Quite possible, however, and worthy of belief are the cases in which the child has been heard to cry during the progress of parturition--that is, during delivery.

Jonston speaks of infants crying in the womb, and attempts a scientific explanation of the fact.
He also quotes the following lines in reference to this subject:-- "Mirandum foetus nlaterna clausus in alvo Dicitur insuetos ore dedisse sonos.

Causa subest; doluit se angusta sede telleri Et cupiit magnae cernere moliis opus.

Aut quia quaerendi studio vis fessa parentum Aucupii aptas innuit esse manus." The Ephemerides gives examples of the child hiccoughing in the uterus.
Cases of crying before delivery, some in the vagina, some just before the complete expulsion of the head from the os uteri, are very numerous in the older writers; and it is quite possible that on auscultation of the pregnant abdomen fetal sounds may have been exaggerated into cries.
Bartholinus, Borellus, Boyle, Buchner, Paullini, Mezger, Riolanus, Lentillus, Marcellus Donatus, and Wolff all speak of children crying before delivery; and Mazinus relates the instance of a puppy whose feeble cries could be heard before expulsion from the bitch.

Osiander fully discusses the subject of infants crying during parturition.
McLean describes a case in which he positively states that a child cried lustily in utero during application of the forceps.