Pregnancy Book Informs and Inspires Mothers-to-Be

Designers in Japan created calendar to educate new moms on child development.

ByABC News
January 5, 2015, 9:46 AM
The baby is now ready to make that journey to meet its mom!
The baby is now ready to make that journey to meet its mom!
DENTSU Nagoya/Behance.com

— -- For new moms-to-be, the life-changing nine months in anticipation of childbirth can be both magical and overwhelming. Because at some point, women all over the world find themselves wondering, "What exactly is going on in there?"

To help demystify everything taking place both inside and outside of an expectant mother's body, Dentsu Nagoya designed an artful papercraft calendar called Mother Book that provides women with a week-by-week visualization of what is happening.

As the mother turns the page each week, she will watch an embossed paper belly grow and read exciting updates on the baby's progress, such as when the child first becomes measurable at week 6 and when it begins to form fingerprints at week 15.

Designers are encouraging women to write their own experiences and feelings on the pages of the calendar to share with their child later, as a memento.

The books have been distributed to mothers-to-be in Japan by Kishokai Medical Corporation, a Japanese medical services firm, since September and have since been awarded various design honors at Cannes and elsewhere. They are currently unavailable in the U.S.

PHOTO: Beginning of a new life. A new life begins. Here is the beginning of a new life.
Beginning of a new life. A new life begins. Here is the beginning of a new life.
PHOTO: Heartbeats can be confirmed in this phase.
Heartbeats can be confirmed in this phase.
PHOTO: The baby’s fingerprints start to form.
The baby’s fingerprints start to form.
PHOTO: The five senses become finer, to sense light, sound, and smell.
The five senses become finer, to sense light, sound, and smell.