several days, weeks-- or even the tiniest ones, for months-- to insure that they make it, you know, uneventfully. the baby, as a member of that family, has special needs. but the parents, they also have special needs to reach. i actually had a perception one day, and then i believe it very clearly, but actually babies-- just like parents are asking us, "please take care of my baby--" babies are asking, "please take care of our parents." medical advances have helped prolong pregnancies and saved premature babies. advances have also given physicians ways to see how a pregnancy is progressing. a commonly used technique is ultrasound scanning. this procedure uses high-frequency sound waves to visualize the fetus. lawrence d. platt: well, i personally believe a woman should be offered an ultrasound in every pregnancy because i personally will tell you i know of no test that can offer us as much information in a shorter time as ultrasound, provided it's being performed with someone that understands and is well-trained and has the proper credentials and accreditation of ultrasound. using an ultrasound,