#fetal development

In order to better understand cardiac defects, it’s best to start off reviewing how a normal heart works. First, the Superior and Inferior Vena Cava carrydeoxygenated blood into the heart (Right Atrium) from other parts of the body. The deoxygenated blood then passes through the TricuspidValve into the Right Ventricle. Thedeoxygenated blood is following the pathway through the heart in order to get to the lungs to gain oxygen, next the blood passes through the PulmonaryValveand enters the Pulmonary Artery, the pulmonary artery is special because it is the only artery in the body that carries deoxygenated blood. Once the deoxygenated blood passes through to theLungsit becomes oxygenated. The newly oxygenated blood then flows back to the heart through the Pulmonary Veins and into the Left Atrium. It then passes through the MitralValveand into the Left Ventricle. The blood is then contracted through the AorticValveinto the Aortaand to the rest of the body.

The Fetal Heart:
During the fetal period and some time after birth, the circulation is quite different. The heart has more, holes, if you will in order for the fetal blood to bypass the lungs that are unable to oxygenate blood while the fetus is in utero.
- The Foramen Ovale is an opening that allows passage of blood from the Right Atrium directly into the Left Atrium. The blood passing through is already oxygenated from the placenta. 
- The Ductus Arteriosus is an opening that passes oxygenated blood from the Pulmonary Artery directly into the Aortato get pumped to the rest of the body.

Normal changes in the heart after birth: 

- Ductus Arteriosus closes
- Foramen Ovale closes
- Ductus Venosus (connection from the umbilical cord) closes

“Possible Side Effects May Include”

Relief print, paint, collage. May 2022

Possible alternate title “Such a Magical Fucking Journey”

Artist statement(/rant)

I can’t decide between the titles because this is both political and personal, much moreso of both than my work usually is. I am currently pregnant, very much by choice, midway through second trimester. I have been making these relief prints at each stage of pregnancy depicting the current stage of fetal development. A few days ago we ran into an acquaintance at the statehouse while we were protesting the probable overturning of Roe v Wade, and while catching up I mentioned just a couple of the pregnancy side effects I’d been struggling with. He was utterly shocked having never heard of most of what I described which made me think, if this well-meaning pro-choice man has no idea what pregnancy really entails, that’s probably even more true of the men making the laws. I expect a lot of the people suggesting adoption as a viable option for an unwanted pregnancy see pregnancy as a temporary inconvenience and have no idea how much it can disrupt one’s life.

For the record, for the most part I pulled this side effects list from the “what to expect when you’re expecting” website, and with a few exceptions most aren’t even considered complications, these are almost all things considered normal. Most aren’t even treated or treatable since even basic over the counter medications (including ibuprophen and Pepto bismal) are not considered safe during pregnancy. There are tons more potential effects many of which can be life threatening that I didn’t list.

I hope anyone who would consider forcing someone to go through with an unwanted pregnancy learns exactly what that means.

And on a more personal note, I’ve been frustrated with the way the narrative of pregnancy is framed. When people talk about unwanted pregnancy they talk about horrifying body changes, health issues, and so on, but when people talk about wanted pregnancies the narrative is always how beautiful and magical it all is. I’m pregnant on purpose, this will be an extremely planned and wanted baby, but as an experience, this still sucks. Being in the midst of a combination of ever-changing body horror and illness has made it especially frustrating to hear people constantly telling me how wonderful it all is, I feel like I’m getting gaslit by society at large.

Works in Progress

So I haven’t updated as much this year as previously, and this is why: pregnancy is exhausting. But I have been working on this piece, making relief prints of embryos/fetuses in real time as mine develops, as close to actual size as I can. I will probably add one more to this series some time in the third trimester (I’m in the second now) but the early development is more aesthetically interesting to me as more changes happen faster early on.