First-of-Its-Kind Website Makes Science of Prenatal Development Understandable & Accessible

‘The Most Accurate, Scientific, Up-to-Date Presentation of Human Life Being Knit Together in a Mother’s Womb’

Washington, D.C. – After nearly two years of research, peer review, and development, the nonprofit Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) today debuted VoyageOfLife.com, the most accurate, scientific, and up-to-date presentation of human life being knit together in a mother’s womb.

CLI President Charles A. “Chuck” Donovan explained:

“Advances in science and technology have given us an unprecedented window into how babies grow and develop in their mother’s womb.  It’s incredible that scientists can now detect that boys and girls move differently in the womb, that babies yawn and hiccup before birth, that the capacity for responding to touch, sound and pain develops so soon, and so much more.

“Yet this amazing science of life often remains inaccessible, shared with only a select few in complex, peer-reviewed science and medical journals.  Our goal with Voyage of Life is to make that peer-reviewed, up-to-date science available to everyone from middle school students to post-graduate researchers, and based on these continuing advances in science, end debates about the undeniable humanity and moral status of the unborn.”

VoyageOfLife.com is designed to help policymakers, media, educators, and students follow the science:

• Scientifically accurate animation, illustrations, and real pictures of living human beings from inside the womb.
• Accessible explanations and definitions of terminology.
• Opportunities to go deeper with scientific and medical citations behind each fact.
• Answers and articles explaining common questions and topics, including Down syndrome, fetal surgery, and daily life inside the womb.

Katrina Furth, Ph.D., a CLI associate scholar who earned her doctorate in neuroscience at Boston University, began research for VoyageOfLife.com in late 2019.  The website was edited and peer-reviewed by Tara Sander Lee, Ph.D., CLI’s senior fellow and director of life sciences, with additional peer review by CLI Associate Scholars Ingrid Skop, M.D., FACOG and Kathryn Nix Carnahan, M.D.

Dr. Tara Sander Lee said:

“The typical pregnancy tracker website tells you ordinary facts, like the size of your baby, proper nutrition and maternal health.  The Voyage of Life is something completely different.  We have spent two years compiling and reviewing the very latest research on human prenatal development, searching for scientifically accurate animation and images, and when not found, creating our own, plus strategizing how to make the peer-reviewed science accessible and understandable.

“Our goal is to provide a visually powerful and scientifically sourced website on human prenatal development that demonstrates the undeniable humanity and complexity of these little girls and boys.”

VoyageOfLife.com shares many amazing facts about human prenatal development, including:

• Babies are 10,000 times bigger at 7 weeks’ gestation than at conception.
• Within the first 8 weeks, the baby has already formed 4,000 body structures. For comparison, there are an estimated 4,500 body parts in adults.
• Boys and girls move differently in the womb.
• Babies yawn, hiccup, and practice breathing before birth.
• At birth, the baby has a higher concentration of antibodies than the mother to protect against deadly diseases.

Click here to visit CLI’s new VoyageOfLife.com resource. 

Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony List.  CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world.  The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women. 

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