Mom-to-Be’s Ultrasound Video Shows Baby ‘Clapping Her Hands’ As Parents Sing Nursery Rhyme

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Is this the happiest unborn baby in the world?

When mom-to-be Jennifer Cardinal-Martin and her husband, Scott Martin, saw their unborn baby girl on the ultrasound screen, she had displayed an open sign of emotion. Blowing the young parents’ minds (and their doctor’s), the couple were astounded to witness their baby girl “clapping her hands” several times from inside the womb.

Jennifer and Scott posted the amazing clip on YouTube. Jennifer explained: “At our 14 week ultrasound our baby was clapping, so I sang a song with our doctor as my husband filmed.” The video, to date, has 12.5 million views and counting.

The video shows the baby girl clapping a grand total of seven times, while the couple and their physician can be heard in the background singing the (entirely appropriate) nursery rhyme “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”

“Our baby clapped two or three times,” Jennifer clarified. The family, based in the United Kingdom, according to the Daily Mail, gasped and laughed. The decision to sing along was everyone’s; wouldn’t you want to burst into song at a joyous moment like this?

A spokesperson for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists shared their opinion of the phenomenon with Today; it’s plausible the baby did clap, they said. “Fetuses make all sorts of meaningless movements in utero,” the OB-GYN explained, “without knowing that they are doing it.”

It’s certainly fun to believe that the baby girl’s clapping was intentional! But while Jennifer and Scott’s video caused eruptions of delight all around the world, some people were skeptical that the baby was really clapping along to a nursery rhyme in real time.

Inside Edition contacted Jennifer directly to investigate, and she happily shed light on the truth behind her unborn baby’s impromptu performance.

“It was so exciting to see my baby clapping,” Jennifer shared, “and I thought, ‘Well, great! This is awesome!’” But as for whether or not the clip was real? Jennifer was honest, admitting, “It is, and it isn’t.”

“We went in for an ultrasound and the baby clapped three times on screen,” she explained. “Not to the music, just clapped three times.” The delighted parents’ doctor then suggested they sing a song to go along with the extraordinary footage of their clapping baby, just for fun.

“My husband grabbed his video,” Jennifer continued, “and the doctor reran the ultrasound and played the claps. I sang, and he sang with me, ‘If you’re happy and you know it...’”

Jennifer and her interviewer agreed; it was a “remix.” The rest, as they say, is viral history!

Jennifer gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Pip. Hitting back at the critics, Jennifer also reclaimed the joy in her sweet, funny ultrasound encounter by adding an updated comment to her YouTube video.

“The experience is one I'll never forget,” she wrote. “The baby clapped three times, then the doctor rewound and scrubbed it while we sang. No mystery, it was amazing. Trolls won’t get me down!”

And rightly so, Jennifer! It’s a joyous moment, immortalized forever on film to be enjoyed time and time again. Pip is now big sister to a brand-new baby boy, and we wonder whether she'll pass on her rhythmic prowess.

Maybe they'll even start a family band. Here’s hoping!