Why the baby moves, and when you can feel the first movements of the fetus

The first movements of the fetus are an unforgettable experience for every pregnant woman. It is at such moments in a completely new way that she begins to feel that inside her is a living being tightly connected to her by a thin thread of the umbilical cord. The first movements of the fetus are pleasing and disturbing at the same time.

Why is the baby moving?

The embryo begins to move in the uterus quite early. At the end of the third week of pregnancy, the first contractions of the fetal heart muscle appear. By the end of the eighth week of pregnancy the baby's nervous system begins to form. Actually, from that moment the first motor reflexes appear. In truth, the first movements of the fetus can not be called conscious and coordinated. In addition, the size of the embryo is still small compared to the size of the fetal bladder, so the embryo floats freely in the amniotic fluid and can not exert an effect on the walls of the uterus that a pregnant woman could feel.

Life in all its manifestations is realized in motion. When a living being moves, it means that it develops. To develop a small man inside the mother, not only food is needed, but also various stimuli. For example, when a woman lies on her back, her large blood vessels are squashed by a heavy uterus, which causes a decrease in the flow of blood, and therefore oxygen. The reaction of the fetus to a decrease in the influx of oxygen is an active movement that has a massaging effect on the placenta. As the fetus grows inside the uterus, this effect becomes more and more perceptible for a pregnant woman. And now comes a time when the intense movements of the baby inside the womb force the woman to change the position of the body, turning from back to back. He is still very young, this child, but he is already beginning to tell his mother what she should do to make him live more comfortably.

When does a woman begin to recognize the first movements of the fetus?

So, we found out that the perturbations of the embryo are manifested by the end of the eighth week of pregnancy. After the ninth week, the embryo begins to swallow the amniotic fluid, after the tenth week - it grows to the size that allows it to change the trajectory of the movement, pushing away from the walls of the uterus. After another two or three weeks the baby is already clenching his fists, he can feel his face. At the 16th week of pregnancy, he begins to react to sounds. And first of all, the change in intonation in the mother's voice.

And when does mom start hearing all these baby signals? There is no single deadline for all mothers, without exception. We can only note the overall average statistical trend. It is believed that the first movements of the fetus are first-born women begin to recognize, starting with the 20th week of pregnancy. Women who have become pregnant repeatedly - since the 18th week. However, some very sensitive mothers begin to recognize the first movements of the fetus, starting from the 16th week of pregnancy. However, this is found exclusively in women who are pregnant for a third or more time.

Many people ask, what are the movements of the baby like? Again, every woman perceives these sensations, commensurate with her own experience, or, in the absence of such, - to the best of her imagination. Sometimes the first movement of the baby inside the womb describes a woman as tickling the wings of a moth or a splash of fish in an aquarium. But quite a lot of pregnant women until the last refuse to perceive the first movements of the fetus, attributing their feelings to the movement of gases in peristalsis.

How intensively should the baby move? How to recognize the "language" of its intrauterine movements?

Fetal movements are the language in which the baby, while still in the womb of the mother, communicates with her. Listening and trying to understand why the baby is moving this way, and not somehow differently, it is very important for the mother. Not always violent activity of the baby is a sign that he lacks oxygen or other vital substances. Most likely, the baby is simply uncomfortable to be in a position, which he has to occupy, thanks to his mother. It is worth changing the position of the body, and the child immediately calms down. If the baby's movements are not uncomfortable for a pregnant woman, then this is a clear sign of the normal state of her child.

The norm for the fetus is 10-15 movements per hour, starting from the 24th week of pregnancy. However, the baby can stay at rest for about three hours in a row. Do not worry about this - he just sleeps. It is worth worrying if the child's movements do not feel more than 12 hours. In this case, the pregnant woman should not hesitate to consult a doctor. The reason for the unplanned approach to the gynecologist-obstetrician may also be excessively active or too languid movements of the fetus for several days in a row. Any change in the activity of the movements can signal that a child is in some sort of trouble.

In any case, after learning to understand the language of the baby's movements, the mother will later easily determine his needs after he was born.