Students View Window to the Womb

The Family Life Center in Effingham and HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital recently partnered with St. Anthony High School on their annual “Window to the Womb” event, which allows high school students to observe life in the womb in real time. 

Held at the Family Life Center with ultrasound technologists from the center and HSHS St. Anthony’s, each student is in the room with a volunteer mother as an ultrasound is done of their baby. The ultrasound technologist points out various body structures, tissues and organs on the ultrasound screen and shows the baby's beating heart. The students also see and hold fetal models to illustrate development in the womb. 

Afterward, students wrote about their experience. 

Noah Jansen reflected on what he saw and how it made him feel. "Getting the chance to experience this event is very special. It makes me understand the value of life more and more as I actually see the baby moving around in the womb. I could feel the baby's life through the screen; it felt really real. A very important lesson I learned is 'Within the womb, women carry not just life, but the future of humanity; every generation begins here.'"

Many students mentioned how much development they were able to see during the ultrasound, including Chloe Kincaid, who said, "After seeing the ultrasound of a 23-week-old baby, it just mesmerized me. You can truly see every little detail of the baby, right down to the fingernails and even their intestines which I thought was so amazing. They passed around a silicone baby that was the size of a 20-week-old baby and it really put things into perspective for me how big the child really is."

In addition, the students were given the opportunity to tour the Family Life Center with Helen Knicley, RN, and hear a presentation from Mary Hovis, Executive Director of the Family Life Center, a not-for-profit ministry in Effingham. Hovis shared how the Family Life Center provides services to women, men and families experiencing pregnancy, parenting and related issues. Students also wrote about how seeing the center added to their experience. 

One student, Jackson Schultz, said, "I thought that it was so cool how they had all the facilities available to the fathers and mothers here. They have classes to teach them how to become the best dad they can be, and the same for the moms. They have personal sessions and multiple-person classes all to help the parents become ready for their new life and to take care of their new baby. The best part? Everything that they do here is free."

Alec Hakman added how the resources at the Center can help people be successful parents, "Unplanned pregnancies lead to fear and uncertainty within the parents’ life and the Family Life Center gives those parents the reassurance and resources they need to overcome that fear. Beyond the ultrasound itself, what stood out to me the most was the way the Family Life Center grows a connection not just between parents and their unborn child, but also between faith and friendship that will lead to a successful parenthood." 

Hovis spoke to the students about their potential role as “first responders” to someone experiencing a crisis pregnancy, as many young people will first share with a friend rather than a parent or other trusted adult. Studies reveal that a major reason a woman goes through with her abortion plan is because no one told her she had other options or encouraged her not to. 

All the high school students are part of the junior religion classes at St. Anthony High School, which have recently been studying morality, especially issues of respect for the dignity of human life. 

“The biology of a human life in the womb is obvious through study, which can be done in a textbook, but it’s very impactful when we can connect that fact to a real experience,” said Greg Fearday, St. Anthony High School Principal. “It’s very generous of the Family Life Center and HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital to provide this experience for our students.”

Photo Caption: Some of the participants in the “Window to the Womb” project included (left to right) Connor Frauli; Laura Kuhns; Jacey Garza; Maureen Habing, HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital ultrasonographer; Jill Pankau, registered diagnostic medical sonographer; Renee James, volunteer mom; and her 24-week preborn baby on the ultrasound screen; Allison Deters, Family Life Center Nurse Manager; Henry Brent; and Elvin Martinez-Flores.