The one time in life that navel gazing is allowed, even indulged, is during pregnancy. After all, that bulging navel you're staring at is connected to the bellybutton of a bona fide miracle. Nine Months to Birth is a useful cybersupplement for that semi-obsessed mother-to-be who loves to track foetal growth, cell by cell.Don't expect a "you are here" type of pregnancy guide with this program. Nine Months to Birth doesn't address the mother's changes; instead, it gives full attention to tracking baby from the ovum-meets-sperm stage to birth. If you want to see how your foetus's dendrites are developing, this is the program for you.
With synthesised music--accented with digitised baby coos--in the background, this program allows you to visit areas devoted to various body parts (brain, genitalia, limbs, eyes) or follow certain pregnancy time lines. (It compulsively details the first, second and third month, then rushes through the second trimester and third trimester. Sound familiar, mums?) Each of these time spans has a number of sites within it containing written, audio and occasionally video information. The 25 video clips are this program's strongest point. There is something endlessly fascinating about watching that one sperm penetrate an ovum, or tiny, perfect hands waving in front of a face that belongs on an alien.
Nine Months to Birth uses fairly technical language. You will hear things like "oocyte" and "vitelline sac" instead of "Congratulations! Your baby has tiny toes now!" Our only significant problem with the program was that it wasn't quite enough. A woman in her first trimester could easily devour this program in a couple of nights--one night if she has a good medical dictionary. --Anne Erickson
