There are many affirmations and beliefs regarding the way of life that the baby carries in the maternal womb. This article will help you eliminate some false conceptions and know in some detail the day to day of your baby as it transposes the different stages of its development. We speculate in some cases using goodwill since there is no scientific evidence available; In addition, we based on the findings in the newborn and we extrapolate the baby over 32 weeks since from that moment both behave exactly the same

Important: evolutionarily the fetus has been exposed to low or no light levels, sounds and external manipulation, the “modern stimulation” may not be desirable, in fact some researchers believe that it can alter natural patterns of sleep and wakefulness and thus disrupt the function and brain development.

Initial life

Once the ovule has been fertilized, the unicellular embryo will begin to divide frantically until it forms a multicellular element called Blastocyst that will implant in the uterine cavity approximately on day 6-7 after ovulation. This cell formation is the first evidence of cell differentiation that will lead to the formation of the placenta and the baby.

This precocious embryo is initially nourished by the liquids that surround it and from which it obtains nutrients and oxygen for its development. Once implanted in the uterus it will begin to obtain such nutrients from the surrounding tissues. There is still nothing that resembles a placenta but in the thick section of the Blastocyst the changes that will lead to its formation are being generated. This is the Blastocyst when implanted in the uterus.

During week 7 the umbilical cord becomes evident and the first echographic indications of the placenta are appreciated and it can be seen, by means of the Doppler study, how the embryonic circulation goes towards the placenta. From this moment, and during the rest of the pregnancy, the baby will get all its nutrients and oxygen through this way.

The baby does not need to eat or wait for mom to eat to get her nutrients since in the placenta, a magnificent but horrible factory, there is all the necessary exchange for the baby to get everything it needs to grow.

Exchange: in the placenta the maternal and fetal circulation are approached without contacting each other, that is, in the placenta there are small pockets where maternal blood, oxygenated and full of nutrients, is introduced to bathe the hairballs (corial villi) ) that are inside and that are the terminal structures of the umbilical cord capable of exchanging substances from one side or the other. The baby gets water, minerals, oxygen, various biochemical precursors, glucose, amino acids and fatty acids that will allow the growth of the organs of your body, the mother will receive, in return, waste products that by passing to her blood will be eliminated.

Feeding the baby

As is clear from the previous paragraph, all the baby’s nutrition arrives through the umbilical cord in the form of substances dissolved in the mother’s blood. These nutrients go to the baby continuously whether or not the mother has eaten, the baby is continuously parasitizing its mother to ensure its development. When the mother is adequately nourished during pregnancy, the baby will always have satisfactory maternal sources for its development without affecting the health of its mother. If the mother is malnourished, the baby will accelerate maternal malnutrition until it reaches a point where the baby will not be able to obtain adequate nutrients and both will be severely compromised. If the mother is diabetic without control large glucose loads will pass to the fetus, conditioning future cardiovascular and metabolic diseases

When the placenta does not work well, the exchange surface is reduced and therefore the diffusion of oxygen and nutrients from the mother to the fetus will be limited even when the mother is well nourished, this is what is called placental insufficiency and is the cause of the so-called chronic fetal distress that leads to low birth weight babies or with “intrauterine fetal growth retardation -RCIU-“

The baby continually swallows amniotic fluid but gets virtually nothing of it to nourish, by ultrasound the stomach is seen “full” of liquid and that means that the upper digestive tract is properly developed and that the nervous system works correctly in terms of reflexes of swallowing does not mean that the baby has eaten recently. The stomach should always be visible, otherwise, it may suggest serious fetal problems of a structural or functional nature.

The amniotic fluid (LA)

This fluid is initially formed from the accumulation of fluid product of cellular activity surrounding the early embryo. After the 11th week of pregnancy the renal function of the fetus begins to be noticed (the bladder begins to accumulate urine) and the baby begins to urinate, providing the main component of the amniotic fluid: the fetal urine.

Yes, the Amniotic Fluid is fetal urine in more than 90%, other minor components are the pulmonary, funicular (umbilical cord), cutaneous, ocular, etc. secretions. The baby controls the volume of the liquid by compensating the production rate (urinating) with the rate of elimination (swallowing). When the baby swallows, most of the liquid passes to the mother in the form of water and a part dilutes the fetal blood thus satisfying her sensation of thirst. There is also a fluid reuptake control mechanism mediated by the placental membranes, this would explain some phenomena or amniotic fluid problems not explained by other mechanisms. This liquid is a very complex substance, it can be considered as a fetal tissue.

Baby movements

The baby begins to move when he is only about 8 weeks pregnant (6 weeks of conception) and only measures about 15 millimeters. From that moment on we will never stop moving. The movements and changes of position indicate normality and are absolutely necessary to prevent deformations occur in the body of the baby: when a baby does not move the pressures of the uterus cause the fetal organs to conformed to the surrounding surfaces causing congenital deformities . The baby begins to feel between weeks 16 and 20 of pregnancy, the reason: has acquired enough muscle size and strength to cause stimuli in the maternal nerves that detect the presence of the baby. Before 4 months nothing is felt but uterine contractions or bowel movements deceive the mother. After week 26 the movements are increasingly noticeable and sometimes upset by their intensity, it is never abnormal for a baby to move a lot and they always suggest fetal health.

Breathing

The baby gets its oxygen through the umbilical cord, from the exchange of the fetus-placental circulation. However, he has breathing movements through which he enters and expels fluid from his lungs without being, technically, breathing anything. These movements of practice allow pulmonary development, its absence implies fetal health problems.

Hiccup

Babies have hiccups as a form of respiratory movement. They feel like small rhythmic movements of short duration that blow their bellies after week 16. Some patients refer to them as the Tic Tac of a watch. I have seen them since 13 weeks of pregnancy (at this gestational age the mother does not feel them) and they represent fetal health.

Evacuations

The normal baby does not evacuate the contents of his intestines. Only at the end of pregnancy are the intestines functional and true digestive “tubes” that contain fecal feces of fetal life: meconium. Babies compromised by chronic or acute fetal distress at the end of pregnancy can manifest their health problems by evacuation into the amniotic fluid, giving rise to the so-called meconial fluid. Meconium can be seen in the amniotic fluid during labor without having abnormal implications.

The baby urinates cyclically to give rise to the amniotic fluid. A baby who urinates properly is a healthy and well oxygenated baby and properly surrounded by a sufficient amount of protective amniotic fluid. The urine is sterile

Sensory

Touch: Fetal responses to mechanical stimuli before 22 weeks are due to reflexes since touch and pain appear after this period due to maturation and connections of the central and peripheral nervous system. The researchers suggest that the fetus feels pain after week 22.

Vision: Babies do not see anything inside the uterus but if artificially placed a nearby light source they are able to detect it. They do not see forms, in fact, they do it after they are born. It is not recommended to light the maternal abdomen with flashlights since the retinal and nervous hyperstimulation could have undesirable effects on the fetus.

Hearing: This sense, if better developed in fetal life, the baby detects maternal sounds of vascular (aortic beats) and intestinal origin; likewise, the baby senses and enjoys external music. Recommendation: do not torture him with loud music because the brain is stimulated a lot and is immature, it is not a matter of musical tastes. The best is soft classical music with undulating rhythmic cadence and not in spikes. The fetus seems capable of recognizing the mother’s voice and in some way recognizing familiar sounds.

Self-awareness: it is evident that the fetus has no awareness of its own being nor executes voluntary responses to external stimuli, and it will not do so until it is a few months old. Of course, parents like to think that the baby hears or hears them, and although we know that this is very unlikely, in some way it is better to keep it that way to strengthen the filial ties with the baby on the way.