Happy Holidays -- From My Fetus to Yours!

There exists a place where one can get a 3D sonogram of their unborn child and have it made into Christmas cards all at a convenient one-stop shop within the cozy confines of a shopping mall. There are almost no words. What would this fetal X-Mas card say? Images of fetuses hanging from garlands and card trees alongside that nice little snow covered cottage card that Grandma sent come to mind.

What is this place where someone could obtain such a thing? Why, The Belly Factory, of course! I was introduced to their website just this morning in an especially informative Health and Media lecture. The Belly Factory appears to be the ultimate in consumerism by marketing to women their own fetuses. The store, located in a mall in Illinois, offers everything from expensive baby classes and pricey exclusive products to teddy bears that play a recording of your unborn child's heartbeat. This may sound like heaven on earth for some expectant moms to be, but to me it just sounds over the top (to say the least).

The Belly Factory offers a variety of picture packages as well, encouraging expectant moms to return multiple times throughout their pregnancy by offering a 10% discount on future purchases with each package. One can get a preview of the 3D and 4D images offered by visiting the ultrasound gallery. I cannot imagine anyone visiting this site and immediately wanting to order X-Mas cards of these images -- no matter how excited about their new addition they may be! These especially detailed sonograms look more like ectoplasmic visions from a sci-fi movie than visions of sugar plums or sleigh bells in the snow. To each their own... and to all a good night!