Rizal cried while still in his mother's womb?

Dr. Jose P. Rizal, a Calambeño and Philippine National Hero was born in Calamba on June 19, 1861, a Wednesday. He was the second son and the seventh child of Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonzo. According to local folks, Rizal’s mother walked to church during the eve of Rizal’s birth to have a confession, as is customary for expectant mothers during the period. The St. John the Baptist Church is just across the street of the Rizal ancestral home, only a stone’s throw away. Doña Teodora sat on a pew near the confessional. While waiting for her turn for a confession a loud cry of a baby echoed all over the church. Heads turned to look where the baby was. Parish priest Father Rufino Collantes peeped out of the confessional curtain to see where the cry came from. Doña Teodora, feeling a bit embarrassed simply kept quiet. The cry was her baby’s, while still in her womb.

For almost a century, many believed that this story was a myth, an urban legend most probably made up by Rizal admirers and writers who tend to exaggerate and dramatize Rizal’s life story. Skeptics argued that babies could not cry in the womb. Up until now, it was known that infants born very prematurely at 28 weeks could cry, but it was believed that the infant only cried when air had entered the lungs after birth.

New ultrasound studies however revealed that fetuses cry in the womb as early as 28 weeks suggesting that behavioral and motor skills at this stage may be more mature than once thought.

In a study made by Jeannie L. Gingras, M.D., a professor of pediatrics at Carolina Medical Center and her colleagues, images captured on ultrasound and video recordings indicated that stimulation could cause the unborn to cry. The phenomenon was discovered accidentally in a study on tobacco and cocaine use during pregnancy, which involved 54 pregnant women who smoked, 30 who used cocaine, and 60 controls that did neither. Ten of the fetuses appeared to cry. Ultrasound assessments were done at 28 to 31.9 weeks, again at 32 to 35.9 weeks, and once more at 36 or more weeks. The behavior was observed equally in controls (non-smokers and no cocaine use), suggesting these behaviors are not specific to tobacco or cocaine exposure.” Dr. Gingras and colleagues also reported that the findings also indicate that it is possible for a fetus to be able to cry before 28 weeks. They added that pre-term infants born at 24 weeks are able to cry. By 20 weeks gestation, the fetus possesses the complete motor repertoire needed for crying behavior, coordinated breathing efforts, jaw opening, mouthing, chin quiver, tongue extension, and swallowing.

The myth that Rizal cried in her mother’s womb a day before he was born is plausible!