One should not argue with body talk. Ultrasound observations of behavior in the womb reveal that fetuses experience and express emotion. Observations made between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation have revealed fearful reactions to amniocentesis including extreme fluctuations in heart rate, as well as withdrawal from normal activity for a period of hours or days. This dialog before birth was not predicted. The ability to signal distress by crying is a familiar aspect of infant behavior.
Cries are often compelling.
Babies need no lessons in how to cry, although adults need lessons in interpreting them. Technical measurements reveal that cries contain much information about disease, malnutrition, and genetic defects. Babies are sensitive to each other s cries, discriminate between animal, human, and electronic cry sounds. They respond most strongly to cries of babies their own ages. The emotional turmoil which crying expresses can already exist in the womb and may be vocalized if air reaches the area around the fetal larynx.