching the Fetal Development lesson this year. The girls loved it! She first read a short story that is meant to give the girls basic knowledge of the topic and then open the floor for further discussion among the leaders and members. I was glad to see that the girls understood from the story that pregnancy was a 9 month process. When I did an evaluation earlier this year, less than half of my girls knew how long a woman was pregnant before giving birth...and the discussion went more in depth after this once we introduced the Fetal Models and began teaching what happens during the 9 month period of pregnancy.

I think Maam Ditsela was even more excited than Maam Tema to introduced the Fetal Models because she had each of them in her hand before Maam Tema could even get her hands on one to talk about how old he/she was and what is happening to a baby during that week of development. It was quite funny even watching the leaders' fascination over the life-like babies they were holding in their hands. I'm sure this was a result of them each already experiencing pregnancy and now having the realization of what their children once looked like inside of their wombs and in fact just how big of babies they carried. Even more fascinating for them, though, was learning how early the baby can hear, suck his/her thumb, feel pain, recognize the mother's voice, etc.



Well, once the Fetal Models were free of the leaders' hands, Maam Tema was able to begin passing them around for the girls to feel and cradle. She started with the first trimester collection which included weeks 7 through 10 and taught all about what was happening to the babies during this early stage...sometimes even before a mother knows that she is pregnant.





Then she moved on to the babies that portray weeks 12, 20, 26 and 30.





For these older models, the girls gave such varied reactions. Some girls would take it and cradle it, rocking it back and forth as if it was a real baby, and then once the 30 week old baby came around, there were actually girls that would shake their heads in fear who didn't want to touch the baby. For some, the baby felt too real and it scared them a bit.



The lesson was successful. Maam Tema did an excellent job teaching and the girls loved having the models to really understand what a pregnant woman was going through. After class while the leaders began teaching the craft of sewing baby bibs, I left the babies on the head table and watched as girls who were shy earlier in touching the babies and holding them came up confidently and took their turns holding each model.



I've always known but never fully realized how important it is for young girls to see and feel what the baby is like inside the mother's womb during pregnancy...specifically in the culture I now live in. It can teach so many lessons to the girls that I could have never imagined. Young girls here don't get sexual education and don't even have parents at home who can give them advice in such areas. Girls are either completely ignorant about their bodies and that menstruation now gives them the power to pro-create or they understand that if they have sex and it results in pregnancy and birth, they will be given money by the government to take care of themselves and the baby. Young girls also view pregnancy as a symbol of success and acceptance. If they can obtain pregnancy during secondary school, it shows that they are women...it becomes a right of passage almost.



So what lessons do the girls learn specifically from seeing and feeling the Fetal Models? What I would like to think is that they learn to be responsible. They understand more fully the realities of what can happen when not abstaining from sex. They understand that while babies are cute and lovable that they are also a lot of work and probably best to wait for until after their education is finished and in a faithful relationship. They understand that abortion is not a solution to their problems. Finally, they understand just how precious human life is from conception to death and that it is something to be protected and taken very seriously.

The last girl finished sewing her baby bib just after the sun had set below the horizon and we quickly picked up the school's meeting hall so all of the leaders could get home to prepare food for their families. As Brandon and I walked home that night carrying the Fetal Models, we were stopped along the way by our friend Andries who is a 20 year old secondary student and good friend of ours. He was interested in seeing what we had and grew very excited as I explained it to him. He had us come into his house and show his friends who were inside. As it turned out, this was exactly the topic they were discussing in his Natural Science class at school that week and he was in wonder of the small babies. He was also very eager for me to bring them down to his school some day soon to allow the students there the opportunity to see and feel the babies...which I hope will work out. He has a very good grasp on what it means to be a responsible young adult (seeing as he takes care of his two younger sisters with no guardian or parent assisting him) and is an excellent student.

In conclusion, this lesson was very special for me in several ways. I was able to watch the girls learn about fetal development and pregnancy, but I was also able to personalize the lesson a bit...my sister-in-law is pregnant and due any day now (hopefully the morning of the 8th). Justin and Beth are expecting a boy to be born here very soon and I have myself experienced so much wonder and joy from watching them prepare for the birth of their son understanding just how special this new life is to them. They have kept a blog to update all of their family and friends on how their role as mother and father is coming and to give frequent updates on Keller.



For me, it has been so special to watch how this gift of a son has truly brought out some of the most beautiful characteristics of marriage in my brother-in-law and sister-in-law...the union of two people who love each other so much and now are prepared to share that love with another little one that they have created together and intend to raise with so much care and passion. Every time they talk about little Keller, their love speaks volumes as to how they feel about this life growing inside of Beth and I know that everyone who has watched them go through this process would agree that they radiate thankfulness and joy as a married couple for this gift they have been given...to bring a new life into this world and bring him up as the best young many they possibly can.