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Charlotte Lozier Institute

Phone: 202-223-8073
Fax: 571-312-0544

2776 S. Arlington Mill Dr.
#803
Arlington, VA 22206

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Did You Know ?

Did You Know ?

In the fourth week, the embryonic heart starts beating. The neural tube, which becomes the brain and spinal cord, forms. At this point, a woman has likely only been aware of her pregnancy for one week.

Did You Know ?

In the seventh week after conception, networks of neurons produce brain waves that have been recorded as early as 6 ½ weeks after conception. The embryo spontaneously moves his arms, hands, and legs, and may even hiccup. The embryo’s heart now has all four chambers.

Did You Know ?

By the seventeenth and eighteenth week after gestation, the fetus shows a clear response to pain in multiple studies, and at least one brain pathway is mature enough to create a perception of pain. The fetus also practices breathing, crying, and breastfeeding in the womb. The fetal heart has beat over 20 million times and circulates about 55 quarts of blood per day.

Did You Know ?

In the eighth month of pregnancy the fetal brain is ready to learn! At 32 weeks after conception, neurons are creating 40,000 new connections, called synapses, every second! With repeated exposures, the fetus can learn flavors, nursery rhymes, songs, and even words that she will recognize after birth!

Home / About / Our Leadership/ Robin Pierucci, M.D., M.A.
Scholar

Robin Pierucci, M.D., M.A.

Associate Scholar

Dr. Robin Pierucci is a wife, mother of three, and a neonatologist with a master’s degree in bioethics. She has multiple publications in peer and non-peer reviewed journals, and has spoken nationally and internationally on a number of perinatal and ethical topics.  Dr Pierucci, a Jewish convert to Catholicism has also appeared on programs aired on EWTN including: Women of Grace, The Journey Home, and EWTN Live.  After practicing neonatology for the last 25 years, Dr Pierucci was going to retire–and instead founded Navigating Fetal Concerns, a service devoted to caring for parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis and wish to continue the pregnancy. She is a member of the Catholic Medical Association, an associate scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, and a board member of the American College of Pediatrics (ACPeds) where she is also the co-chair of ACPed’s pro-life committee.

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Research Authored

Fetal Development

Fetal Pain, Following the Evidence

During the Dobbs abortion case hearing, Justice Sotomayor made a number of problematic statements.  She was unfamiliar with decreases in the edge of viability since Roe was handed down (28 weeks then versus approximately 22 weeks gestation today, with an increasing number of infants surviving at 21 weeks. As a neonatologist, I found perhaps even more distressing her claim that premature babies who are less than 25 weeks gestation cannot feel pain.

Robin Pierucci, M.D., M.A.
December 21, 2021
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Fetal Development

At Different Times in Life

As children head back to school, many parents are snapping “first day of school” pictures. This annual event documents not only some interesting fashion trends, but also how physically different we look at different ages.  I recently found an older family album that solidified this fact. I had to take a second look to verify that the young woman in the black-and-white wedding photo was indeed a person I know very well, my grandmother.  Pictures of her as a young child are more difficult to reconcile with the elderly reality—but then I found a photo that caught a gesture, or something about the twinkle in those eyes that is undeniably her.  It’s a reminder that we are more than our physical parts.  Mere anatomy and physiology, though incredibly complex, fail to capture or define our character. 

Robin Pierucci, M.D., M.A.
January 1, 1970
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